Crystal Springs Hatchery Program, 30112-30114 [2014-11994]

Download as PDF 30112 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 101 / Tuesday, May 27, 2014 / Notices LNG export application(s) previously approved on domestic natural gas supply and demand fundamentals. DOE may also consider other factors bearing on the public interest, including the impact of the proposed exports on the U.S. economy (including GDP, consumers, and industry), job creation, the U.S. balance of trade, and international considerations; and whether the authorization is consistent with DOE’s policy of promoting competition in the marketplace by allowing commercial parties to freely negotiate their own trade arrangements. Parties that may oppose this Application should address these issues in their comments and/or protests, as well as other issues deemed relevant to the Application. NEPA requires DOE to give appropriate consideration to the environmental effects of its decisions. No final decision will be issued in this proceeding until DOE has met its environmental responsibilities. Due to the complexity of the issues raised by the Applicant, interested persons will be provided 60 days from the date of publication of this Notice in which to submit comments, protests, motions to intervene, notices of intervention, or motions for additional procedures. sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Public Comment Procedures In response to this Notice, any person may file a protest, comments, or a motion to intervene or notice of intervention, as applicable. Any person wishing to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene or notice of intervention, as applicable. The filing of comments or a protest with respect to the Application will not serve to make the commenter or protestant a party to the proceeding, although protests and comments received from persons who are not parties will be considered in determining the appropriate action to be taken on the Application. All protests, comments, motions to intervene, or notices of intervention must meet the requirements specified by the regulations in 10 CFR part 590. Filings may be submitted using one of the following methods: (1) Emailing the filing to fergas@hq.doe.gov, with FE Docket No. 13–69–LNG in the title line; (2) mailing an original and three paper copies of the filing to the Office of Oil and Gas Global Security and Supply at the address listed in ADDRESSES; or (3) hand delivering an original and three paper copies of the filing to the Office of Oil and Gas Global Supply at the address listed in ADDRESSES. All filings VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:12 May 23, 2014 Jkt 232001 must include a reference to FE Docket No. 13–69–LNG. https://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/ gasregulation/. Please Note: If submitting a filing via email, please include all related documents and attachments (e.g., exhibits) in the original email correspondence. Please do not include any active hyperlinks or password protection in any of the documents or attachments related to the filing. All electronic filings submitted to DOE must follow these guidelines to ensure that all documents are filed in a timely manner. Any hardcopy filing submitted greater in length than 50 pages must also include, at the time of the filing, a digital copy on disk of the entire submission. Issued in Washington, DC, on May 20, 2014. John A. Anderson, Director, Division of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities, Office of Oil and Gas Global Security and Supply, Office of Oil and Natural Gas. A decisional record on the Application will be developed through responses to this notice by parties, including the parties’ written comments and replies thereto. Additional procedures will be used as necessary to achieve a complete understanding of the facts and issues. A party seeking intervention may request that additional procedures be provided, such as additional written comments, an oral presentation, a conference, or trial-type hearing. Any request to file additional written comments should explain why they are necessary. Any request for an oral presentation should identify the substantial question of fact, law, or policy at issue, show that it is material and relevant to a decision in the proceeding, and demonstrate why an oral presentation is needed. Any request for a conference should demonstrate why the conference would materially advance the proceeding. Any request for a trial-type hearing must show that there are factual issues genuinely in dispute that are relevant and material to a decision and that a trial-type hearing is necessary for a full and true disclosure of the facts. If an additional procedure is scheduled, notice will be provided to all parties. If no party requests additional procedures, a final Opinion and Order may be issued based on the official record, including the Application and responses filed by