Intent To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement and Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement for the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery Project

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Intent To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement and

Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement for the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery

Project

AGENCIES: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy

(DOE) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Department of Interior (DOI).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) under section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act

of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321) and Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands

Involvement.

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SUMMARY: BPA and BIA intend to prepare an EIS on the proposed Nez Perce

Tribal Hatchery (NPTH) Project to try and rebuild naturally reproducing

salmon runs in the watersheds of the Clearwater and Salmon River sub-

basins. BPA and BIA intend to decide whether or not to provide funding

to construct, operate, and maintain the NPTH in these sub-basins. BIA,

as trustee for Tribal trust resources, will participate as co-lead

agency with BPA. The Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) is the primary cooperating

agency. The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental effects of

the proposed action to construct and operate the NPTH and alternatives

to the proposed action. This action may involve floodplains and

wetlands located in the State of Idaho and within Nez Perce,

Clearwater, and Idaho counties.

In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain

and wetlands environmental review requirements (10 CFR part 1022), BPA

and BIA will prepare a floodplains and wetlands assessment and would

perform this proposed action in a manner so as to avoid or minimize

potential harm to or within the affected floodplains and wetlands. The

assessment and a floodplain statement of findings will be included in

the EIS being prepared for the proposed project in accordance with

NEPA.

DATES: BPA and BIA have established a 45-day scoping period (beginning

April 29, 1994) during which affected landowners, concerned citizens,

special interest groups, local governments, fishery and environmental

groups, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on the

scope of the EIS. Scoping will help BPA and BIA ensure that a full

range of issues related to the proposed action and alternatives to the

proposed action are addressed in the EIS, and also will identify

significant or potentially significant environmental impacts that may

result from the proposed action and alternatives. Written comments

should be sent to the address below no later than June 13, 1994.

Comments may also be made at two EIS scoping meetings which will be

held at: May 24, 1994, 6 to 9 p.m., Red Lion--Downtowner, Teton Room,

1800 Fairview, Boise, Idaho 83702, and May 25, 1994, 6 to 9 p.m.,

National Park Service, Nez Perce National Historical Park, Highway 95,

Spalding, Idaho 83551. At the informal meetings, the NPT, project

sponsor and primary developer of the associated NPTH Master Plan, will

present information on technical aspects of the NPTH Project. Written

information also will be available, and BPA and NPT staff will answer

questions and accept oral and written comments.

Subsequently, a draft EIS (DEIS) will be circulated for public

review and comment, and BPA and BIA will hold public comment meetings

at the locations designated above. BPA and BIA will then prepare a

final EIS which will consider and respond to comments received on the

DEIS.

ADDRESSES: BPA and BIA invite comments and suggestions on the proposed

scope of the DEIS. Send comment letters, requests to be placed on the

project mailing list, and/or requests for more information to the

Public Involvement Manager, Lynn W. Baker, BPA-ALP, P.O. Box 12999,

Portland, Oregon 97212 or to BIA, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

97232-4169. The phone number of BPA's Public Involvement Office is

(503) 230-3478 in Portland, Oregon; toll-free (800) 622-4519

nationwide.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: (1) Mr. Roy B. Fox, BPA NEPA

Compliance Officer--PG at (503) 230-4261 or Ms. June Boynton, BIA

Environmental Coordinator, at (503) 231-6749; (2) Mr. Chuck Korson, BPA

Environmental Manager, at (503) 230-5182; (3) Mr. Robert L. Swedo, BPA

Upper Columbia Area Office, 707 W. Main Avenue, suite 500, Spokane, WA

99201, (503) 353-2913; (4) Mr. Jim Normandeau, BPA Boise District

Office, 304 N. 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702, (208) 334-9137; or (5) Mr.

