J.6e. USFWS Section 7 Combined.pdf

Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Surface Water Intake Fish Screens and Fish Passage Project Environmental Impact Statement Biological Assessment

US Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Columbia-Pacific Northwest Regional Office 1150 N. Curtis Road Boise, ID 83706 October 2020

Mission Statements The Department of the Interior conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.

The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.

SWISP Project EIS i Biological Assessment

Table of Contents Chapter Page

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose and Background

1.2 Project Area

1.3 Action Area

1.4 Listed Species and Critical Habitats

CHAPTER 2. FORESEEABLE FUTURE ACTIONS

2.1 Foreseeable Future Actions in the Action Area

CHAPTER 3. PROPOSED ACTION

3.1 Proposed Action

3.2 Conservation Measures

CHAPTER 4. STATUS OF LISTED SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT

4.1 Bull Trout

4.1.1 Status of the Species in the Action Area

4.1.2 Current Condition of Habitat in the Action Area

4.2 Bull Trout Critical Habitat

4.2.1 PCE 1

4.2.2 PCE 2

4.2.3 PCE 3

4.2.4 PCE 4

4.2.5 PCE 5

4.2.6 PCE 6

4.2.7 PCE 7

4.2.8 PCE 8

4.2.9 PCE 9

4.3 Gray Wolf

CHAPTER 5. EFFECTS ON LISTED SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT

5.1 Bull Trout

5.1.1 Effects on Bull Trout

5.1.2 Effects on the Current Condition of Habitat

5.2 Bull Trout Critical Habitat

5.2.1 PCE 1

5.2.2 PCE 2

5.2.3 PCE 3

5.2.4 PCE 4

5.2.5 PCE 5

5.2.6 PCE 6

5.2.7 PCE 7

5.2.8 PCE 8

5.2.9 PCE 9

Table of Contents ii SWISP Project EIS

5.3 Gray Wolf

CHAPTER 6. EFFECT DETERMINATIONS

6.1 Bull Trout

6.2 Bull Trout Critical Habitat

6.3 Gray Wolf

CHAPTER 7. LITERATURE CITED

Tables Page

1 Listed Species and Critical Habitats 2 Temporary Cofferdam Phasing and Details 3 Fills and Removals Within and Adjacent to Icicle Creek 4 Redd Count Survey Results, Icicle Creek 5 Bull Trout Snorkel Survey Results Summary, Icicle Creek 6 Relationship of the Matrix Indicators to the PCEs of Bull Trout Critical Habitat

Figures Page

1 Rendering of Temporary Cofferdam Locations 2 Map of Bull Trout Local Populations in the Wenatchee Core Area 3 Icicle Creek Surface Water Temperatures, LNFH Intake, 2019 4 Gray Wolf Sightings

Appendices

Appendix A. Maps Appendix B. USFWS Information for Planning and Consultation Species List Appendix C. DRAFT Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Intake Planting Plan Appendix D. Best Management Practices Appendix E. USFWS Recommended Fish Exclusion, Capture, Handling, and Electroshocking

Protocols and Standards Appendix F USFWS 2011 Biological Opinion for the Operations and Maintenance of the LNFH Appendix G Crosswalk between the Bull Trout Matrix and Bull Trout Critical Habitat Primary

Constituent Elements

SWISP Project EIS iii

Acronyms and Abbreviations Full Phrase

BA biological assessment BMP best management practice Boulder Field Project Icicle Creek Boulder Field Fish Passage Project

ºC degrees Celsius CFR Code of Federal Regulations cfs cubic feet per second CHU critical habitat unit CHSU critical habitat subunit CIPP cure-in-place pipe COIC Cascade Orchards Irrigation Company CUA contractor use area dBA A-weighted decibel

Ecology Washington Department of Ecology EIS environmental impact statement EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act of 1973

ºF degrees Fahrenheit foraging, migrating, and overwintering FPRP ESA Section 7 Formal Consultation and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation for the Washington State Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement Restoration

Programmatic

IO&MA intake operations and maintenance area IPID Icicle and Peshastin Irrigation District

LNFH, Hatchery Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery

Mid-C RU Mid-Columbia recovery unit MPI USFWS Matrix of Pathways and Indicators

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NPDES National Pollution Discharge Elimination System NTU nephelometric turbidity unit

O&M operations and maintenance OHWM ordinary high water mark

PCE primary constituent element pH potential of hydrogen PISMA pipeline intake and sediment management area

Acronyms and Abbreviations iv SWISP Project EIS

Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation RM river mile

SR spawning and rearing SWISP Surface Water Intake Fish Screens and Fish Passage

TMDL total maximum daily load

USACE US Army Corps of Engineers USFWS US Fish and Wildlife Service USGS US Geological Survey

WAC Washington Administrative Code WDFW Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

SWISP Project EIS 1

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Background

The purpose of this biological assessment (BA) is to determine the effects of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery (hereafter, LNFH or Hatchery) Surface Water Intake Fish Screens and Fish Passage (SWISP) Project (the Proposed Action) on species that are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. The BA is intended to fulfill Section 7(c) of the ESA and is intended to ensure the Proposed Action would not likely jeopardize the continued existence of federally listed species, nor result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat, as defined in the Endangered Species Consultation Handbook (USFWS and NMFS 1998).

