Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program, 18967-18968 [2013-07248]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 60 / Thursday, March 28, 2013 / Notices Heritage Program Volunteer Program; (b) the USAF Heritage Program the means with which to select respondents pursuant to the USAF Heritage Program Volunteer Program. The primary use of the information collection includes the evaluation and placement of respondents within the USAF Heritage Program Volunteer Program. Affected Public: Business or other for profit; Not-for-profit Institutions. Annual Burden Hours: 49.5. Number of Respondents: 198. Responses per Respondent: 1. Average Burden per Response: 15 minutes. Frequency: On occasion. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summary of Information Collection Respondents are individuals expressing an interest in participating in the USAF Heritage Program Volunteer Program authorized by 10 U.S.C. 81, Sec 1588 and regulated by the Air Force Instruction 84–103. AFI 84–103, 3.5.3. requires the use of AF Form 3569. AF Form 3569 provides the most expedient means to secure basic personal information (i.e., name, telephone number, address and experience pursuant to the USAF Heritage Program Volunteer Program requirements) to be employed solely by the USAF Heritage Volunteer Program and to recruit, evaluate and make work assignment decisions. AF Form 3569 is the only instrument that exists which facilitates this purpose. The NMUSAF Museum Volunteer Program is an integral function in the operation of the USAF Heritage Program. Volunteers provide valuable time, incalculable talent, skill, and knowledge of USAF aviation history so that all visitors to the many USAF Heritage Program facilities throughout the United States may enjoy the important contribution of USAF historical heritage. Dated: March 22, 2013. Aaron Siegel, Alternate OSD Federal Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. April 18, 2013 for a series of classified discussions on the Asia-Pacific region to include the international strategic environment and ongoing Department of the Navy efforts. These sessions will include discussions of classified material. For this reason, the meeting will be closed to the public. DATES: The meeting will be held on April 18, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the Pentagon 4B248A Conference Room at the Pentagon. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CAPT Peter J. Brennan, SECNAV Advisory Panel, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy (Plans, Policy, Oversight & Integration), 1000 Navy Pentagon, Washington, DC 20350– 1000, 703–695–3032. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), these matters constitute classified information that is specifically authorized by Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense and are, in fact, properly classified pursuant to such Executive Order. The discussion of such information cannot be adequately segregated from other topics, which precludes opening these meetings to the public. Accordingly, the Secretary of the Navy has determined in writing that the public interest requires that all sessions of this meeting be closed to the public because they will be concerned with matters listed in section 552b(c)(1) of title 5, United States Code. Dated: March 20, 2013. C. K. Chiappetta, Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2013–07219 Filed 3–27–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [FR Doc. 2013–07170 Filed 3–27–13; 8:45 am] Bonneville Power Administration BILLING CODE 5001–06–P Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AGENCY: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Department of the Navy Meeting of the Secretary of the Navy Advisory Panel Department of the Navy, DoD. Notice of Closed Meeting. AGENCY: ACTION: The SECNAV Advisory Panel will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:20 Mar 27, 2013 Jkt 229001 Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and notice of floodplain and wetlands assessment. SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BPA intends to prepare an EIS PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 18967 on its decision whether to fund the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (CTUIR) proposal to construct and operate a hatchery for spring Chinook salmon in the Walla Walla River basin. The hatchery would expand facilities at the site of the CTUIR’s existing Adult Holding and Spawning Facility on the South Fork Walla Walla River near the town of Milton-Freewater in Umatilla County, Oregon, to allow production of up to 500,000 yearling spring Chinook smolts. Project operations would include collection of adult spring Chinook for broodstock at Nursery Bridge Dam downstream of the proposed hatchery, incubation and rearing of juvenile spring Chinook, and release of smolts and adults in tributaries to the Walla Walla River in both Oregon and Washington. Spring Chinook were extirpated from the Walla Walla River basin in the early to mid-1900s. The proposal would augment fish populations available for harvest and aid in establishing a naturally spawning spring Chinook population. With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping process for the EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential environmental impacts that it should consider as it prepares the EIS. In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review requirements, BPA will prepare a floodplain and wetlands assessment to avoid or minimize potential harm to or within any affected floodplains and wetlands. The assessment will be included in the EIS. DATES: Written scoping comments are due to the address below no later than April 