Melvin R. Sampson Hatchery, Yakima Basin Coho Project (DOE/EIS-0522)

Kittitas County, Washington

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BPA has decided to fund the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation’s proposal to construct a coho hatchery in Kittitas County, Washington.

The hatchery will initially rear and release 500,000 parr and 200,000 smolts in the upper Yakima and Naches River watersheds using broodstock collected from existing facilities at Roza and Prosser Dams, or at other existing collection sites. Coho releases will occur in Yakima and Naches River tributaries, with a portion of coho smolts being released using mobile acclimation units. The hatchery will help restore natural spawning of coho in the Yakima River basin and provide harvest opportunities. The project will help mitigate for effects of the Federal Columbia River Power System on fish and wildlife in the mainstem Columbia River and its tributaries.

The hatchery will be on an 8-acre portion of the Holmes Ranch property about 5 miles northwest of Ellensburg. The hatchery will include intake screens and a pump station to provide water from an existing irrigation canal, new groundwater wells, groundwater treatment and supply, a hatchery and administration building, adult holding and spawning ponds, a new shop building, a waste treatment pond, and three 2,000-square-foot residences for hatchery staff.

To understand the potential environmental impacts of this proposal, BPA prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) following the procedures of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS studies the impacts of constructing and operating the proposed hatchery, as well as a no-action alternative in which the hatchery is not constructed. The EIS describes anticipated impacts to natural and human resources, as well as mitigation measures to help avoid or minimize impacts.

CURRENT STATUS

BPA has prepared a Record of Decision, which explains the factors that were considered in reaching the decision to fund the hatchery, and a Mitigation Action Plan that lists the measures that will be used to avoid or reduce environmental impacts. 

The environmental review was as follows:

Scoping comment period November 16, 2015 to January 4, 2016
Scoping public meeting December 9, 2015 in Ellensburg, WA
Draft EIS available for public comment March 10, 2017 to May 1, 2017
Draft EIS public meeting April 12, 2017, in Ellensburg, WA
Final EIS November 14, 2017
Record of Decision April 10, 2018
Construction begins Spring 2018

CONTACT

For environmental information, contact:
Rob Shull         Toll-free: 800-622-4519
Contract Environmental Protection Specialist Direct line: 503-230-3962
CorSource Technology Group          Email: rwshull@bpa.gov  
Bonneville Power Administration - ECF-4
P.O. Box 3621
Portland, OR 97208-3621


For project information, contact: 
Amy Mai        Toll-free: 800-622-4519
Project Manager        Direct line: 503-230-7349
Bonneville Power Administration - EWU-4 Email: aemai@bpa.gov 
P.O. Box 3621
Portland, OR 97208-3621

DOCUMENTS

ROD
Record of Decision (04/10/2018)
Mitigation Action Plan (April 2018)
Public Letter (04/13/2018)
EPA Region 10 Final EIS Letter (12/21/2017)
EPA Region 10 Final EIS Followup Communication (02/28/2018)
MRS Hatchery - Hatchery Effluent Discharge Calculation Memo (01/17/2018)
Federal Register - Record of Decision (04/20/2018)

FINAL EIS
Final EIS (11/14/2017)
Public Letter (11/14/2017)

DRAFT EIS
Draft EIS Comments Received
Draft EIS (03/02/2017)
Public Letter (03/10/2017)
Comment Form (03/10/2017)

SCOPING
Scoping comments received
Public Letter (11/18/2015)
Project Map (09/18/2015)
Comment Form (11/18/2015)

NOTICE OF INTENT
Federal Register Notice of Intent (11/16/2015)
Notice of Intent (11/04/2015)

REFERENCE INFORMATION
Yakima SubbasIn Summer- and Fall-Run Chinook and Coho Salmon Hatchery Master Plan (May 2012)
Yakima Fisheries Project Biological Opinion - Fish and Wildlife Service (October 2007)
Yakima River Biological Opinion - NMFS (November 2013)