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is proposing to rehabilitate, replace, and modernize the LNFH surface water intake and delivery system on Icicle Creek near Leavenworth, Washington.

This would be done by constructing new headworks1 and a creek-width roughened channel, and replacing and lining the surface water conveyance pipeline to the LNFH. Additional details and a description of the Proposed Action can be found in Chapter 3, Proposed Action.

The LNFH was designed and constructed in the late 1930s as mitigation for the construction and operation of Grand Coulee Dam. The Hatchery, which is owned and operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and funded by Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration, raises and releases 1.2 million Spring Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) smolts annually into Icicle Creek. The LNFH’s primary point of diversion and water delivery system on Icicle Creek is nearly 80 years old and is reaching or exceeding its operational life. Further, at this time the intake facility does not comply with current National Marine Fisheries Service2 (NMFS) criteria for anadromous salmonids (NMFS 2011), and it can result in entrainment of ESA-listed fish. The NMFS biological opinion for LNFH operations (NMFS 2017a; consultation WCR-2017-7345) requires the LNFH to have a surface water intake and delivery system that complies with NMFS current screening and fish passage criteria for anadromous fish passage facilities in place and operating by May 2023.3

In 2008, the NMFS and USFWS prepared the Endangered Species Act Section 7 Formal Consultation and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation for the Washington State Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement Restoration Programmatic (FPRP; NMFS and USFWS 2008). The FPRP provided ESA coverage by both the NMFS and USFWS for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) nationwide permit program for such projects, which would include the Proposed Action. This combined agency programmatic biological opinion expired on December

1 Headworks means any dam, weir, barrage, or reservoir and all works appurtenant thereto, used for or in connection with the storage, control, conveyance, or distribution of water. For the SWISP Project, the headworks includes the combined intake structure elements.

2 This agency is also known as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries 3 The NMFS biological opinion for consultation WCR-2017-7345 contains a detailed consultation history up to the issuance of that biological opinion.

1. Introduction

2 SWISP Project EIS

31, 2013. The USACE and NMFS reinitiated consultation, and the NMFS has issued subsequent biological opinions for the nationwide permit program. However, the USACE has been operating under consultation extensions from the USFWS, with the most recent extension expiring December 31, 2020. The USACE has reinitiated consultation with the USFWS; however, a biological opinion covering the nationwide permit program has not been completed. Therefore, to comply with ESA Section 7(a)(2) and 50 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 402, Reclamation has prepared a BA to determine the potential impacts of the Proposed Action on the threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and its designated critical habitat, and the endangered gray wolf (Canis lupus).

1.2 Project Area

The Project Area is on and near the LNFH, near the City of Leavenworth in Chelan County, Washington. The Project Area includes the LNFH’s surface water intake and primary point of diversion on Icicle Creek, and the conveyance pipeline to the Hatchery. The surface water intake is on USFWS property, while the pipeline crosses several private parcels before reentering USFWS property. The Project Area also includes approximately 1.25 miles of Icicle Creek Road, from the surface water intake to a Forest Service kiosk to the west, as well as access roads and staging areas on USFWS property. An overview of the Project Area is depicted on Map A-1 in Appendix A.

1.3 Action Area

The Action Area is defined as all areas to be affected directly or indirectly by the federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action (50 CFR 402.02). In delineating the Action Area, Reclamation evaluated the farthest-reaching physical, chemical, and biotic effects of the action on the environment. The Action Area is depicted on Map A-2 in Appendix A.

The Action Area is the area within the ordinary high water mark of Icicle Creek, from 230 feet upstream of the surface water intake at river mile (RM) 4.5, to the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) compliance monitoring location at RM 2.3, downstream of the Hatchery.

Reclamation does not expect effects on ESA-listed fish and critical habitat in Icicle Creek from construction of the Proposed Action to extend beyond these limits.

The Action Area also includes a 0.25-mile buffer around the Project Area (see Section 1.2) to evaluate noise and other potential disturbance effects on listed terrestrial wildlife species.

Reclamation does not anticipate perceptible effects from construction and operation of the Proposed Action to extend farther than 0.25 miles from the Project Area. This is because the baseline amount of existing human-caused disturbance in the Project Area vicinity is moderate to high. This is due to recreational use, vehicle and traffic noise, and existing residential, commercial, and other development in the Action Area.

1.4 Listed Species and Critical Habitats

There are 10 threatened or endangered species, and one candidate species in the Action Area vicinity as identified by the USFWS’s Information for Planning and Consultation (Appendix B). Listed species and critical habitat with potential to be affected by the Proposed Action are analyzed in detail in this BA and are summarized in Table 1.

SWISP Project EIS 3

Table 1 Listed Species and Critical Habitats

Species or Critical Habitat Status Effect Determination1 Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)

Threatened May affect, likely to adversely affect

Bull trout critical habitat N/A May affect, likely to adversely affect

Gray wolf (Canis lupus)

Endangered May affect, not likely to adversely affect

Notes:

1 See Chapter 5 for effects analysis, and Chapter 6 for effect determination summaries.

Reclamation determined that the Proposed Action will not affect the following species: Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis, threatened), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis, threatened), North American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus, proposed threatened), northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina, threatened), marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus, threatened), yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus, threatened), showy stickseed (Hackelia venusta, endangered), Wenatchee Mountains checkermallow (Sidalcea oregana var. calva, endangered), and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, candidate).

