Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Phase 2 Implementation Plan: Testing the Feasibility of Reintroduced Salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin (P2IP)

Scoping

The Bureau of Reclamation, Bonneville Power Administration, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collectively referred to as co-lead agencies, intend to prepare a programmatic environmental assessment (EA) for the federal support of the “Phase 2 Implementation Plan: Testing the Feasibility of Reintroduced Salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin (P2IP).” The P2IP was developed by the project proponents—Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Coeur d'Alene Tribe, and Upper Columbia United Tribes—as part of a phased approach to reintroduce salmon into historic habitats to the Columbia River Basin in the areas upstream of Chief Joseph Dam.

The co-lead agencies invite the public to provide comments for consideration in developing the programmatic EA under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This public scoping period also will meet our public involvement obligation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The public scoping period has been extended and will now be open from February 9, 2024, through March 18, 2024.

Public scoping under NEPA provides the following:

• An opportunity for citizens and stakeholders to provide input on the proposed action to help shape the direction of the project
• Early indication of concerns and potential resource impacts
• Identification of issues with the proposed action to guide the development of alternatives to the proposed action
• A method for citizens and stakeholders to sharing comments for inclusion in the project file and with the decision-makers

During the scoping period, the co-lead agencies and project proponents will hold two, open-house format scoping meetings:

• In-Person Meeting: February 27, 2024, 5-7 pm PT in Grand Coulee, Washington, at Colville Tribal Museum
• In-Person Meeting: February 28, 2024, 6–8 pm PT in Airway Heights, Washington, at Kalispell Northern Quest Casino

In addition to the in-person scoping meetings, a virtual public meeting room will be accessible 24 hours a day to provide project information and to allow visitors to submit comments. The virtual public meeting room website is https://www.virtualpublicmeeting.com/p2ip-salmon-reintroduction-programmatic-ea

Comments may be submitted by mail, through the virtual public meeting room, or by email at bor-sha-p2ip_peaproject@usbr.gov. Comments submitted via mail must be postmarked by March 18, 2024.

Written comments may be sent to

Mel Yenko
Natural Resource Specialist
Bureau of Reclamation
Columbia–Pacific Northwest Region
1150 N. Curtis Road
Boise, ID, 83706-1234

Documents

10/2024	P2IP Final Scoping Report PDF 1.76 MB
02/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Letter PDF 192 KB
02/2024	P2IP Project Map PDF 8.73 MB

Scoping Meeting Posters

03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Welcome PDF 617 KB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - National Environmental Policy Act PDF 617 KB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Project Background PDF 978 KB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Long-term Reintroduction Planning & P2IP Activities PDF 695 KB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Location Map PDF 2.97 MB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Federal Purpose and Need PDF 1.33 MB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Federal Proposed Action PDF 5.33 MB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act PDF 1.79 MB
03/2024	P2IP Project Scoping Poster - Providing Public Comment PDF 736 KB

Related Websites

Upper Columbia River Tribes Website HTML

P2IP Virtual Public Meeting Room HTML