29, 2013. Comments may also be made at the EIS scoping meetings to be held on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Milton-Freewater Community Building, 109 NE. 5th, Milton-Freewater, Oregon 97862; and on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Dayton Elementary School, 302 E. Park, Dayton, Washington 99328. At these meetings, maps and other information about the project will be available, and members of the project team will give a brief overview of the proposal, answer questions, and accept oral and written comments. Send letters with comments and suggestions on the proposed scope of the Draft EIS, and requests to be placed on the project mailing list, to Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs Office—DKE–7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR, 97293–4428, or by fax to E:\FR\FM\28MRN1.SGM 28MRN1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 18968 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 60 / Thursday, March 28, 2013 / Notices 503–230–4019. You also may call BPA’s toll-free comment line at 1–800–622– 4519 and leave a message (please include the name of this project), or submit comments online at www.bpa.gov/comment. BPA will post all comment letters on BPA’s Web site at www.bpa.gov/comment. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda Aguirre, Environmental Coordinator, Bonneville Power Administration—KEC–4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208–3621; toll-free telephone 1–800–282–3713; direct telephone 503–230–5928; or email baguirre@bpa.gov. You may also contact Jay Marcotte, Project Manager, Bonneville Power Administration— KEWU–3, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208–3621; toll-free telephone 1–800–282–3713; direct telephone 503– 230–3943; or email jgmarcotte@bpa.gov. Additional information can be found at the project Web site: www.bpa.gov/goto/ WallaWallaHatchery. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (Northwest Power Act), BPA has a duty to support efforts to mitigate for effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System on fish and wildlife in the mainstem Columbia River and its tributaries. In addition to its responsibilities under the Northwest Power Act, on May 2, 2008, BPA, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement with the Three Treaty Tribes. The three tribes are the CTUIR, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation. The agreement includes funding for the CTUIR’s Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program, subject to compliance with NEPA and other environmental review requirements. Over the past several years, the CTUIR has worked with irrigation districts and various agencies to improve stream flow and fish habitat in the Walla Walla basin. The hatchery is proposed in order to begin a comprehensive program to reintroduce spring Chinook to this basin. The proposed program would develop a locally adapted broodstock of spring Chinook and release sufficient numbers of spring Chinook smolts in areas where they would be expected to return as adults to provide harvest and to spawn naturally. Potential additional harvest and natural production would also be encouraged by planting adults in tributaries to the Walla Walla River, such as Touchet River and Mill Creek. VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:20 Mar 27, 2013 Jkt 229001 The proposal would include construction activities at two existing sites; the South Fork of the Walla Walla near the town of Milton-Freewater, and the Nursery Bridge Dam trap, downstream from the site. At the South Fork Walla Walla Adult Holding and Spawning Facility, activities would include construction of the following: a 13,300 square foot hatchery building (for administrative offices, incubation and rearing, and water treatment); sixteen outdoor rearing raceways; a smolt release channel; a shop building (for vehicle, equipment, and feed storage); a septic system; and a new well (to improve water temperatures and water quality from existing water sources). In addition, an existing river intake would be modified, and existing sub-standard residences would be removed and replaced by up to four new staff residences. At the Nursery Bridge Dam trap, improvements would be made to the fishway for trapping adult fish. The proposal would also include the following operational activities: collection of approximately 350 adult spring Chinook annually at the Nursery Bridge Dam fishway for broodstock while still allowing up to 1,100 adults annually to pass the trap and return to key upriver habitat to spawn naturally; release of up to 500,000 spring Chinook smolts annually in the Walla Walla River basin; annual distribution of adults in excess of broodstock and natural spawning needs in Walla Walla River tributaries; and a monitoring and evaluation program. In the EIS, BPA is considering two alternatives: funding CTUIR’s proposal and a no action alternative of not funding the proposal. Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues. The potential environmental issues identified so far for this project include effects of hatchery operations on water quality; the risk of competition for habitat between increasing numbers of reintroduced spring Chinook and ESAlisted fish such as bull trout or steelhead; the potential for adult spring Chinook collection activities to affect other fish; and the social, cultural, and economic effects of project construction and operations, as well as harvest. BPA has established a 30-day scoping period during which tribes, affected landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local and federal governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on the scope of the proposed EIS, including environmental impacts to be evaluated. Scoping will help BPA ensure that the full range of issues related to this PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 proposal are addressed in the EIS. Scoping also will identify significant or potentially significant impacts that may result from the proposed project. When completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will hold public meetings to answer questions and receive comments. BPA will consider and respond to comments received on the Draft EIS in the Final EIS. BPA’s decision will be documented in a Record of Decision that will follow the Final EIS. Issued in Portland, Oregon on March 20, 2013. William K. Drummond, Administrator and Chief Executive Officer. [FR Doc. 2013–07248 Filed 3–27–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP13–97–000] Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC; Notice of Application Take notice that on March 8, 2013, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC (Natural), 3250 Lacey Road, 7th Floor, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515–7918, filed an application pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission’s regulations to increase the maximum inventory of its Cooks Mill gas storage field from 6.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to 6.75 Bcf which is located in Douglas and Coles Counties Illinois, all as more fully set forth in the application which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection. The filing may also be viewed on the Web at https:// www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call toll-free, (866) 208–3676 or TTY, (202) 502–8659. Any questions regarding this application should be directed to Bruce H. Newsome, Vice President, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC, 3250 Lacey Road, 7th Floor, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515–7918, or call (630) 725–3070, or by email bruce_newsome@kindermorgan.com. Pursuant to section 157.9 of the Commission’s rules, 18 CFR 157.9, within 90 days of this Notice the Commission staff will either: complete E:\FR\FM\28MRN1.SGM 28MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18967-18968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07248]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and notice of floodplain and wetlands assessment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), BPA intends to prepare an EIS on its decision whether to fund 
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation's (CTUIR) 
proposal to construct and operate a hatchery for spring Chinook salmon 
in the Walla Walla River basin. The hatchery would expand facilities at 
the site of the CTUIR's existing Adult Holding and Spawning Facility on 
the South Fork Walla Walla River near the town of Milton-Freewater in 
Umatilla County, Oregon, to allow production of up to 500,000 yearling 
spring Chinook smolts. Project operations would include collection of 
adult spring Chinook for broodstock at Nursery Bridge Dam downstream of 
the proposed hatchery, incubation and rearing of juvenile spring 
Chinook, and release of smolts and adults in tributaries to the Walla 
Walla River in both Oregon and Washington. Spring Chinook were 
extirpated from the Walla Walla River basin in the early to mid-1900s. 
The proposal would augment fish populations available for harvest and 
aid in establishing a naturally spawning spring Chinook population.
    With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping 
process for the EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential 
environmental impacts that it should consider as it prepares the EIS.
    In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain 
and wetlands environmental review requirements, BPA will prepare a 
floodplain and wetlands assessment to avoid or minimize potential harm 
to or within any affected floodplains and wetlands. The assessment will 
be included in the EIS.

DATES: Written scoping comments are due to the address below no later 
than April 29, 2013. Comments may also be made at the EIS scoping 
meetings to be held on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
at the Milton-Freewater Community Building, 109 NE. 5th, Milton-
Freewater, Oregon 97862; and on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, from 6 p.m. 
to 8 p.m. at the Dayton Elementary School, 302 E. Park, Dayton, 
Washington 99328. At these meetings, maps and other information about 
the project will be available, and members of the project team will 
give a brief overview of the proposal, answer questions, and accept 
oral and written comments.
    Send letters with comments and suggestions on the proposed scope of 
the Draft EIS, and requests to be placed on the project mailing list, 
to Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs Office--DKE-7, P.O. 
Box 14428, Portland, OR, 97293-4428, or by fax to

[[Page 18968]]

503-230-4019. You also may call BPA's toll-free comment line at 1-800-
622-4519 and leave a message (please include the name of this project), 
or submit comments online at www.bpa.gov/comment. BPA will post all 
comment letters on BPA's Web site at www.bpa.gov/comment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda Aguirre, Environmental 
Coordinator, Bonneville Power Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, 
Portland, Oregon 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct 
telephone 503-230-5928; or email baguirre@bpa.gov. You may also contact 
Jay Marcotte, Project Manager, Bonneville Power Administration--KEWU-3, 
P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-
282-3713; direct telephone 503-230-3943; or email jgmarcotte@bpa.gov. 