These species are either not present in or near the Action Area, or suitable habitat is not present there.

Reclamation also determined that the Proposed Action will not affect the following critical habitats because they are not present in or near the Action Area: Canada lynx designated critical habitat, grizzly bear proposed critical habitat, marbled murrelet designated critical habitat, Northern spotted owl designated critical habitat, yellow-billed cuckoo proposed critical habitat, and Wenatchee Mountains checkermallow designated critical habitat.

These species and their critical habitats are not addressed further in this BA.

4 SWISP Project EIS

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SWISP Project EIS 5

Chapter 2. Foreseeable Future Actions

2.1 Foreseeable Future Actions in the Action Area

The Icicle Creek Boulder Field Fish Passage Project (Boulder Field Project) assessed fish passage and geomorphic conditions for the natural barrier at RM 5.6, also known as the boulder field, to document the extent of anthropogenic impact on fish passage and to identify fish passage alternatives for bull trout and Steelhead (Onchorhynchus mykiss). This project has four elements:

1) improve fish passage at RM 5.6,

2) relocate and replace the City of Leavenworth water supply pipeline and fish screen,

3) replace and relocate the Icicle and Peshastin Irrigation District’s (IPID) fish screens, and

4) improve fish passage at the IPID and City of Leavenworth diversion dam.

Construction work initiated in summer 2020, with a projected completion in October 2020, for the first two elements. Elements three and four will occur at a later time because they need longer review periods and possibly different permit considerations. The overall purpose of the project is to remove fish barriers and increase fish passage to more than 20 miles of potential, undisturbed fish habitat above the boulder field in Icicle Creek. The boulder field is located at RM 5.6, upstream of the Action Area (Dominguez et al. 2013). Elements one and two will remove boulders, create four step pools along the right bank for fish passage, and install a new fish screen on the City of Leavenworth’s water line (Trout Unlimited 2018).

For the third element, IPID is working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to bring the screens up to current state and federal criteria, and will relocate and replace IPID’s fish screen and screen house to the banks of Snow Creek. Fish are believed to be at high risk of impingement if entrained. The fish bypass releases fish via a 15-foot drop onto a boulder that is not submerged for most of the irrigation season. Access of heavy machinery to this site will require modification to the existing bridge over Icicle Creek at RM 5.5, or construction of a new bridge. The existing bridge is part of the Snow Lakes Trail and is owned by the Forest Service.

Finally, fish passage improvements are proposed at the diversion dam that diverts water for withdrawal from Icicle Creek by the IPID and City of Leavenworth (at approximately RM 6.0) for the last element (Trout Unlimited 2018). This element will be informed by the first element and subsequent monitoring of fish migration upstream.

The IPID Irrigation Efficiencies Project includes traditional irrigation efficiency upgrades, such as canal lining or piping of irrigation ditches. A water savings of approximately 10.1 cubic feet per second (cfs), or 3,000 acre-feet annually, could be achieved in lower Icicle Creek, including the Action Area, from implementing efficiency upgrades that will be identified in the IPID Comprehensive Water Conservation Plan (Chelan County and Ecology 2019).

The Cascade Orchards Irrigation Company (COIC) Irrigation Efficiencies Project consists of installing a piped and pressurized system, and replacing the current gravity-fed point of diversion

2. Foreseeable Future Actions

6 SWISP Project EIS with a pump station downstream on the Wenatchee River or Icicle Creek near their confluence.

Improvements also would include replacement of the open ditch system with a closed-pipe canal and laterals to improve efficiency. The COIC project would restore 11.9 cfs (3,640 acre-feet annually) to lower Icicle Creek, including the Action Area. The COIC recently completed an alternatives analysis to explore various conservation project options (Chelan County and Ecology 2019).

The Domestic Conservation Project (Chelan County and Ecology 2019) focuses on implementing conservation for domestic users within the City of Leavenworth and rural areas of the Icicle Creek subbasin. Anticipated water savings are approximately 0.5 cfs and 400 acre-feet annually, all of which would go toward domestic supply. Because these water savings would go toward domestic water supply, they would not affect instream conditions in the Action Area.

SWISP Project EIS 7

Chapter 3. Proposed Action

3.1 Proposed Action

The Proposed Action is construction of Reclamation’s Alternative C, analyzed in the LNFH SWISP Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Proposed Action includes construction of the SWISP Project only. It does not include associated operations and maintenance (O&M), such as sediment management or management of the proposed fish screens during icing conditions.

O&M activities will be covered in a separate ESA Section 7 consultation.4

Reclamation proposes to rehabilitate the LNFH surface water intake and delivery system on Icicle Creek by constructing new headworks and a creek-width roughened channel, and replacing and lining the surface water conveyance pipeline to the Hatchery. In addition, the current access road would be modified and extended to provide better entry to an expanded intake operations and maintenance area (IO&MA). The Proposed Action is depicted on Map A-3 and Map A-4 in Appendix A. A conceptual drawing of the proposed intake facilities is included as Map A-5 in Appendix A. Reclamation shared final engineered drawings of the Proposed Action with the

USFWS.

