Notice of Availability of the Record of Decisions (ROD) for Williamson River Delta Restoration Project, 5642-5644 [E6-1458]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Natural Resources Conservation Service

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5642-5644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1458]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation Service


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decisions (ROD) for 
Williamson River Delta Restoration Project

AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the 
Williamson River Delta Restoration Project.

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SUMMARY: This notice presents the Record of Decision (ROD) regarding 
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) implementation of the 
Williamson River Delta Restoration Project to allow NRCS to restore 
habitat diversity for endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers. NRCS 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 
Williamson River Delta Restoration Project and published it on the 
Oregon NRCS Web site. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the FEIS was 
published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2005 and all agencies and 
individuals who expressed interest in the project. Printed and CD-ROM 
versions of the FEIS were made available and delivered to all those who 
requested. This Decision Notice summarizes the environmental, social 
and economic impacts of the Williamson River Delta Restoration Project 
alternatives identified in the FEIS that were considered in making this 
decision, and explains why NRCS selected the Preferred Alternative. The 
Williamson River Delta Restoration Project FEIS and this ROD may be 
access via the Internet on the Oregon NRCS Web site at: https://
www.or.nrcs.usda.gov/features/klamath.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Conroy, Basin Team Leader, 2316 
South 6th St., Suite C, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601; 541-883-6924 ext. 
115; 541-882-9044 (FAX).

DATES: Implementation of the project will begin no earlier than 30 days 
after the date of publication.

    Dated: January 27, 2006.
Danny Burgett,
Acting State Conservationist, Portland, Oregon.

Record of Decision

I. The Decision

Preferred Alternative--As a Means of Accomplishing the Williamson River 
Delta Restoration Project
    The Williamson River Delta Restoration Project (Project) will 
restore habitat considered essential for the recovery of two federally 
endangered fish species--the Lost River and shortnose suckers 
(suckers)--native to Upper Klamath Lake and the Williamson River. The 
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) completed a detailed 
analysis of the Project alternatives. This included a thorough 
evaluation of the resource areas affected by the Project and a 
comprehensive review of public comments submitted based on the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Preferred Alternative was 
selected as the most effective means to meet the purpose and need of 
the Project, which in summary is to restore and maintain the diversity 
of habitats that are essential to the endangered Lost River and 
shortnose suckers while, at the same time, minimizing disturbance and 
adverse impacts to natural and cultural resources. The need for the 
proposed action is to increase habitat for suckers. Suckers 
historically used the wetland habitats on the delta but these areas 
were eliminated when levees were constructed around the delta and the 
wetlands converted to agricultural uses.
    The preferred alternative included mitigation and monitoring and 
enforcement actions as part of the decision.
    Mitigation: Adverse impacts associated with the Preferred 
Alternative will be minimized to the extent practical, and techniques 
to mitigate these impacts will be implemented as described herein and 
in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (USDA 2005).
    Erosion control best management practices (BMPs) will be utilized 
to minimize adverse impacts to water quality potentially occurring as a 
result of construction activities. BMPs may include seasoning exposed 
areas (allowing vegetation to establish),