Additional information can be found at the project Web site: 
www.bpa.gov/goto/WallaWallaHatchery.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power 
Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (Northwest Power Act), BPA has a 
duty to support efforts to mitigate for effects of the Federal Columbia 
River Power System on fish and wildlife in the mainstem Columbia River 
and its tributaries. In addition to its responsibilities under the 
Northwest Power Act, on May 2, 2008, BPA, the Bureau of Reclamation, 
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed the 2008 Columbia Basin 
Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement with the Three Treaty Tribes. The 
three tribes are the CTUIR, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the 
Yakama Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation. 
The agreement includes funding for the CTUIR's Walla Walla Basin Spring 
Chinook Hatchery Program, subject to compliance with NEPA and other 
environmental review requirements.
    Over the past several years, the CTUIR has worked with irrigation 
districts and various agencies to improve stream flow and fish habitat 
in the Walla Walla basin. The hatchery is proposed in order to begin a 
comprehensive program to reintroduce spring Chinook to this basin. The 
proposed program would develop a locally adapted broodstock of spring 
Chinook and release sufficient numbers of spring Chinook smolts in 
areas where they would be expected to return as adults to provide 
harvest and to spawn naturally. Potential additional harvest and 
natural production would also be encouraged by planting adults in 
tributaries to the Walla Walla River, such as Touchet River and Mill 
Creek.
    The proposal would include construction activities at two existing 
sites; the South Fork of the Walla Walla near the town of Milton-
Freewater, and the Nursery Bridge Dam trap, downstream from the site. 
At the South Fork Walla Walla Adult Holding and Spawning Facility, 
activities would include construction of the following: a 13,300 square 
foot hatchery building (for administrative offices, incubation and 
rearing, and water treatment); sixteen outdoor rearing raceways; a 
smolt release channel; a shop building (for vehicle, equipment, and 
feed storage); a septic system; and a new well (to improve water 
temperatures and water quality from existing water sources). In 
addition, an existing river intake would be modified, and existing sub-
standard residences would be removed and replaced by up to four new 
staff residences.
    At the Nursery Bridge Dam trap, improvements would be made to the 
fishway for trapping adult fish.
    The proposal would also include the following operational 
activities: collection of approximately 350 adult spring Chinook 
annually at the Nursery Bridge Dam fishway for broodstock while still 
allowing up to 1,100 adults annually to pass the trap and return to key 
upriver habitat to spawn naturally; release of up to 500,000 spring 
Chinook smolts annually in the Walla Walla River basin; annual 
distribution of adults in excess of broodstock and natural spawning 
needs in Walla Walla River tributaries; and a monitoring and evaluation 
program.
    In the EIS, BPA is considering two alternatives: funding CTUIR's 
proposal and a no action alternative of not funding the proposal.
    Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues. 
The potential environmental issues identified so far for this project 
include effects of hatchery operations on water quality; the risk of 
competition for habitat between increasing numbers of reintroduced 
spring Chinook and ESA-listed fish such as bull trout or steelhead; the 
potential for adult spring Chinook collection activities to affect 
other fish; and the social, cultural, and economic effects of project 
construction and operations, as well as harvest.
    BPA has established a 30-day scoping period during which tribes, 
affected landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
and federal governments, and any other interested parties are invited 
to comment on the scope of the proposed EIS, including environmental 
impacts to be evaluated. Scoping will help BPA ensure that the full 
range of issues related to this proposal are addressed in the EIS. 
Scoping also will identify significant or potentially significant 
impacts that may result from the proposed project. When completed, the 
Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will hold 
public meetings to answer questions and receive comments. BPA will 
consider and respond to comments received on the Draft EIS in the Final 
EIS. BPA's decision will be documented in a Record of Decision that 
will follow the Final EIS.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon on March 20, 2013.
William K. Drummond,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-07248 Filed 3-27-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.