General descriptions of the Proposed Action components are included in the following sections.

Following the general descriptions, additional information on Proposed Action phasing, timing, and other details is included in Construction Phases, Timing, and Additional Detail.

Intake and Fish Passage The existing low-head diversion dam and fish ladder/sediment sluice will be partially demolished and removed. The headworks and creek-width roughened channel will be constructed over the remaining, undemolished portions of these features. Concrete surfaced areas would be limited to the IO&MA pad and the intake structure perimeter, on the creek side. The remaining surfaces would be natural or gravel covered. Two self-cleaning, cylindrical screens will be installed at the intake headworks to provide NMFS-compliant fish screening, provide redundancy in case of screen maintenance, and facilitate the Hatchery’s ability to meet future water conservation goals. A low-flow boulder weir fishway will be integrated into the roughened channel to provide NMFS-compliant fish passage during typical low flows.

A portion of the roughened channel will be extended upstream of the diversion dam to facilitate fish passage overall and at higher flows in particular. The intake trashrack structure will be removed, and a new intake pipeline will be placed in the intake channel to connect the headworks to the conveyance pipeline. The intake channel will be filled to cover the pipeline and create the IO&MA to enable Hatchery personnel to safely and efficiently access, operate, and maintain the intake facilities. The existing stairway from the access road to the intake channel will be removed as this

4 Email from C. Raekes, USFWS, to M. Cappellini, USFWS; J. Sutter, Reclamation; E. Heether, Reclamation; S. Hoefer, Reclamation; and S. Franks, USFWS, on October 7, 2020, Subject: Re: Follow up on our call this morning.

3. Proposed Action

8 SWISP Project EIS area would become part of the IO&MA. Additional detail on intake and fish passage construction during Phase I is included in Construction Phases, Timing, and Additional Detail, below.

Sediment Management Multiple design elements are proposed to manage sediment accumulated at the intake. These are a ramp on the upstream side of the roughened channel to help mobilize sediment over the feature.

This element will facilitate passive sediment mobilization by Icicle Creek flows over the roughened channel on a continuous basis, and during higher flows in particular. The slope of the ramp is 2 horizontal to 1 vertical.

Another element to manage sediment is a vertical access pipe incorporated into the IO&MA behind the screens. This will enable a submersible pump to draw in screened water and force it through a hose and nozzle to mobilize sediment through propulsion. Additional elements are a series of pipes, valves, and an outlet channel at the pipeline intake and sediment management area (PISMA) to flush sediment through the intake pipeline back to Icicle Creek. Components of the PISMA will be placed at the former gatehouse location; additional construction detail is included below. While construction of these additional elements is included in this consultation, sediment management using them is considered to be O&M, which are not included under this consultation.

Conveyance Pipeline The conveyance pipeline will be replaced using cut and cover trenching on USFWS property at the Hatchery grounds and lined with cure-in-place pipe (CIPP) on USFWS property at the surface water intake and on private parcels. Construction of several temporary access points (contractor use areas [CUAs]) along the existing conveyance pipeline alignment will provide ingress and egress for pipe lining on private lands. These areas will be restored to preconstruction conditions following lining activities.

The lower section of pipeline on USFWS property will be constructed parallel to the existing pipeline. The current control valve system at the sand settling basin on USFWS property will be replaced with a new control valve vault to allow safe pipe filling operations. After control valve connections are made, the existing pipeline will be decommissioned and abandoned in place.

All rehabilitation, replacement, and modernization of the LNFH intake and delivery facilities will conclude at the control valve system; the sand settling basin and inside and outside screen chambers will remain unaltered. Additional detail on conveyance pipeline construction during Phase II is included in Construction Phases, Timing, and Additional Detail, below.

Temporary Hatchery Water Supply Temporary Hatchery water will primarily be supplied by a gravity-fed diversion. A 40-cfs water supply to the LNFH will be maintained during Phase I construction. Temporary pumping from the spillway pool will supply water while the gravity bypass pipeline and outlet are installed and connected to the existing conveyance pipeline approximately 200–300 feet below the intake construction area. This will be over an approximately 1 week period. It is likely that multiple pumps will be needed to supply this water.

SWISP Project EIS 9

A 20-cfs water supply to the LNFH will be maintained during Phase II construction between April 17 and May 20. This will be needed when lining the pipeline with CIPP, and pipeline interconnections are underway. This water supply to the LNFH will be through pumping from the spillway pool adjacent to the LNFH as needed.

Additional detail on the temporary Hatchery water supply during Phase I and Phase II of construction is included in Construction Phases, Timing, and Additional Detail, below.

Access and Staging Staging and storage sites for construction equipment and materials, and construction staff administration and vehicle parking will be located at various locations on LNFH grounds. Trucks hauling construction equipment and containing construction materials will be required to turn around approximately 1.25 miles above the intake access road, at the Forest Service and Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area kiosks on Icicle Creek Road. Construction access to the conveyance pipeline will use existing roads, temporary access routes, and the pipeline right-of-way. Additional detail on access and staging during Phase I and Phase II of construction is included in Construction Phases, Timing, and Additional Detail, below.