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turbidity barriers, and transplanting native vegetation onto fresh 
slopes. Construction will take place during the low water season (for 
both the lake and river) where necessary, so that earthwork will occur 
in the dry to the greatest extent practicable. Timing of in-water work 
will be coordinated with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 
(ODFW). Internal levee breaches in higher elevation areas may take 
place during any time of year and will be completed prior to external 
breaches, and do not experience flooding.
    All equipment will use standard noise-control devices in compliance 
with pertinent noise standards. Standard dust abatement techniques will 
minimize air borne dust, and construction areas will be well-marked for 
safety.
    To resolve (avoid, mitigate, or minimize) impacts to cultural 
resources, the NRCS has involved TNC in consulting with the State 
Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Klamath Tribes according to 
the National Historic Preservation Act. The NRCS and TNC will continue 
to consult with SHPO and the Tribes through the implementation of the 
Restoration Project. Areas with known cultural resource sites will be 
avoided, and cultural resource monitors will be present with each piece 
of moving equipment operating in culturally sensitive areas during 
construction. Revegetation and other erosion control efforts will also 
help stabilize cultural resource sites.
    Construction areas will be well-marked for safety and to minimize 
adverse impacts with navigation and recreational uses. Coordination 
with these user groups will occur to minimize potential conflicts.
    The NRCS received a Biological Opinion (BO) and Incidental Take 
Statement (ITS) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under 
the Endangered Species Act and will continue to consult with the USFWS 
in any situation with a potential to affect threatened or endangered 
species or critical habitat. Under the terms of the BO, NRCS will: (1) 
Minimize the take of suckers as a result of Project implementation by 
appropriately monitoring conditions resulting from the proposed action 
and using adaptive management where practicable to minimize take and 
(2) Minimize take of listed species by developing and implementing a 
pesticide application plan (USFWS 2005). Any in-water work activities 
will be coordinated with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
    Permits were obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) 
(Permit  200200432) and the Oregon Department of State Lands 
(DSL) (Permit  35020-GA) for work to be conducted in 
jurisdictional wetlands and other waters of the state and U.S. (Corps 
permit for Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and DSL permit for Oregon 
state removal/fill law). Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 
(DEQ) Section 401 Water Quality Certification was granted through 
issuance of the Corps permit. The Project will be conducted in 
compliance with the provisions set forth in the above permits, 
certification, and ITS.
    Monitoring efforts will occur as part of the proposed action. These 
efforts are a function of TNC's ongoing land management at the 
Williamson River Delta. This monitoring will occur in addition to 
monitoring needs resulting from regulatory compliance requirements 
(i.e., USFWS, Corps, DSL, and DEQ). Monitoring will be conducted during 
construction as well as post-construction. A brief description of each 
of these efforts is provided below, including any regulatory nexus.
Construction Monitoring
    Construction monitoring is intended to monitor the effects of the 
construction activities on the surrounding environment. Elements to be 
monitored include cultural resources and water quality. As agreed upon 
through consultation with SHPO, during restoration, cultural resource 
monitors would be on site with each piece of earth moving equipment 
associated with ground disturbance to help ensure that identified areas 
are not disturbed and, if artifacts are discovered, the appropriate 
actions will be taken.
    Turbidity monitoring will be required upon initiation of 
construction as a condition of the Corps 404 permit, the DEQ Section 
401 Water Quality Certification and the DSL permit. This monitoring 
likely will consist of taking water quality samples and conducting 
Secchi disk turbidity monitoring within the project vicinity several 
times a day during the construction period. These results will be 
provided to the Corps and DEQ for their review. Should turbidity levels 
exceed the agreed-upon standards, TNC will consult with DEQ and the 
Corps to determine appropriate actions to be taken to reduce 
construction impacts.
Post-Construction Monitoring
    The purpose of the post-restoration monitoring plan will be to 
assess whether the restoration activities meet the purpose and need of 
the project. This will include documenting specific changes in wetland 
flora and fauna and water quality that are direct outcomes of Project 
activities. The monitoring plan will be implemented in certain areas of 
the Project every year, to reflect the scheduling of restoration 
activities. The plan will remain in place for 2 to 5 years post-
restoration, depending on the results. However, monitoring is not 
static and is intended to be adaptive. Thus, results from early phases 
of the restoration will inform subsequent phases. Likewise, after all 
planned restoration activities are complete, monitoring results will 
direct further follow-up actions. Monitoring efforts will encompass at 
a minimum: Fish use/habitat changes, plant community changes, and water 
quality dynamics. For more specifics on the monitoring plan for these 
components, please refer to the FEIS (USDA 2005).
    Post-restoration sucker sampling and monitoring will focus on 
documenting larval and juvenile sucker use and success in restored 
areas of the Delta. Water chemistry (including but not limited to 
temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance, and nutrient 
concentrations) and general habitat features (water depth and 
vegetation profile) will be assessed at larval and juvenile collection 
sites simultaneous to fish sampling. The monitoring plan will be 
developed with input and assistance of the Project Technical Committee, 
which includes representatives from the NRCS, Klamath Tribes, USFWS, 
TNC, and Reclamation.