parties pursuant to this notice, in accordance with 10 CFR 590.316. The Application is available for inspection and copying in the Division of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities docket room, Room 3E–042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. The docket room is open between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Application and any filed protests, motions to intervene or notice of interventions, and comments will also be available electronically by going to the following DOE/FE Web address: Bonneville Power Administration PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 [FR Doc. 2014–12210 Filed 5–23–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Crystal Springs Hatchery Program 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. AGENCY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), BPA intends to prepare an EIS on its decision whether to fund the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho (Tribes) proposal to construct and operate a hatchery for spring/summer Chinook salmon in the Salmon River subbasin and Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the Upper Snake River subbasin on Fort Hall Reservation. The Tribes’ proposed project that BPA is considering funding would involve construction of a hatchery and construction of two fish trapping (weir) facilities on US Forest Service (USFS) land. The hatchery would be constructed at the site of an obsolete trout hatchery owned by BPA on Crystal Springs in Bingham County, Idaho. The weirs would involve construction of a weir in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River at the USFS Pole Flat Campground in Custer County, relocation of a section of Yankee Fork Road and associated facilities (RV pads), and construction of a weir on USFS land in Panther Creek in Lemhi County, Idaho. The USFS will be a cooperating agency on this EIS to inform their decision on whether to grant a special use permit for construction and operation of the two weirs and associated facilities and relocation of the road on forest service lands. Operations of the hatchery would include collection of adult spring/ summer Chinook for broodstock from existing hatcheries, incubation and rearing of juvenile Chinook, and release of smolts into the Yankee Fork and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\27MYN1.SGM 27MYN1 sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 101 / Tuesday, May 27, 2014 / Notices Panther Creek. Over time, broodstock would be collected at the Yankee Fork and Panther Creek weirs. Chinook were extirpated from Panther Creek in the mid-1900s. In 1992, Chinook salmon native to Yankee Fork were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); currently the population is classified at high risk of extinction and has been identified as an independent population of Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon. The proposal would augment anadromous fish populations available for harvest and aid in establishing a naturally spawning Chinook population. The hatchery would also produce up to 5,000 resident Yellowstone cutthroat trout for release in an isolated oxbow lake within the Fort Hall Reservation permit fishing area in the upper Snake River subbasin. Biologists would monitor Chinook salmon in Yankee Fork and Panther Creek and Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the oxbow lake to inform decisions on hatchery operations. With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping process for the EIS. BPA and the USFS are requesting comments about potential environmental impacts that should be considered as an EIS is prepared. 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 comments are due to the ad dress below no later than July 7, 2014. Comments may also be made at one of the three EIS scoping meetings to be held on June 10, 2014, June 11, 2014, and June 12, 2014 at the addresses below. ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed scope of the Draft EIS for funding this Tribal project and requests to be placed on the project mailing list may be mailed by letter to Bonneville Power Administration, Public Affairs Office— DKE–7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97292–4428, or by fax to 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. All comment letters will be available via the project Web site at www.bpa.gov/goto/CrystalSprings. On June 10, 2014, a scoping meeting will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:12 May 23, 2014 Jkt 232001 Events Center, I–15 Exit 80, Simplot Rd, Fort Hall, Idaho 83203. Additional scoping meetings will be held on June 11, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the USFS Office, 1206 S. Challis Street Salmon, ID; and on June 12, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the USFS Office, 311 N. US HWY 93, Challis, ID. At these informal open-house meetings, we will have project information, maps, and