Best Management Practices Reclamation will implement acceptable practices to protect the water quality and other resources during construction. Best management practices (BMPs) will be implemented to reduce project impacts on resources and resource uses, including, but not limited to, fisheries and aquatic resources, Tribal interests, public health and safety, and recreation. The comprehensive list of BMPs is included in Appendix D.

Construction Phases, Timing, and Additional Detail Construction of the SWISP Project will occur in three phases. Phase I includes construction of the intake access road and rehabilitation of the intake structures and facilities (e.g., fish screens and fish passage). Phase I includes all proposed in-water work. The in-water work window is between July 1 and November 15 each year; construction will be done over 2 years, including two in-water work windows (2022 and 2023). Phase I construction activities could occur up to 24 hours per day and up to 7 days per week.

Phase II includes replacement and lining of the conveyance pipeline. Phase II construction activities will be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., up to 6 days per week (Monday through Saturday). There will likely be temporary overlap between parts of Phase I and Phase II construction. For instance, in July 2022 it is likely that construction of the proposed intake facilities may overlap with pipeline replacement on the Hatchery grounds.

Phase III includes revegetation of upland and riparian areas that are proposed to be disturbed during earlier phases of construction.

Additional detail for each construction phase is provided in the following sections.

10 SWISP Project EIS

Phase I Mobilization and site preparation for Phase I construction will begin in March 2022, and finish by mid-April. Site preparation in the intake construction area will begin with installation of erosion control measures such as silt fencing (see Appendix D) at the boundary of the intake construction area, and clearing and grubbing within the intake construction area. A total of approximately 0.89 acres of surface disturbance and vegetation removal will occur. Erosion control measures would be maintained in working order for the duration of the project.

The intake access road will be graded to facilitate intake construction area access. Intake access road construction will include breaking rocks and bedrock, removing boulders, and excavating and filling to the design grade to widen and extend the existing access road. A vehicle guardrail will also be installed on the creek side of the road. A crane will be used to unload construction materials from delivery trucks and move them to required construction areas. Access to the existing gatehouse/proposed PISMA location would also be graded. This construction will be done outside of and up to the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark.

Following site preparation, cofferdam A will be installed. Three temporary cofferdam arrangements are proposed over the two in-water work window seasons, as shown in Figure 1. In the figure, Cofferdam Phase 1 is the same as cofferdam A in this BA, Cofferdam Phase 2 is cofferdam B, and Cofferdam Phase 3 is cofferdam C.

Figure 1. Rendering of Temporary Cofferdam Locations

SWISP Project EIS 11

Cofferdam A installation will begin in early July 2022, at the beginning of the in-water work window;

cofferdam A will be fully installed by late July. It will be removed no later than November 15, 2022.

Cofferdams B and C will be installed in sequence during the second in-water work window, in 2023.

They will be removed no later than November 15, 2023. Cofferdam durations, dewatered work areas, and purpose are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2 Temporary Cofferdam Phasing and Details

Cofferdam Duration Installed

Approximate Dewatered Work Area1

Fish Salvage

Required?

Purpose

A

Early July 2022 to mid- November

0.4 acres Yes

Partial demolition of low-head diversion dam and fish ladder/sediment sluice;

construction and installation of headworks

B Early July 2023 to late August 2023

0.3 acres Yes

Construction and installation of creek-width roughened channel (north half) and low-flow boulder weir fishway;

fracture and removal of boulder; preparation of cofferdam C area

C

Late August 2023 to early October

0.3 acres Yes Construction and installation of creek-width roughened channel (south half)

PISMA

sluiceway work area isolation2

Late July 2022 to mid- August 2022

0.1 acre Yes Construction of the PISMA sluiceway

Notes:

1 Cofferdam dewatered work area estimates are approximate. Estimates are for the dewatered area within the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark.

2 This work area is typically dry during the work period, so this cofferdam is unlikely to be necessary.

During construction of Phase I while cofferdams are in place, existing fish passage will be maintained over the greatest stream width as possible, while maintaining a minimum depth of water at 0.8 feet (see BMPs in Appendix D). During cofferdam installation and removal no wet crossings or heavy equipment use will occur in Icicle Creek live water. Use of a long-reach excavator or crane will be used for constructing and removing the cofferdams, either from outside of the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark, or from within a temporarily dewatered work area isolated from Icicle Creek by another cofferdam. Machinery and equipment will be removed from the dewatered work areas when not in active use, and during higher-flow conditions.

