Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant

The Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant (KDRPP) is one of several potential surface-water supply projects being studied by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to improve water resources management in the Yakima River basin. KDRPP is being developed under the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) as part of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan.

Previously referred to as the Kachess Reservoir inactive storage project, the proposed KDRPP could withdraw up to 200,000 acre-feet of inactive storage water below the reservoir’s existing outlet works. It would pump and transfer water into the Yakima River for appropriate distribution. The KDRPP would operate only in a Washington State-declared drought with the goal of providing up to 70 percent water rights to proratable users, when feasible. KDRPP was proposed along with the Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance (KKC) Project, which would help refill the Kachess Reservoir in the years following a drought in which KDRPP is used.

Since the proposed KKC and KDRPP projects are closely connected, Reclamation and Ecology prepared the Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant (KDRPP) and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance (KKC) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), in a single National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) document. It includes environmental analyses for both the KKC and KRDPP. The DEIS was released in January 2015 and described the no-action alternative and five action alternatives. The public comment period ended June 15, 2015.

After the public comment period, Reclamation and Ecology reviewed the comments on the DEIS, collected additional scientific data as necessary, evaluated new findings, and developed a floating pumping plant alternative. The new alternative and new findings were documented in the Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), released to the public April 13, 2018.

After a 90-day public comment period on the SDEIS, Reclamation and Ecology prepared the Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that was released to the public on March 6, 2019. Responses to comments from both the DEIS and the SDEIS are published in the FEIS.

The Record of Decision (ROD) for the FEIS was signed by Pacific Northwest Regional Director Lorri Gray on April 26, 2019. You may access ROD and the FEIS under "Reports" below. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the ROD, please call the request line at (509) 573-8193 or email to kkbt@usbr.gov. You may also request a CD or a 3-volume-set hard copy of the FEIS.

---

News Releases
03/2019	Final EIS for Kachess and Keechelus projects postedHTML
04/2018	Supplemental draft EIS for Kachess and Keechelus projects available for review HTML
04/2015	Update: Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir to Kachess Reservoir Conveyance Projects HTML
01/09/2015	Draft EIS for Kachess and Keechelus Projects Released HTML

---

Public Meetings
04/13/2018 & 07/11/2018: SDEIS 90-day Public Comment Period - Two Public Meetings
05/17/2018: The Armory, Kittitas Valley Event Center, Ellensburg, WA., 4 to 7 p.m.
05/16/2018: Cle Elum Ranger District, U.S. Forest Service, Cle Elum, WA., 4 to 7 p.m.
SDEIS Public Meeting Materials PDF 10.33 mb
06/21/2017 Public Perspectives Session - Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Washington State Department of Ecology, Union Gap, WA — 12 to 1:00 p.m
Kachess Homeowners' Association Presentation (Not endorsed by Reclamation or Ecology)
04/15/2015 - 06/15/2015 Additional Draft KDRPP and KKC EIS 60-Day Reopening of Comment Period – Four Public Meetings
05/05/2015 Forest Service Ranger District Office, Cle Elum, WA - 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. PDF 151 kb
05/05/2015 Forest Service Ranger District Office, Cle Elum, WA, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. PDF 151 kb
04/15/2015 Hal Holmes Center, Ellensburg, WA - 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. PDF 151 kb
04/15/2015 Hal Holmes Center, Ellensburg, WA - 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. PDF 151 kb
01/09/2015 — DRAFT KDRPP and KKC EIS Released 60-Day Comment Period – Two Public Meetings
02/05/2015 U.S. Forest Service Ranger District, Cle Elum, WA, 4 to 7 p.m.
02/03/2015 Hal Homes Center, Ellensburg, WA, 4 to 7 p.m.
Scoping meetings
10/30/2013 — 12/16/2013 – KDRPP and KKC EIS 60-Day Public Scoping – Four Public Meetings
11/21/2013 Forest Service Cle Elum Ranger District, Cle Elum, WA, 5 to 7 p.m.
11/21/2013 Forest Service Cle Elum Ranger District, Cle Elum, WA, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
11/20/2013 Yakima Arboretum, Yakima, WA, 5 to 7 p.m.
11/20/2013 Yakima Arboretum, Yakima, WA, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

---

Reports
04/2019	Record of Decision for the Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance FEIS PDF
03/2019	Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance FEIS Errata 1 PDF 539 kb
03/2019	Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance FEIS Errata 2 PDF 1.77 mb
03/2019	Volume 1: Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance FEIS Main Document PDF 50.67 mb
03/2019	Volume 2: Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance DEIS Comments and Responses PDF 81.36 mb
03/2019	Volume 3: Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance Supplemental DEIS Comments and Responses PDF 147.02 mb
03/2019	Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance FEIS Executive Summary PDF 1.37 mb
04/2018	Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess Reservoir Conveyance Supplemental DRAFT Environmental Impact Statement PDF 49.32 mb
04/2018	Technical Memorandum: Recoiled Opinion of Proabable Construction Cost, Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant - Floating Pump Alternative PDF 41.39 mb
04/2018	Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant Floating Pumping Plant Alternative Appraisal Design Report PDF 4.28 mb
12/2017	Feasibility Level Design Report: Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant South & East Shore Pumping Plant Alternatives PDF 22.83 mb
02/2016	Feasibility Planning Report Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant PDF 2.62 mb
07/2015	Technical Memorandum: Keechelus and Kachess Dams Fish Passage Concepts Review PDF 11.78 mb
04/2015	Economic Analyses of the Proposed Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant PDF 4.65 mb
03/2015	Feasibility Design Draft Report Kachess Drought Relieft Pumping Plant PDF 21.14 mb
01/2015	Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance and Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant Draft Environmental Impact Statement PDF 34 mb
01/2015	Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance and Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant Draft Environmental Impact Statement Executive Summary PDF 7.83 mb
03/2014	Scoping Summary Report for the Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance and Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant Environmental Impact Statement PDF 9.26 mb
10/2013	Kachess Reservoir Inactive Storage Project Alternatives Comparison and Recommendation for Advancement PDF 13.13 mb
04/2013	Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan Technical Memorandum: Hydrologic Modeling of Winter Streamflows and Kachess Inactive Storage Tunnel Alternative PDF 2.87 mb
09/2010	Yakima River Basin Water Storage Study Kachess Inactive Storage Appendix H - OPCC Lake Kachess Inactive Storage PDF 391 kb
02/1997	YRBWEP Kachess Dam, Kachess Lake Augmentation, Draft Status Report PDF 968 kb
Additional Reference Documents >>

---

Reference Documents
05/2006	Yakima River Basin Water Storage Alternatives Appraisal Assessment Technical Series No. TS-YSS-8 PDF 6.05 mb
10/1989	Appraisal Assessment of Augmenting Kachess Reservoir Stored Waters by Gravity Feed from Cabin Creek and Silver Creek PDF 10.78 mb
Additional Reference Documents >>

Partner

Washington State Department of Ecology

---

Contact