members of the project team available to answer questions and accept verbal and written comments. Forest Service Objection Process: The final EIS and USFS draft decision will be completed and mailed to those who have submitted comments, and to those who have requested to be included on the project mailing list. A copy of the final EIS and draft decision is planned to be mailed in early 2016. The project implements land management plans and is not authorized under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act and is subject to 36 Code of Federal Register (CFR) 218.7 (a) and (b). There will be an objection process before the final USFS decision is made and after the final EIS and draft decision are mailed (reference 36 CFR part 218). In order to be eligible to file an objection, specific written comments related to the project must be submitted during scoping, by the comment period on the draft EIS in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 1506.10, and any other periods public comment is specifically requested on this EIS (36 CFR 218.5). Individual members of organizations must have submitted their own comments to meet the requirements of eligibility as an individual. Objections received on behalf of an organization are considered as those of the organization only. Names and addresses of those who comment and/or file objections will become part of the public record. For more information on how the objection process works for projects and activities implementing land and resource management plans and the requirements, contact Mary Hammer at 208–756–5109, email marylhammer@ fs.fed.us, or you may read the regulations under 36 CFR part 218, subparts A and B on the National Forest Service Web site at https://www.gpo.gov/ fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-03-27/pdf/201306857.pdf. The environmental analysis will be mailed out to those who respond to this notice of intent, the scoping letter, to those who have requested the document, or are eligible to file an objection in accordance with 36 CFR 218.5(a). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose, Environmental Coordinator, PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Don 30113 Bonneville Power Administration— KEC–4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208–3621; toll-free telephone 1–800– 282–3713; direct telephone 503–230– 3796; or email dlrose@bpa.gov or Joe DeHerrera, Project Manager, Bonneville Power Administration—KEC–4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208– 3621; toll-free telephone number 1–800– 622–4519; fax number 503–230–5699; email jldeherrera@bpa.gov. For questions specifically for the USFS, contact Mary Hammer at 208–756–5109, or email at marylhammer@fs.fed.us. Additional information can be found at the project Web site: www.bpa.gov/goto/ CrystalSprings. BPA’s funding of the Tribes’ project would support efforts to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System in the mainstem Columbia River and its tributaries pursuant to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (Act) (16 U.S.C. 839b(h)(10)). The Act requires BPA to fund fish and wildlife protection, mitigation, and enhancement actions consistent with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s (Council) Fish and Wildlife Program and the purposes of the Act. Under this program, the Council makes recommendations to BPA concerning which fish and wildlife projects to fund. The Tribes’ proposed project is one of those projects recommended to BPA by the Council. BPA obligated to fund the Tribes’ proposed project in the 2008 Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Fish Accord Memorandum of Agreement, and made funding contingent on satisfactory completion of applicable environmental compliance, such as NEPA. The Tribes’s proposal is also consistent with BPA’s Fish and Wildlife Implementation Plan policy which calls for protecting weak stocks, like the Salmon River spring/ summer Chinook, while sustaining overall populations of fish for their economic and cultural value, including long-term harvest opportunities. The Tribes proposed prject includes the Crystal Springs Hatchery, the Yankee Fork weir, and the Panther Creek weir. Construction of the hatchery would include a hatchery building (for administrative offices, incubation and rearing, and water treatment), outdoor rearing facilities, a shop building (for vehicle, equipment, and feed storage), an effluent control area, two new wells (to improve water temperatures and water quality from existing water sources), and staff housing. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\27MYN1.SGM 27MYN1 sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 30114 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 101 / Tuesday, May 27, 2014 / Notices Construction of the Yankee Fork weir would include construction of a bridgesupported bar-rack weir system, a fish ladder, broodstock and juvenile acclimation facilities, a spawning and egg take area, a staff working area, and realignment of a section of Yankee Fork Road. Construction of the Panther Creek weir, would include construction of a bridge supported bar-rack weir system, a fish ladder, and broodstock and juvenile acclimation facilities. The proposed hatchery would produce up to 1,000,000 yearling spring/summer Chinook smolts. Project operations would include collection of adult spring/summer Chinook for broodstock from the Sawtooth and Pahsimeroi hatcheries located in Custer and Lemhi counties, Idaho; incubation and rearing of juvenile spring/summer Chinook; and release of 400,000 smolts into Panther Creek and 600,000 smolts into Yankee Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. Once returning populations reach approximately 500–1,000 fish annually at each weir location, hatchery broodstock collection would cease and instead, harvest of approximately 800 adult Chinook would be allowed annually at the Panther Creek weir for broodstock and 1,000 adult spring/ summer Chinook collected annually at the Yankee Fork weir for broodstock with excess adults allowed to pass the trap and return to key upriver habitat to spawn naturally. The Tribes’ project would also contribute to the conservation and recovery of the Snake River spring/summer Chinook ESU by restoring a population of 500 locally adapted Chinook spawners in the Yankee Fork and 500 spawners in Panther Creek (a total of 1,000 fish). The tribe would implement a monitoring and evaluation program to determine if harvest and conservation and recovery objectives are being achieved, ensure that hatchery culture practices meet identified standards, quantify hatchery fish migration performance, document hatchery-origin adult stray rates to other out-of-basin streams, and track natural fish population abundance, productivity, life history diversity and spatial structure. BPA will be the lead agency for preparation of the EIS. The USFS will be a cooperating agency and will assist BPA in evaluating alternatives and identifying issues that should be addressed in the EIS. The USFS could use the EIS to support a decision of whether to grant Special Use Permits to the Tribes and to identify what terms and conditions would be necessary if the Special Use Permits were granted. VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:12 May 23, 2014 Jkt 232001 Additional cooperating agencies for the EIS may be identified as the proposed project proceeds through the NEPA process. Alternatives Proposed for Consideration: In the EIS, BPA is considering the following alternatives: to fund the proposed hatchery and weir facilities; to fund the hatchery only; a No Action Alternative of not funding the proposal; and other viable alternatives brought forth during the scoping process. 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/summer Chinook and ESA-listed fish such as bull trout; the potential for adult spring/summer Chinook collection activities to affect other fish; potential effects on soil, aesthetics, and water quality due to the construction of permanent facilities and the relocation of Yankee Fork Road on USFS land; and the social, cultural, and economic effects of project construction and operations, as well as harvest. In accordance with DOE regulations, a 45-day scoping period has been established by BPA, and supported by the USFS, during which the public is invited to comment on the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA and the USFS ensure they identify significant issues and develop alternatives in the EIS, and identify significant or potentially significant impacts that may result from the proposed project and alternatives. When completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA and the USFS will hold at least one public comment meeting for the Draft EIS. BPA, in coordination with the USFS and the Tribes, will consider and respond in the Final EIS to comments received on the Draft EIS. BPA and the USFS will each issue their own decision documents. Issued in Portland, Oregon on May 15, 2014. Mark O. Gendron, Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer. [FR Doc. 2014–11994 Filed 5–23–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Combined Notice of Filings #1 Take notice that the Commission received the following electric rate filings: Docket Numbers: ER12–316–004. Applicants: NorthWestern Corporation. Description: Schedule 3 Compliance Filing re Order Affirming Initial Decision to be effective 1/1/2011. Filed Date: 5/19/14. Accession Number: 20140519–5074. Comments Due: 5 p.m. e.t. 6/9/14. Docket Numbers: ER12–2178–008; ER10–2172–019; ER11–2016–014; ER10– 2184–019; ER10–2183–016; ER10–1048– 016; ER10–2192–019; ER11–2056–013; ER10–2178–019; ER10–2174–019; ER11– 2014–016; ER11–2013–016; ER10–3308– 018; ER10–1020–015; ER13–1536–002; ER10–1078–015; ER10–1080–015; ER11– 2010–016; ER10–1081–015; ER10–2180– 