12 SWISP Project EIS

Temporary cofferdams will likely consist of geo-bags filled with sand and gravel,5stacked side-by-side and one atop another to achieve necessary dimensions. Once placed, the cofferdam will be wrapped with Visqueen6 or a similar material, eliminating interstitial spaces between the geo-bags to prevent impingement or entrapment of fish and reduce or prevent leakage. The cofferdam design is estimated to be approximately 12 feet wide at the base with a tapered width as it rises to approximately 9 feet. Due to the uneven, cobbly to rocky nature of the Icicle Creek streambed in the intake construction area, an excavator working from adjacent uplands (or for cofferdam C, within the dewatered work area of cofferdam B) will be used to level the streambed in the cofferdam footprint area. If use of a jackhammer is necessary to fracture rocks within the stream, it will be used in the dewatered cofferdam area after the cofferdam is installed. Some of the streambed materials removed will be hauled to a staging area (see Map A-1) and stockpiled for later use in construction of the roughened channel, and material that cannot be reused will be removed and properly disposed of in a landfill. Once the streambed is prepared, cofferdam geo-bags will be placed by a crane or excavator operating from adjacent uplands (or from within a dewatered work area).

Additional details on the amount and type of fills and removals associated with temporary cofferdams is included in Table 3.

During streambed preparation and cofferdam installation, water quality monitoring will occur to ensure turbidity downstream of the construction does not exceed allowable levels, in compliance with Conservation Measure 3 (see Section 3.2, Conservation Measures). Should observed turbidity exceed allowable levels at the point of compliance specified in the conservation measure, in-water construction will temporarily stop until turbidity has cleared. In-water construction could then recommence at a slower rate to minimize generated turbidity. Monitoring and additional temporary work stoppages would occur as needed in accordance with the conservation measure.

Prior to cofferdam installation, block nets (seine and dip nets) will be used to remove fish from, and prevent fish from entering, the cofferdam footprint area. All fish salvage activities, including netting, would be conducted by the USFWS Mid-Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office. Transfer measures for ESA-listed fish would include using a sanctuary net that holds water during transfer to prevent the added stress of an out-of-water transfer when necessary and minimal handling of fish.

Once cofferdams are installed, the area behind the cofferdam will be temporarily dewatered using one or more sump pumps, and the USFWS Mid-Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office would salvage any fish inadvertently trapped within the area to be dewatered. During dewatering, Reclamation will adhere to the USFWS (2012) Recommended Fish Exclusion, Capture, Handling, and Electroshocking Protocols and Standards for bull trout (Appendix E). Pumps used to temporarily bypass water or to dewater work areas will be screened to prevent aquatic life from entering the intake. Fish screens or guards will comply with the most recent fish screening guidelines for anadromous salmonids prescribed by the NMFS (see Appendix D, Best Management Practices).

All exterior (stream-facing) walls of cofferdams will be smooth and free of joints to reduce impingement or entrapment of ESA-listed fish species, or other fish, present in Icicle Creek. The

5 Geo-bags, or non-woven geotextile bags, are large bags made of synthetic materials, such as polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene, which are filled with sand, rock, or other material. They are fastened shut and used to protect structures or riverbanks from erosion or scour.

6 Visqueen is a brand of low-density polyethylene plastic sheeting.

SWISP Project EIS 13 construction contractor will conduct visual inspections of the cofferdams on a regular basis to ensure they are maintained in functioning condition. During visual inspections, and fish observed impinged or entrapped in the cofferdam structure of other associated appurtenances (e.g., guywires) will be reported immediately to the on-site inspector, who will immediately contact the USFWS Mid- Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office. The contractor will not handle or remove fish (live or dead). Staff from the Mid-Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office will investigate the impingement or entrapment and record pertinent information (such as data on species, size, likely reason for impingement, and other environmental conditions assumed to contribute to impingement) and will share information with USFWS Ecological Services. The contractor will implement any mitigation measures developed by USFWS Ecological Services, in consultation with Reclamation, to reduce or prevent further impingement or entrapment.

Partial demolition of the low-head diversion dam and fish ladder/sediment sluice, and notching of the low-head diversion dam where the low-flow fishway would be built in the 2023 in-water work window, will be done using 30-pound pneumatic tools (i.e., jackhammers). Jackhammers would likely be an attachment to the excavator, but, for smaller rocks, a hand-held jackhammer could be used. Such tools typically generate sound levels of approximately 85 A-weighted decibels (dBA), measured 50 feet from the tool (Federal Highway Administration 2006); however, noise levels will be higher closer to the tool. For instance, a 35-pound pneumatic breaker tool is listed as generating 106 dBA, though the distance from the tool is not specified (Ingersoll Rand 2014).

Demolition will be done from outside of the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark, or in dewatered work areas, behind a temporary cofferdam. Demolished materials will be removed to an upland location for disposal in a landfill.

Similarly, construction of the headworks and retaining wall will be conducted in dewatered work areas behind a temporary cofferdam. The proposed dimensions of the intake headworks fish screen are approximately 50 feet wide, by 165 feet long, by 20 feet high. Fill for the headworks would consist of approximately 1,733 cubic yards of earthen material and 410 cubic yards of reinforced concrete (see Table 3, Fills and Removals Within and Adjacent to Icicle Creek). A foundational base would be first poured to form stem walls, and the base will be placed with rebar extending upwards to help anchor the wall to the base. Over-excavation of a minimum of 3 feet into the Icicle Creek streambed will be done with an excavator working in the dewatered work area, with structural compacted backfill replaced in this area to support the stem walls.

