Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program
The following comments were submitted in response to the open comment period described below.
Comments are numbered consecutively as they are received. Breaks in the number sequence result when comments are deleted because they
were submitted in error or have inappropriate content (such as SPAM). If you do not see your comment two business days after
you submit it, please contact (800) 622-4519.
The Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are proposing to conduct a programmatic environmental review of a suite of estuary restoration activities that are currently reviewed on an individual basis. A programmatic assessment could result in cost savings and other efficiencies by reducing the time and effort needed to review and issue permits for restoration projects, without compromising environmental protections. We want to hear from you on what should be included in the analysis.
The Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program was developed to protect, restore and monitor fish and wildlife habitat in the Columbia River estuary and satisfies restoration obligations as defined in the Northwest Power Act, Water Resources Development Act, and biological opinions for the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System.
The program covers all low-lying, tidally-influenced portions of the Columbia River and its tributaries that are currently or were historically tidally influenced upstream to Bonneville Dam. This includes portions of Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, and Clark counties in Washington and Clatsop, Columbia, and Multnomah counties in Oregon.
For More Information:
http://www.bpa.gov/goto/EstuaryRestorationProgram
Close of comment: 11/4/2015
- CEERP15 0001 -
paceRE KEC-4. As an initial matter, it appears the description of the Columbia River estuary BPA suffers from a serious infirmity: it omits all low-lying, tidally-influenced areas in Skamania County. See Oct. 5, 2015 letter to interested parties, available online at http://efw.bpa.gov/environmental%5Fservices/Document%5FLibrary/EstuaryRestorationProgram/PUBLIC_LETTER.pdf (estuary encompasses portions of "Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, and Clark counties in Washington.") The omitted area contains designated critical habitat--migration corridor and/or spawning and incubation) for a number of listed/protected species of salmon and steelhead, is prime spawning habitat for the most robust sturgeon population in the entire Columbia-Snake River system, and quite literally 'Ground 0' in efforts to mitigate impacts of pinniped predation on life-cycle survival. I'm virtually certain that I've neglected to mention a number of things that are of special concern in the areas BPA has omitted. The obvious one is the extremely important role that water quality, discharge and connectivity of habitat(s) for spawning, rearing and juvenile migration of lower Columbia River chum salmon. This is also the area that is most impacted by what might be called the "operational totality" of the Federal Columbia River Power System, as all decisions by the Corps, BPA and the Bureau of Reclamation re water storage/release and hydro generation have some impact--large or small--on operation of the Bonneville project and discharge into the tailrace, which is, by definition, where the estuary begins. Thank you for considering this comment. I wanted to provide this initial comment for BPA's consideration and corrective action.
- CEERP15 0003 -
MitchemProjects should include public access provisions, and public access to shores, waters of the state, and adjacent wetlands, tidelands and estuaries. Cowlitz County's Comprehensive Plan and Shoreline plan focus on public access to waterways, and the Shoreline plan for the county REQUIRES that public projects provide public access to shores. Part of the ecosystem restoration program should include a comprehensive public access plan. Ecosystem restoration sites should, if at all possible, act as public access sites too. Sites should link together, or link via trails, water trails, or road-adjacent trails.
Restoration projects should focus on public purchase of intact natural areas, conservation easements (with public access) with a lower priority to "re-creating" habitat from pasture land or other lands.
- CEERP15 0004 -
PhillipsWe are property owners adjacent to a landowner who is planning on flooding his property, by breeching the dikes. We would like to be protected from flooding of our lower Christmas tree property. By this action, how can we be assured that our property will not be impacted by such a project? Please keep private landowners protected from these large projects. BPA projects such as breeching of the dikes, are giving the opportunity for large landowners with lowlands to make large amounts of money selling the land for salmon restoration projects, with no protection to the adjacent property owners who don't want to be flooded out. Our lower fields are below the Youngs River Road, and have two drainages that run through the property. So a simple dike will not give us the protection we would need. We would need two drainage pipes through the dike, with gates on them, to keep the water from coming back in, thus insuring our lands would drain properly. Being a small landowner/Christmas tree farm, we could not afford to build and maintain such devices to keep our land from flooding. What guarantees do we have that the dike,if constructed around our property, will be maintained for the life of the property? If such a dike would be built, would it become part of the Youngs River Diking District? and maintained by it? We look forward to hearing from you.
- CEERP15 0005 -
Grening/Port of RidgefieldWe are concerned that siltation at the mouth of Lake River (Lake River, Columbia confluence) may be hindering the flow/exchange of water in Lake River over the entire length of the river. We are concerned that water quality and temperature are negatively impacted by siltation and that this may be impacting fish habitat. We would ask that consideration be given to looking at the benefits of increasing inflow via the Vancouver Lake flushing channel and dredging the mouth of Lake River.
- CEERP15 0006 -
Weitzen/Columbis River KeepersI live on the Lower Columbia River and I agree with the B.P.A. and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposal to restore estuaries and to review and issue permits for restoration projects without compromising environmental protections. I like the idea of bundling these activities to save money and time.
- CEERP15 0007 -
Mendoza/WA State Department of Ecology
- CEERP15 0008 -
GreenPlease view attachment.
View Attachment
- CEERP15 0009 -
/Port of ChinookPlease view attachment.
View Attachment
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