News Release Archive

Reclamation Issues Final EIS for the Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement Project

Media Contact: John Redding, (208) 378-5212, jredding@usbr.gov
Allyn Meuleman, gmeuleman@usbr.gov

For Release: August 13, 2010

The Bureau of Reclamation has issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Minidoka Dam Spillway Replacement Project. The Final EIS outlines alternatives considered to prevent structural failure of the existing spillway and headworks at the dam, which is located on the Snake River, east of Rupert, Idaho. In addition, proposed special use areas, which will change some access to the dam, spillway, and associated facilities, are evaluated in the EIS.

Alternatives considered in the Final EIS are: - Alternative A - No Action, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act - Alternative B - Spillway and Headworks Replacement (preferred alternative) - Alternative C - Spillway Replacement

The Final EIS includes written responses to all public comments from the Draft EIS issued in December 2009. Revisions were made in the Final EIS to incorporate issues addressed by the public comments. A Record of Decision identifying the alternative chosen for implementation, with the rationale for its selection, is anticipated by the end of September 2010.

After 103 years of continued use, the 2,237-foot-long concrete spillway has reached the end of its functional lifespan. The concrete that forms the spillway crest and stoplog piers has suffered extensive deterioration at numerous locations.

The North Side Canal and South Side Canal headworks also show serious concrete deterioration. The current conditions of the Minidoka Dam spillway and headworks present increasingly difficult reliability and maintenance problems.

Minidoka Dam is operated as one of six storage facilities on the Snake and Henrys Fork rivers. The multi-purpose project provides irrigation, power production, flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.

For more information contact Ms. Allyn Meuleman, Activity Manager, with the Bureau of Reclamation at 230 Collins Road, Boise ID 83702-4520 or call (208) 383-2258. The document is available at several public libraries in Idaho, and it is posted at: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/minidokadam/index.html.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/minidokadam/index.html