Demolition would begin in late July 2022 and last approximately 1 month; formwork, reinforcing, and pouring concrete for the headworks and retaining walls will begin in August 2022 and last approximately 2 months. Concrete will be left to cure for a minimum of 4 days before cofferdams are removed (Appendix D). Approximately 0.15 acres of Icicle Creek below the ordinary high water mark will be permanently lost due to construction of the proposed intake facilities.

Following construction of the intake structure, Reclamation will install two 30-inch diameter self-cleaning, cylindrical fish screens that meet current NMFS criteria for anadromous salmonids (NMFS 2011), as required by the NMFS biological opinion for LNFH operations (NMFS 2017a). Per the construction specifications, screens will have a design approach velocity that will not exceed 0.4 feet per second at the maximum design flow measured at 3 inches from the screen. The working deck at a minimum of 1 foot above the 100-year floodwater surface elevation will be constructed as part of

14 SWISP Project EIS the intake headworks structure then the fish screens will be placed in the guide-channels integrated into the structure. The mechanics to raise and lower the fish screens will be located on the working deck. The fish screen structure will be oriented such that the screens will be as close to parallel with the direction of streamflow as possible, to provide NMFS-compliant sweeping velocities. Screens will be installed in late October to early November 2022. An excavator will lift the screens into place from the working deck and would not require equipment in the water.

Demolition of the existing gatehouse and construction of the PISMA will take approximately 3 weeks, from late July 2022 to mid-August 2022. These could occur concurrently with cofferdam placement, however, it is likely that cofferdam placement will be prioritized to occur before gatehouse demolition and PISMA construction due to construction area size constraints and equipment access considerations. The construction area will be mostly contained within the existing gatehouse footprint. This area is located approximately 20 feet from the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark, and outside of the 100-year floodplain. Erosion control BMPs (Appendix D) will be in place to prevent sediment transport to Icicle Creek during construction. Access to the construction site will be established from the intake access road during site preparation, which is described above in this section.

The PISMA sluiceway pipe is proposed to extend from the PISMA into the existing outlet channel, which is a compacted, human-modified feature created from historical, periodic sluicing of up to 54 cfs from the gatehouse. This activity has also created a hydraulic low spot where sluiced water exits the gatehouse and plunges into the outlet channel. The existing low spot presents a fish stranding hazard during sluicing activities. The 24-inch diameter sluiceway pipe will extend into the existing outlet channel, and approximately 30 feet into/below the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark.

This would remove the existing fish stranding hazard with buried pipe and the area would be regraded and vegetated. The upper portion of the existing gatehouse outlet channel, which is proposed to be bypassed by the proposed sluiceway pipeline, will be returned to a pre-project (pre- 1939) condition. There will be herbaceous and shrub vegetation planted in this area (see Phase III).

The lower section of the outlet channel will remain in its compacted, human-modified state, below the sluiceway pipe outlet. The sluiceway pipe outlet will discharge at the existing grade to avoid creating an undercut or pond.

Though the sluiceway pipe would extend approximately 30 feet into/below the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark, this area is typically dry during the summer months when construction is proposed.7 As such, the sluiceway pipeline is not proposed to be constructed within the confines of a temporary cofferdam, and Reclamation does not anticipate dewatering or fish salvage to be necessary. The sluiceway pipeline will be placed in the upper portion of the existing outlet channel.

This is also part of the PISMA and will be about a 30 foot run down the existing channel. An excavator will work from the side of the channel with the work area anticipated to be dry. However, if water were present in the construction area during the construction period of late July 2022 to mid-August 2022, the construction area will be isolated from Icicle Creek. This could likely be accomplished with a minimal cofferdam system (e.g., consisting of weed-free straw bales and Visqueen or similar materials). If isolation of the construction area is needed, dewatering and fish

7 Email from E. Heether, Reclamation, to M. Trieger, EMPSi, on October 6, 2020. Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] SWISP BA - PISMA outlet channel.

SWISP Project EIS 15 salvage will be conducted in accordance with the protocols described for the temporary cofferdams, above. All fish salvage activities will be conducted by the USFWS Mid-Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (Conservation Measure 1; see Section 3.2, Conservation Measures). Even if no cofferdam is needed, sediment control measures (Appendix D) in compliance with the construction stormwater protection plan will be installed to prevent sediment mobilization into Icicle Creek.

During Phase I construction, specifically for nearly the duration of the in-water work window in 2022, temporary Hatchery water (40 cfs) will primarily be supplied by a gravity-fed diversion. The 24-inch gravity bypass pipeline will divert water from Icicle Creek, and deliver it to the existing conveyance pipeline at a point approximately 300 feet below the existing gatehouse. The gravity bypass pipeline intake will be placed in Icicle Creek, just upstream of the existing low-head diversion dam. It will be a rigid pipe weighted to keep it in place during variable flows, likely through attachment to ecology blocks or geo-bags. The gravity bypass pipeline will run from that point to the gravity bypass outlet on the exiting conveyance pipeline. The gravity bypass pipeline intake will have a trashrack to prevent large debris from entering it, but it would not be screened to NMFS-compliant standards. The trashrack will not be a fine mesh screen but likely rebar fashioned into a screen to prevent debris entry.

Until mid-July 2022, Hatchery water will be supplied by the diversion at the existing intake facilities.

