DOE/EA-2220: Documents Available for Download

Development of the hydropower system in the Columbia River Basin has had far-reaching effects on many species of fish and wildlife. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is responsible for protecting, mitigating, and enhancing fish and wildlife affected by the development, operation, and management of Federal hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River and its tributaries. One of the measures recommended to help mitigate for fish loss and reduced habitat is the White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam Project. The project is jointly proposed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Columbia River Fisheries Program Office, U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) Biological Resources Division, and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC).

DOE prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for wildland fire management activites on the Idaho National Enginerring and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The EA was developed to evaluate wildland fire management options for pre-fire, fire suppression, and post fire activities. Those activities have an important rol ein minimizing the conversion of the native sagebrush steppe ecosystem found on the INEEL to non-native weeds. Four alternative management approaches were analyzed: Alternative 1-maximum fire protection; Alternative 2-balanced fire protections; Alternative 3- protect infrastructure and personnel; and Alternative 4- no action/traditional fire protection.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is proposing to fund the White Sturgeon Mitigation and Restoration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream from Bonneville Dam Project. The project proposes to continue to carry out harvest monitoring and stock status updates coordinated with fisheries management planning, annual young-of-the year recruitment indexing, research, experimental artificial propagation, and transport of white sturgeon to less densely populated areas of the river(s). Additionally, release of hatchery-reared juveniles is proposed to evaluate release strategies. Actions will take place in the following Columbia River mainstem reaches: Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary Reservoirs; Hanford Reach, as well as the Wanapum and Rock Island Reservoirs; and the following Snake River mainstem reaches: Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental and Little Goose Reservoirs. Spawning and rearing are undertaken at established hatcheries at McNary Dam and also the Abernathy Fish Technology Center.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is funding ongoing research on Caspian terns, double-crested cormorants, and several species of gulls (glaucous-winged, western, California, and ring-billed) begun in 1996. BPA analyzed environmental impacts of the research in an Environmental Assessment (EA) completed in 2001 (DOE/EA-1374). The purpose of this Supplement Analysis (SA) is to determine if a supplemental EA is needed to analyze additional research activities proposed as part of that project.

The EA analyzes the potential effects of a proposal to construct and operate the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies Core Facility and establish a Gateway to Sandia Facility.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) Addendum (DOE/EA-1113-A) in response to a proposal from Horizon Center LLC, a subsidiary of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), requesting transfer of title of the presently leased Parcel ED-1 (also known as Horizon Center) in order to continue to support economic development in the region. Based on the results of the analysis reported in the EA Addendum and implementation of monitoring and mitigation measures described in this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.