Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the proposed federal action?

2. What will be included in the development of the EIS?

3. Why is the proposed federal action necessary?

4. What are the benefits of the proposed federal action?

5. What are you studying in the EIS, and why are you doing it?

6. How will you consider comments from the public?

7. How will Reclamation engage the public during the scoping period?

8. How will Reclamation engage Native American tribes?

9. Who are the cooperating agencies?

10. Will the project affect access to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area?

Need some clarification?

Reclamation is interested in helping clarify your understanding of the SWISP EIS. Most questions may be answered by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions on this page. The scoping comment period for the SWISP EIS ended on May 26, 2020, and no further questions will be answered by Reclamation via this website. Ongoing information and updates on the project will be available at Reclamation's SWISP EIS website.

The proposed federal action is to rehabilitate, replace and modernize the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery (LNFH) surface water intake and delivery system on Icicle Creek near Leavenworth, Washington. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) owns and operates LNFH. Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration fund operations and maintenance because this facility is mitigation for the construction of Grand Coulee Dam.

A detailed analysis will be conducted that includes an analysis of the potential environmental effects of the proposed action, a no-action alternative, and a reasonable range of alternatives designed to respond to the project’s purpose and need.

The LNFH intake facility on Icicle Creek that supplies fresh water to the hatchery is deteriorating due to age and does not comply with NMFS current fish screening and fish passage criteria. The surface water intake and delivery system must be rehabilitated, replaced and modernized to comply with current fish screening and fish passage criteria, improve employee safety during operation and maintenance, and increase reliability and longevity of the system.

Rehabilitating, replacing and modernizing the LNFH surface water intake and delivery system would increase access to additional habitat for ESA–listed fish in Icicle Creek by improving upstream and downstream passage at the surface water intake facility. The SWISP Project would protect ESA–listed fish from being entrained or impinged at the surface water intake facility. It also would ensure safe, efficient, and reliable delivery of LNFH’s full surface water rights from Icicle Creek, and allow the hatchery to continue to raise and release spring Chinook Salmon. The continued success of the hatchery program provides for tribal, sport and commercial fisheries in the Icicle Creek, Columbia River and Pacific Ocean.

Reclamation will use the EIS to evaluate the impacts of the SWISP Project on the natural and human environment within the area of the proposed action. Resources to be evaluated include, but are not limited to, ESA–listed species, water quality, wetlands and riparian areas, land use, cultural resources, sacred sites, Indian trust assets and environmental justice.

The NEPA process begins when a federal agency develops a proposal to take a major federal action. Federal agencies must prepare an EIS if a proposed major federal action is determined to significantly affect the quality of the human environment.

Reclamation is committed to collecting comments from the public and interested parties. The Reclamation team will review and consider every comment submitted and address them as appropriate. Comments received during the public scoping period will be summarized in a public scoping report that will be made available to the public before the draft EIS is prepared. You can provide your comments here.

Reclamation is committed to an open and inclusive NEPA process. All comments will be carefully considered in our review and decision(s) on meeting the agency’s NEPA responsibilities and other applicable laws in this process.

The public participates in the NEPA scoping process by helping to identify EIS issues and potential alternatives to the proposed action, and by evaluating the analysis of the proposed action and alternatives in the draft EIS during the public review period for that document. All public comments received are considered.

As the first step in the NEPA process, Reclamation initiated the “scoping period” by publishing a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on April 24, 2020. The NOI announced that an EIS would be prepared for the proposed SWISP Project. The public scoping comment period will end on May 26, 2020. Reclamation issued a news release and media advisory to announce the NOI and public comment opportunities.

As part of the public scoping process, Reclamation will host a live, moderated video teleconference session on May 18, 2020, to learn about the proposed project and the NEPA process. Attendees can ask Reclamation and LNFH staff questions during the session. More details are available here.

To ensure the public has an opportunity to review public meeting materials and have questions answered, this virtual public meeting website has been developed. The public can submit comments through the virtual public scoping meeting website at any time during the scoping period.

Information also is available on Reclamation’s SWISP EIS website.

Reclamation has initiated government-to-government tribal consultation with the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation. Fisheries biologists from both tribes are actively participating in ongoing project coordination, and are offering professional expertise and tribal perspective. Both tribes have deep, cultural, and vested interests in the modernization of the water intake and delivery system. A goal of the consultation is to identify sacred sites, Indian trust assets, and other concerns identified by the tribes. Additionally, both tribes have been invited to participate in the process as cooperating agencies.

Reclamation is the lead federal agency under NEPA for development of the EIS. Reclamation requested federal, state, and local agencies and Native American tribes to participate as cooperating agencies in the environmental analysis and preparation of the SWISP EIS. A cooperating agency is any federal, state, or local government agency or Native American tribe that enters into a formal agreement—a memorandum of understanding—with the lead federal agency to help in the environmental analysis.

Cooperating agencies for the project are the USFWS and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Other participating agencies for the project are NMFS, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Yakama Nation Fisheries, Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department, and Chelan County.

Icicle Creek Road is the primary way to access the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and the upper reaches and tributaries of Icicle Creek. Tens of thousands of residents and visitors recreate in the area annually. Construction traffic at key locations on Icicle Creek Road will temporarily disrupt resident and visitor access and parking. Reclamation is coordinating with Chelan County and the U.S. Forest Service to minimize potential disruptions during project construction.

If you have more detailed questions about the SWISP EIS, please submit a comment here, or you may reach us by email or phone via the contact information below.

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).