The gravity bypass pipeline will be placed in Icicle Creek in mid-July 2022. After this time, there will be an approximately 1-week period where diversion from the existing intake facilities are ceased, and pumping from the spillway pool will be used to supply the temporary Hatchery water supply of 40 cfs. This will be necessary as the gravity bypass pipeline/conveyance pipeline connection point is made. Two pumps will be used to supply temporary water. The diesel-powered pumps will be outside of the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark, and water quality BMPs (Appendix D) would prevent fuels from entering Icicle Creek. At the end of this 1-week period, in late July, the gravity bypass pipeline would be operational and supplying the temporary Hatchery water supply of 40 cfs.

This will continue to early November 2022. At this time, there will be a similar 1-week switch to pumping from the spillway pool while the gravity bypass pipeline/conveyance pipeline connection point was removed, and flow was initiated through the newly installed intake structure and NMFS-compliant fish screens. At this point, the gravity bypass intake and pipeline will be removed.

Cofferdam A (and if used, the PISMA sluiceway cofferdam) will be removed by mid-November (and no later than November 15) 2022. During reintroduction of Icicle Creek flows to the previously dewatered work area, Reclamation will adhere to the USFWS (2012) Recommended Fish Exclusion, Capture, Handling, and Electroshocking Protocols and Standards for Bull Trout (Appendix E).

These recommend that flows be reintroduced gradually to minimize the intensity of sediment mobilization and resultant turbidity downstream of construction. During cofferdam removal, turbidity monitoring will occur; as described above, in-water construction will temporarily cease if turbidity levels are greater than expected.

Following Phase I construction in areas outside the Icicle Creek ordinary high water mark, in approximately mid-November 2022, hydroseeding of disturbed areas that do not have a surface treatment (e.g., gravel) with an upland or riparian herbaceous plant seed mix, as appropriate, will occur. Seed mixes are described in the Draft Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Intake Planting Plan (Appendix C). Seed mixes will be applied at a rate of 20 pounds per acre, while the ground is

16 SWISP Project EIS free of snow. Additional seeding, and shrub and tree planting activities will occur under Phases II and III, respectively, as described below.

During the 2023 in-water work window, the low-flow boulder weir fishway and roughened channel will be constructed. Construction will begin with installation of cofferdam B to isolate the work area in the northern half of Icicle Creek (stream left, when viewed looking downstream). Cofferdam details, installation methods, and protocols for fish salvage are described above. During cofferdam installation and removal no wet crossings or heavy equipment use will occur in live water. Use of a long-reach excavator or crane will be used for constructing the cofferdams. The large boulder (see Table 3, below) will be fractured and removed from Icicle Creek, using 30-pound jackhammers as described for other demolition above. This will be approximately in late July 2023. Construction of the low-flow boulder weir fishway, followed by construction of the northern portion of the roughened channel, will be done between late July 2023 and late August 2023, at which time cofferdam C will be constructed and cofferdam B will be removed. Construction of the remaining portion of the roughened channel will commence after cofferdam C is completed in early September 2023; construction will be complete by late October 2023, at which time cofferdam C would be removed.

Construction of, removal of, and access to and from the cofferdam C area may be done by a number of methods. For example, the construction contractor may use a long-reach excavator or crane to place the cofferdam from the intake headworks built during the 2022 in-water work window, or an excavator or crane working in the dewatered area behind cofferdam B may place cofferdam C. Access to cofferdam C may be provided by a temporary steel or wooden beam bridge constructed between the intake headworks and the cofferdam area. During cofferdam removal, the contractor may shift the cofferdam footprint incrementally, essentially creating a dewatered egress route. No matter the methods used to construct, access, and remove the cofferdam, there will be no wet crossings or heavy equipment use in live water, and fish passage will be maintained over the greatest stream width as possible, while maintaining a minimum depth of water at 0.8 feet (see BMPs in Appendix D).

The low-flow boulder weir fishway is designed to provide open-channel fish passage at low flows, and to withstand high flows up to the 100-year flood. The fishway design flow is a minimum of 33 cfs. This flow rate exceeds the minimum flow required by NFMS hydrological criteria of 95 percent exceedance flow (NMFS 2011). Exceedance flow probabilities were developed using average mean-daily flows in Icicle Creek above the existing intake (because exceedance probabilities were developed for upstream of the existing intake, they are 42 cfs higher than below the existing intake).

As summarized in Table 1 of Reclamation (2020), the 95 percent exceedance flows range from a low of 54 in September to a high of 599 cfs in June, and the 5 percent exceedance flows range from a low of 295 cfs in September to a high of 3,494 cfs in May.

The low-flow boulder weir fishway is designed to provide depth and velocities at low discharges of 75 cfs (42 cfs diverted at the proposed intake, and 33 cfs in the low-flow fishway) that meet the following criteria: 1 foot depth, less than 1 foot hydraulic drops between boulder weirs, and flow velocities of less than 3 feet per second or 4 feet per second for distances between 10 and 100 linear feet (Reclamation 2020). Recirculation zones (velocity vectors directed upstream) will form along the outer edges of the low-flow fishway and behind boulder weirs. These zones provide resting areas as

SWISP Project EIS 17 fish migrate upstream.