019; ER11–2011–015; ER12–2528–007; ER11–2009–015; ER10–1143–015; ER11– 2007–014; ER11–2005–016. Applicants: AV Solar Ranch 1, LLC, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Cassia Gulch Wind Park, LLC,CER Generation, LLC,CER Generation II, LLC, Commonwealth Edison Company, Constellation Energy Commodities Group M, Constellation Mystic Power, LLC, Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., Constellation Pwr Source Generation LLC,CR Clearing, LLC, Cow Branch Wind Power, LLC, Criterion Power Partners, LLC, Exelon Framingham, LLC, Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Exelon New Boston, LLC, Exelon West Medway, LLC, Exelon Wind 4, LLC, Exelon Wyman, LLC, Handsome Lake Energy, LLC, Harvest WindFarm, LLC, High Mesa Energy, LLC, Michigan Wind 1, LLC,PECO Energy Company, Tuana Springs Energy, LLC, Wind Capital Holdings, LLC. Description: Amendment to December 30, 2013 Updated Market Power Analysis for the Northeast Region of the Exelon Market-Based Rate Entities. Filed Date: 5/16/14. Accession Number: 20140516–5239. Comments Due: 5 p.m. e.t. 6/6/14. Docket Numbers: ER13–103–005. Applicants: California Independent System Operator Corporation. Description: 2014–05–19_Order 1000_ Regional_Third Compliance to be effective 10/1/2013. Filed Date: 5/19/14. Accession Number: 20140519–5200. Comments Due: 5 p.m. e.t. 6/9/14. Docket Numbers: ER13–2337–003. E:\FR\FM\27MYN1.SGM 27MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30112-30114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Crystal Springs 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 Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho 
(Tribes) proposal to construct and operate a hatchery for spring/summer 
Chinook salmon in the Salmon River subbasin and Yellowstone cutthroat 
trout in the Upper Snake River subbasin on Fort Hall Reservation.
    The Tribes' proposed project that BPA is considering funding would 
involve construction of a hatchery and construction of two fish 
trapping (weir) facilities on US Forest Service (USFS) land. The 
hatchery would be constructed at the site of an obsolete trout hatchery 
owned by BPA on Crystal Springs in Bingham County, Idaho. The weirs 
would involve construction of a weir in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon 
River at the USFS Pole Flat Campground in Custer County, relocation of 
a section of Yankee Fork Road and associated facilities (RV pads), and 
construction of a weir on USFS land in Panther Creek in Lemhi County, 
Idaho. The USFS will be a cooperating agency on this EIS to inform 
their decision on whether to grant a special use permit for 
construction and operation of the two weirs and associated facilities 
and relocation of the road on forest service lands.
    Operations of the hatchery would include collection of adult 
spring/summer Chinook for broodstock from existing hatcheries, 
incubation and rearing of juvenile Chinook, and release of smolts into 
the Yankee Fork and

[[Page 30113]]

Panther Creek. Over time, broodstock would be collected at the Yankee 
Fork and Panther Creek weirs. Chinook were extirpated from Panther 
Creek in the mid-1900s. In 1992, Chinook salmon native to Yankee Fork 
were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); 
currently the population is classified at high risk of extinction and 
has been identified as an independent population of Snake River spring/
summer Chinook salmon. The proposal would augment anadromous fish 
populations available for harvest and aid in establishing a naturally 
spawning Chinook population.
    The hatchery would also produce up to 5,000 resident Yellowstone 
cutthroat trout for release in an isolated oxbow lake within the Fort 
Hall Reservation permit fishing area in the upper Snake River subbasin. 
Biologists would monitor Chinook salmon in Yankee Fork and Panther 
Creek and Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the oxbow lake to inform 
decisions on hatchery operations.
    With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping 
process for the EIS. BPA and the USFS are requesting comments about 
potential environmental impacts that should be considered as an EIS is 
prepared.
    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 comments are due to the ad dress below no later than 
July 7, 2014. Comments may also be made at one of the three EIS scoping 
meetings to be held on June 10, 2014, June 11, 2014, and June 12, 2014 
at the addresses below.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed scope of the Draft EIS for funding 
this Tribal project and requests to be placed on the project mailing 
list may be mailed by letter to Bonneville Power Administration, Public 
Affairs Office--DKE-7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97292-4428, or by 
fax to 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. All comment 
letters will be available via the project Web site at www.bpa.gov/goto/CrystalSprings.
