[env-trinity] Lewiston-Dark Gulch Project Public Draft EA/EIR available for review and comment

[Brandt Gutermuth]

Hi All - 

The Lewiston Dark Gulch Project is ...gearing up!

1) The Draft Environmental Assessment/Environmental Impact Report for the Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project:  Trinity River Mile 105.4-111.7 is now available for 45 day public review.  Hard copies will be coming soon but the web has it now at: http://www.trrp.net/implementation/DarkGulch.htm and soon other sites.

and 

2) A public hearing will be held at 6:30 pm on December 19, 2007 at the Trinity Public Utilities District conference room (26 Ponderosa Lane - off of Highway 299 just east of Weaverville) to discuss the Project and receive public comment.  

Please respond to this email or call me  if you have questions.  Details are below.

Best Regards-
Brandt




Draft EIR/EA Available and Public Hearing for the Trinity River Restoration Program’s Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project 

Working together under guidance of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP), the federal lead agency, Bureau of Reclamation, and the state lead agency, Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD), we announce the publication and distribution of an Environmental Assessment/Draft Environmental Impact Report (EA/DEIR) which fully discloses and evaluates the environmental impacts associated with implementation of the proposed Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project.  This joint environmental document meets California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements and fulfills evaluation needs stipulated under Executive Orders 11988 (floodplain management), 11990 (protection of wetlands), 13112 (invasive species), and 12898 (environmental justice).

This Project would implement important provisions of the Interior Secretary’s December 19, 2000 Record of Decision (ROD) for Trinity River Restoration.  Physical channel rehabilitation is identified in the ROD as a necessary step towards recovery of the Trinity River’s anadromous fishery and fulfillment of the federal government’s tribal trust responsibility.  The purpose of the proposed Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project is to provide increased juvenile salmonid rearing habitat on the mainstem Trinity River.  Construction will create additional fish and wildlife habitat that is expected to increase over time as river processes are restored.  Work to be performed includes re-contouring bank and floodplain features, as well as conducting in-river work such as gravel placement and grade control removal.  Project work would start in summer 2008 with gravel additions to the river expected to be performed annually thereafter.  The TCRCD is working as a partner agency under a grant from the California Department of Fish and Game’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program that provides financial support for Project implementation.  
A 45-day public review period has been established for review of the Draft EA/EIR.  The review period begins on November 16, 2007 and ends January 8, 2008.  A public hearing will be held at 6:30 pm on December 19, 2007 at the Trinity Public Utilities District conference room (26 Ponderosa Lane - off of Highway 299 just east of Weaverville) to discuss the Project and receive public comment.  Electronic copies of the EA/DEIR will be available for public review on the TRRP’s website at: http://www.trrp.net/RestorationProgram/Lewiston-Dark Gulch.htm, the
 
TCRCD’s website at: www.tcrcd.net, or on Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2697.  Hard copies of the document are available in Weaverville, California at the following locations:  the Trinity County Resource Conservation District, 1 Horseshoe Lane; the Trinity River Restoration Program Office at 1313 South Main Street; the US Forest Service Office at 360 N. Main St; and the Trinity County Library at 211 N. Main Street.  All referenced materials will be available at the Trinity River Restoration Program office.  Electronic CD copies of the EA/DEIR, and a limited number of paper copies, may be obtained at the Trinity River Restoration Program Office free of charge (subject to availability).  

The Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI) and Final EIR (FEIR) will be used by federal and state agencies to decide which Project actions from a number of alternatives will be implemented.  The final document is anticipated to be distributed in February 2008.  Though a Draft FONSI is included within the EA/DEIR, if new information becomes available during this public circulation period, the FONSI and any associated decisions will change accordingly.  Written comments must be received by the Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, Weaverville, California 96093, no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2008.  E-mailed comments may be sent to Brandt Gutermuth, TRRP Environmental Specialist, at bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov.




____________________________
Brandt Gutermuth
Environmental Specialist
Trinity River Restoration Program
PO Box 1300 (mailing)
1313 S. Main Street (physical)
Weaverville, CA  96093
530.623.1806 (voice)
530.623.5944 (fax)
www.trrp.net (website)
___________________________