Photograph of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery surface water intake site on Icicle Creek
Project Overview
Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery was designed and constructed in the late 1930s as mitigation for the impacts to anadromous fish resulting from the construction and operation of Grand Coulee Dam. The Hatchery, which is owned and operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and funded by Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration, currently raises and releases 1.2 million spring Chinook Salmon smolts annually into Icicle Creek.
The LNFH’s primary point of diversion and water delivery system on Icicle Creek is nearly 80 years old and is reaching or exceeding its operational life. Rehabilitation, replacement and modernization of the LNFH surface water intake and delivery system was evaluated in the 2002 USFWS Icicle Creek Restoration Project Final EIS and the 2019 Icicle Creek Water Resource Management Strategy Final Programmatic EIS prepared by the State of Washington Department of Ecology and Chelan County.
The existing intake facility does not comply with current National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) criteria for anadromous salmonids and can impede fish passage during low flow conditions and entrain fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); entrainment of these species constitutes a take. The 2017 NMFS Biological Opinion covering LNFH operations requires the LNFH to have a surface water intake and delivery system that complies with NMFS current screening and fish passage criteria for anadromous fish passage facilities in place and operating by May 2023.
Purpose and Need
The need for Reclamation’s proposed action is to comply with the NMFS 2017 Biological Opinion and current screening and fish passage criteria for anadromous fish passage facilities, improve employee safety when operating and maintaining the intake and delivery structures, and increase reliability and longevity of the water delivery system.
The purpose of the SWISP Project is to minimize take of ESA-listed fish species, provide fish passage that complies with current regulatory criteria, and ensure safe, efficient, and reliable delivery of LNFH’s full surface water rights from Icicle Creek.
Lead, Cooperating, and Participating Agencies
Reclamation is the lead agency in charge of preparing the EIS. The USFWS and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) agreed to be cooperating agencies under One Federal Decision (EO 13807). In addition, a variety of federal, state, and local agencies are actively engaged as participating agencies including: NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Forest Service, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Chelan County, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
Project Area Overview Map
This map shows the general Project Area between Icicle Creek Road and Icicle Creek, from the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery to the construction vehicle turnaround at the Forest Service wilderness area kiosk. The map includes labels for the conveyance pipeline, contractor use areas, parking areas and turnaround, staging areas, the Phase I intake construction area, the Phase II pipeline construction area, temporary pump location and temporary pipeline, contractor use area access routes, and staging access routes.
For more information on the SWISP EIS, please contact Jason Sutter (208-378-5390, BOR-SHA-PNRLSWISP@usbr.gov).
To be added or removed from the mailing list, please contact Megan Stone (303-447-7160, megan.stone@empsi.com).