    On June 10, 2014, a scoping meeting will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 
8:00 p.m. at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & Events Center, I-15 Exit 80, 
Simplot Rd, Fort Hall, Idaho 83203. Additional scoping meetings will be 
held on June 11, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the USFS Office, 
1206 S. Challis Street Salmon, ID; and on June 12, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. 
to 8:00 p.m. at the USFS Office, 311 N. US HWY 93, Challis, ID. At 
these informal open-house meetings, we will have project information, 
maps, and members of the project team available to answer questions and 
accept verbal and written comments.
    Forest Service Objection Process: The final EIS and USFS draft 
decision will be completed and mailed to those who have submitted 
comments, and to those who have requested to be included on the project 
mailing list. A copy of the final EIS and draft decision is planned to 
be mailed in early 2016.
    The project implements land management plans and is not authorized 
under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act and is subject to 36 Code of 
Federal Register (CFR) 218.7 (a) and (b). There will be an objection 
process before the final USFS decision is made and after the final EIS 
and draft decision are mailed (reference 36 CFR part 218). In order to 
be eligible to file an objection, specific written comments related to 
the project must be submitted during scoping, by the comment period on 
the draft EIS in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 1506.10, and any 
other periods public comment is specifically requested on this EIS (36 
CFR 218.5). Individual members of organizations must have submitted 
their own comments to meet the requirements of eligibility as an 
individual. Objections received on behalf of an organization are 
considered as those of the organization only. Names and addresses of 
those who comment and/or file objections will become part of the public 
record.
    For more information on how the objection process works for 
projects and activities implementing land and resource management plans 
and the requirements, contact Mary Hammer at 208-756-5109, email 
marylhammer@fs.fed.us, or you may read the regulations under 36 CFR 
part 218, subparts A and B on the National Forest Service Web site at 
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-03-27/pdf/2013-06857.pdf.
    The environmental analysis will be mailed out to those who respond 
to this notice of intent, the scoping letter, to those who have 
requested the document, or are eligible to file an objection in 
accordance with 36 CFR 218.5(a).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Rose, 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-
230-3796; or email dlrose@bpa.gov or Joe DeHerrera, Project Manager, 
Bonneville Power Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, 
Oregon, 97208-3621; toll-free telephone number 1-800-622-4519; fax 
number 503-230-5699; email jldeherrera@bpa.gov. For questions 
specifically for the USFS, contact Mary Hammer at 208-756-5109, or 
email at marylhammer@fs.fed.us. Additional information can be found at 
the project Web site: www.bpa.gov/goto/CrystalSprings.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BPA's funding of the Tribes' project would 
support efforts to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife 
affected by the development and operation of the Federal Columbia River 
Power System in the mainstem Columbia River and its tributaries 
pursuant to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and 
Conservation Act of 1980 (Act) (16 U.S.C. 839b(h)(10)). The Act 
requires BPA to fund fish and wildlife protection, mitigation, and 
enhancement actions consistent with the Northwest Power and 
Conservation Council's (Council) Fish and Wildlife Program and the 
purposes of the Act. Under this program, the Council makes 
recommendations to BPA concerning which fish and wildlife projects to 
fund. The Tribes' proposed project is one of those projects recommended 
to BPA by the Council. BPA obligated to fund the Tribes' proposed 
project in the 2008 Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Fish Accord Memorandum of 
Agreement, and made funding contingent on satisfactory completion of 
applicable environmental compliance, such as NEPA. The Tribes's 
proposal is also consistent with BPA's Fish and Wildlife Implementation 
Plan policy which calls for protecting weak stocks, like the Salmon 
River spring/summer Chinook, while sustaining overall populations of 
fish for their economic and cultural value, including long-term harvest 
opportunities.
    The Tribes proposed prject includes the Crystal Springs Hatchery, 
the Yankee Fork weir, and the Panther Creek weir. Construction of the 
hatchery would include a hatchery building (for administrative offices, 
incubation and rearing, and water treatment), outdoor rearing 
facilities, a shop building (for vehicle, equipment, and feed storage), 
an effluent control area, two new wells (to improve water temperatures 
and water quality from existing water sources), and staff housing.

