The Bonneville Power Administration is evaluating an adjustment to the location of the proposed Natapoc Hatchery, a facility associated with the Mid-Columbia Coho Restoration Program.  The proposed facility will be located alongside the Wenatchee River in Chelan County, Washington.

The Mid-Columbia Coho Restoration Program is implemented by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and funded, in part, by BPA.  The goal of this program is to restore a naturally-produced, self-sustaining population of coho salmon to the Wenatchee and Methow basins.  The Natapoc Hatchery will include the construction of a hatchery-production building, surface-water intakes, discharge pipelines, a treatment lagoon, land-application wastewater treatment area, rearing tanks, holding tanks, and other hatchery buildings. 

During final hatchery design, the Yakama Nation determined that the hatchery would be better sited southwest of the originally identified location on the same parcel to avoid impacts to wetland and wetland buffers.  Additionally, the hatchery design now includes a higher level of effluent treatment than was originally proposed in order to comply with Washington State Department of Ecology water quality standards.

BPA intends to prepare a supplement analysis to evaluate the environmental impacts that may occur as a result of these changes.  We welcome your comments while we prepare the analysis.

Comment Period Open  11/04/2014