Ed Larson, Nez Perce Fisheries Resource Management, P.O. Box 365,

Lapwai, ID 83540, (208) 843-7320.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Project that is the subject of

the EIS consists of several components, including central and auxiliary

salmon incubation and rearing facilities, satellite rearing facilities,

and monitoring and evaluation facilities located in the Clearwater and

Salmon River Basins in central Idaho. The proposed NPTH would be

consistent with the Northwest Power Planning Council's (Council) Fish

and Wildlife Program Measure 703 (g)(2), calling for construction of

low-capital salmon and steelhead propagation facilities adaptable to

Columbia River Basin locales. The Council envisioned that the NPTH

Production Project would help rebuild or re-establish anadromous salmon

runs in the Clearwater and Salmon River sub-basins. The Nez Perce

Tribal Government envisioned the NPTH production project as a way of

helping to rebuild a fishery resource that is important to the Tribal

culture and allowing rights reserved in the 1855 Treaty with the United

States to be exercised. Further, this action would provide an

opportunity for the Federal government to fulfill its trust

responsibility to the NPT. BPA proposes this Project as a means to

protect, mitigate, and enhance Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife

resources under the authority of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power

Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-501). If developed,

the NPTH will employ state-of-the-art, technologically advanced salmon

supplementation techniques in an attempt to rebuild naturally

reproducing salmon runs in the watersheds of the Clearwater and Salmon

River sub-basins. As requested by the Council, BPA and NPT completed a

master plan for the proposed Project. The Council approved the NPTH

Master Plan, requesting final design and construction of the NPTH, on

May 27, 1992.

A. Proposed Action

The following need statement has been identified for the NPTH EIS:

The need is for naturally reproducing salmon at harvestable

populations in the upriver Clearwater and Salmon River sub-basins.

The established purpose(s) for the proposed NPTH project are

manyfold:

1. Protect, mitigate, and enhance Columbia River Basin anadromous

fish resources.

2. Develop, increase, and reintroduce natural spawning populations

of salmon within the Clearwater and Salmon River sub-basins.

3. Provide long-term harvest opportunities for Tribal and non-

Tribal anglers within Nez Perce Treaty lands.

4. Sustain long-term fitness and genetic integrity of target fish

populations.

5. Keep ecological and genetic impacts to nontarget fish

populations within acceptable limits.

6. Provide harvest opportunities for Tribal and non-Tribal anglers

within four salmon generations (20 years) following completion of the

Project.

7. Promote NPT management of NPTH production facilities and

production areas.

To meet the underlying need and purpose statements, the proposed

action is for BPA and BIA to fund: (1) Construction, (2) operation and

maintenance, and (3) monitoring and evaluation of a NPTH

supplementation project within the Clearwater and Salmon River sub-

basins. The NPTH supplementation facilities would consist of a central

incubation and rearing facility on the Clearwater River at Cherry Lane,

Idaho; an auxiliary salmon incubation and rearing facility on

Sweetwater Creek near Lewiston, Idaho; 13 satellite juvenile rearing

and adult holding facilities located in various tributary watersheds;

and monitoring facilities for juvenile and adult salmon in each

watershed where satellites are proposed. Species targeted for

supplementation are spring, summer, and fall chinook salmon

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

The central facility would incubate eggs and alevins and rear fry

to approximately 50-80 millimeters (2-3 inches) in size to prepare them

for final rearing and release at the satellite facilities or in natural

stream systems. The Sweetwater Creek holding facility would be

constructed to backup the central facility and rear subyearling or

yearling smolts and, when needed, to hold adult broodstock.

Satellite facilities used for rearing, acclimation, release, adult

holding, monitoring, and evaluation would also be constructed. They

would be located in key tributary watersheds of the Clearwater and

Salmon River sub-basins. Facility locations in the Clearwater sub-basin

would be: Lolo Creek (Mainstem Lolo Creek, Yoosa Creek, and Eldorado

Creek); South Fork Clearwater River (Meadow Creek, Mill Creek, Newsome

Creek); and the Selway River (Meadow Creek). Facility locations in the

Salmon River sub-basin would be: Slate Creek (Mainstem Slate Creek and

Little Slate Creek).