[[Page 30114]]

    Construction of the Yankee Fork weir would include construction of 
a bridge-supported bar-rack weir system, a fish ladder, broodstock and 
juvenile acclimation facilities, a spawning and egg take area, a staff 
working area, and realignment of a section of Yankee Fork Road.
    Construction of the Panther Creek weir, would include construction 
of a bridge supported bar-rack weir system, a fish ladder, and 
broodstock and juvenile acclimation facilities.
    The proposed hatchery would produce up to 1,000,000 yearling 
spring/summer Chinook smolts. Project operations would include 
collection of adult spring/summer Chinook for broodstock from the 
Sawtooth and Pahsimeroi hatcheries located in Custer and Lemhi 
counties, Idaho; incubation and rearing of juvenile spring/summer 
Chinook; and release of 400,000 smolts into Panther Creek and 600,000 
smolts into Yankee Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho.
    Once returning populations reach approximately 500-1,000 fish 
annually at each weir location, hatchery broodstock collection would 
cease and instead, harvest of approximately 800 adult Chinook would be 
allowed annually at the Panther Creek weir for broodstock and 1,000 
adult spring/summer Chinook collected annually at the Yankee Fork weir 
for broodstock with excess adults allowed to pass the trap and return 
to key upriver habitat to spawn naturally. The Tribes' project would 
also contribute to the conservation and recovery of the Snake River 
spring/summer Chinook ESU by restoring a population of 500 locally 
adapted Chinook spawners in the Yankee Fork and 500 spawners in Panther 
Creek (a total of 1,000 fish). The tribe would implement a monitoring 
and evaluation program to determine if harvest and conservation and 
recovery objectives are being achieved, ensure that hatchery culture 
practices meet identified standards, quantify hatchery fish migration 
performance, document hatchery[hyphen]origin adult stray rates to other 
out[hyphen]of[hyphen]basin streams, and track natural fish population 
abundance, productivity, life history diversity and spatial structure.
    BPA will be the lead agency for preparation of the EIS. The USFS 
will be a cooperating agency and will assist BPA in evaluating 
alternatives and identifying issues that should be addressed in the 
EIS. The USFS could use the EIS to support a decision of whether to 
grant Special Use Permits to the Tribes and to identify what terms and 
conditions would be necessary if the Special Use Permits were granted. 
Additional cooperating agencies for the EIS may be identified as the 
proposed project proceeds through the NEPA process.
    Alternatives Proposed for Consideration: In the EIS, BPA is 
considering the following alternatives: to fund the proposed hatchery 
and weir facilities; to fund the hatchery only; a No Action Alternative 
of not funding the proposal; and other viable alternatives brought 
forth during the scoping process.
    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/summer Chinook and ESA-listed fish such as bull trout; the 
potential for adult spring/summer Chinook collection activities to 
affect other fish; potential effects on soil, aesthetics, and water 
quality due to the construction of permanent facilities and the 
relocation of Yankee Fork Road on USFS land; and the social, cultural, 
and economic effects of project construction and operations, as well as 
harvest.
    In accordance with DOE regulations, a 45-day scoping period has 
been established by BPA, and supported by the USFS, during which the 
public is invited to comment on the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping 
will help BPA and the USFS ensure they identify significant issues and 
develop alternatives in the EIS, and identify significant or 
potentially significant impacts that may result from the proposed 
project and alternatives.
    When completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and 
comment, and BPA and the USFS will hold at least one public comment 
meeting for the Draft EIS. BPA, in coordination with the USFS and the 
Tribes, will consider and respond in the Final EIS to comments received 
on the Draft EIS. BPA and the USFS will each issue their own decision 
documents.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon on May 15, 2014.
Mark O. Gendron,
Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-11994 Filed 5-23-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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