II. Rationale for Decision

    Three restoration (action) alternatives and a No Action Alternative 
were evaluated. The No Action Alternative was not the chosen 
alternative because if left alone, habitat for the endangered suckers 
would continue to degrade, which would not move towards recovery of 
these two species. Under the No Action Alternative the delta would 
remain in a degraded condition, historic hydrologic functions would not 
be restored, and the associated benefits to sucker habitat would not 
occur.
    The three restoration alternatives were as follows:
    Alternative 1: Preferred Alternative.
    Alternative 2: Restoration of Channel Form Alternative.
    Alternative 3: Basic Reconnection Alternative.
    Implementation of each restoration alternative would restore, to 
varying degrees, historic delta hydrologic functions and the associated 
benefits to sucker habitat.
     The Basic Reconnection Alternative includes the minimum 
level of habitat

[[Page 5644]]

improvements required to meet the Project purpose and need.
     The Preferred Alternative provides significantly greater 
habitat improvement. It incorporates all of the design elements of the 
Basic Reconnection Alternative plus dredging an historic oxbow, 
creating an alternate channel at the river mouth, and restoring a 
riparian fringe adjacent to the river channel. This alternative also 
includes other sucker habitat improvement elements not associated with 
the Basic Reconnection Alternative.
     The Restoration of Channel Form Alternative includes the 
greatest amount of sucker habitat improvement of the three restoration 
alternatives because it incorporates all elements associated with the 
Preferred Alternative as well as restoring additional habitat along the 
Williamson River channel. However, these increased benefits do not 
overcome the adverse impacts to cultural resources, water quality and 
local navigation when compared to the Preferred Alternative. This 
alternative also was significantly more expensive than the other two 
alternatives without providing significantly more sucker habitat and 
diversity.
    The relevant factors and rationale to make this decision were as 
follows. It was determined that the Restoration of Channel Form 
Alternative presented permanent adverse impacts to navigation (i.e., 
limitations to vessel size relative to current conditions) (FEIS page 
175; USDA 2005), and excessive risk associated with construction 
related water quality impacts due to greater earthwork and fill volumes 
placed into the active river channel (i.e. elevated turbidity) (FEIS 
page 173; USDA 2005). This alternative also presented the greatest 
potential risk and adverse impacts to cultural resources (i.e. 
increased earthwork poses greater potential for exposing artifacts) 
(FEIS page 175; USDA 2005). The above differences in impacts are 
directly related to the in-channel fills associated with narrowing and 
blocking the river channel under the Restoration of Channel Form 
Alternative. Adverse impacts associated with the Basic Reconnection 
Alternative were determined to be only slightly less than the Preferred 
Alternative (FEIS; pages 173-175; USDA 2005); however, improvements to 
sucker habitat would be significantly less (FEIS page 173; USDA 2005). 
Therefore, the Preferred Alternative was identified as the 
environmentally preferred alternative as it best balances the purpose 
and need of maximizing improvements to sucker habitat and minimizing 
adverse impacts (FEIS pages 173-175; USDA 2005).

III. Mitigation

    As described within the FEIS, all practicable means to avoid or 
minimize environmental harm have been adopted as part of the action. 
There are irreversible and unavoidable adverse impacts associated with 
all of the Alternatives that are identified and discussed in the FEIS 
(FEIS page 170; USDA 2005). Most of these are due to construction 
related activities. However, most importantly, long-term project 
benefits will far outweigh the negative short-term effects of 
construction.

IV. Monitoring and Enforcement

    There are no monitoring and enforcement actions that were not 
included in the preferred alternative and thus became part of the 
decision.
Decision Statement
    In accordance with the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations, I have considered all alternatives in this analysis and 
public input to this project and have identified Alternative 1 
(Preferred Alternative) as the alternative to be implemented because it 
provides the most habitat diversity for endangered suckers while 
balancing the adverse affects to the natural resources of the area.

 Signed by Bob Graham (Responsible Federal Official) in Portland, 
Oregon on January 23, 2006.

Bob Graham,
Oregon State Conservationist, USDA--Natural Resources Conservation 
Service.

References

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2005. Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, Williamson River Delta Restoration 
Project. Portland, Oregon. Pp. 187.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Biological Opinion for the 
Williamson River Delta Restoration Project, Klamath County. Klamath 
Falls, Oregon. Pp. 51.

 [FR Doc. E6-1458 Filed 2-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-16-P