Floodplains and wetlands may be involved at the following central

and satellite facility sites:

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Site name County Township Range Section

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Cherry Lane; 21 miles East of Lewiston, Nez Perce................... 37N 3W 35

Darrell Kerby Ranch.

Sweetwater Sp., Origin W.F. Sweetwater Crk Nez Perce................... 33N 4W 4

Mann Lake Headgate, Lewiston Orchards Irr. Nez Perce................... 34N 47E 21

District, Sweetwater Crk.

No. Lapwai Valley, Tribal Allotment 606, Nez Perce................... 36N 4W 22, 27

Lapwai Crk., Clearwater R.

Mouth Lolo Crk., Clearwater R............. Clearwater, Idaho........... 35N 2E 14

Yoosa/Camp Crk. Confluence, Lolo Crk...... Idaho....................... 35N 6E 1,12

Crk. at Six-Bit Crk. Confluence, Lolo Crk. Idaho....................... 34N 6E 1

Newsom Crk/Beaver Crk Confluence, S.F. Idaho....................... 30N 7E 31

Clearwater River.

Mill Crk, S.F. Clearwater River........... Idaho....................... 29N 4E 27

Meadow Crk, S.F. Clearwater River......... Idaho....................... 30N 4E 35

Cedar Flats, Selway R..................... Idaho....................... 32N 7E 23

Meadow Crk, Selway R...................... Idaho....................... 31N 9E 11

Slate Crk, Hurley Crk Confl., Salmon R.... Idaho....................... 27N 2E 34

Slate Crk, Dead Horse Crk Confl., Salmon R Idaho....................... 26N 3E 3,10

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B. Process to Date

BPA and BIA have assumed the co-lead agency role for the NPTH EIS.

The NPT Department of Fisheries Resource Management will act as the

primary Cooperating Agency. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Nez Perce National Forest, will also

participate as Cooperating Agencies in the NEPA process.

The Council's Master Plan process involved close coordination among

the NPT, BPA, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, USFWS, and USFS.

Several meetings were held by these parties to focus on technical

issues that needed resolution and clarification so that preparation of

the Master Plan could proceed. Other meetings between the NPT and the

State involved discussions of harvest and production issues.

Discussions in January 1992, led to a Memorandum of Agreement between

the parties on a process for discussing management issues and

developing common positions to present in different forums. The NPT has

also met numerous times with field staffs of the USFS and others to

review technical elements of the Master Plan as it developed. Of

particular interest to the land managers is the location of the

proposed tributary facilities and constraints that might be needed on

current management practices.

C. Alternatives Proposed for Consideration

Alternatives thus far identified for evaluation in the EIS are: (1)

the proposed action to construct, operate, and maintain the NPTH

Project; and (2) no action (to not undertake action to develop the NPTH

Project). Intermediate alternatives that will feature scaled-down

versions of the total project will also be evaluated. Other

alternatives will be identified through the scoping process and will be

considered, if appropriate, in the EIS. Those reasonable alternatives

that meet both the stated need and purposes for action will be

evaluated in greatest detail.

D. Identification of Environmental Issues

BPA and BIA will prepare a DEIS that addresses and fully discloses

the potential environmental effects of the proposed facility and

associated operations as well as reasonable alternatives to the

proposed action. The principal environmental issues identified through

the Council's Master Plan scoping process for the NPTH include the

following: (1) Assessment of genetic and ecological risks; (2) direct

and cumulative effects of hatchery fish on wild fish, particularly

Snake River salmon stocks currently listed as threatened or endangered

under the Federal Endangered Species Act; (3) effectiveness of

supplementation as a fishery management tool to rebuild weak stocks;

(4) effects on non-target resident fish species; (5) water quality

effects; (6) effects on cultural resources; and (7) monitoring and

evaluation concerns. These, together with any additional issues

identified through the scoping process, will be examined in the NPTH

EIS.

Issued in Portland, Oregon, on April 19, 1994

John Robertson,

Deputy Asst. Administrator, Bonneville Power Admin.

[FR Doc. 94-10323 Filed 4-28-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P