Willamette Valley System Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0540)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to address the continued operations and maintenance of the Willamette Valley System (WVS) in accordance with authorized project purposes; while meeting Endangered Species Act (ESA) obligations to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of listed species. The Corps will serve as the lead Federal agency for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Bonneville Power Administration is a Cooperating Agency.

The WVS consists of 13 multipurpose dams and reservoirs, riverbank protection projects, and hatchery programs to mitigate for effects of the project on fish habitat. BPA markets the hydropower generated at eight of the WVS dams. The most recent NEPA evaluation for the overall WVS operations and maintenance was an EIS completed in 1980. Since 1980, the Corps has modified operations and implemented structural improvements for fish passage and temperature control to address effects of the WVS on ESA-listed fish. NEPA evaluations since the 1980 EIS have been project-specific rather than system-wide. There is also new information relevant to the environmental impacts of operating the WVS. This PEIS will evaluate the impacts of continued operations and maintenance of the WVS. The PEIS will be prepared in accordance with NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Corps' NEPA regulations (33 CFR part 230), and the Department of Energy’s NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021).

The Corps has reinitiated formal consultation under Section 7 of the ESA on the National Marine Fisheries Service's 2008 Biological Opinion for the Willamette River Basin Flood Control Project. This NEPA process will inform the ESA Section 7 consultation process. Additionally, the Corps has initiated consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

CURRENT STATUS

The Corps released the draft PEIS for public review and comment on November 25, 2022. The deadline to submit comments to the Corps (as the lead agency) is February 23, 2023. During the draft PEIS public-comment period, the Corps will host two virtual information sessions and four in-person public open house-style meetings to provide opportunities for the public to interact with Corps staff and submit comments. The Corps will consider these comments when finalizing the PEIS. The public will then be provided an opportunity to review the final PEIS, which the Corps anticipates issuing in fall 2024.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Corps Draft PEIS - Virtual Meetings:
December 6, 2022, 5:30-6:30 PM
December 8, 2022, noon to 1 PM

Corps Draft PEIS - In-Person Meetings:
January 9, 2023, 6-8 PM in Springfield, OR
January 10, 2023, 12:30-2:30 PM in Eugene, OR
January 11, 2023, 6-8 PM in Sweet Home, OR
January 12, 2023, noon to 2 PM in Stayton, OR

For webinar log-in information, in-person meeting-venue locations, and instructions on how to submit comments, please visit the Corps’ project website at: https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Locations/Willamette-Valley/System-Evaluation-EIS/ 

SCHEDULE

Notice of Intent Publication: April 1, 2019
Public Scoping Period: May 14, 2019 – June 28, 2019
Public Scoping Meetings: June 2019
Draft PEIS Public Comment Period: November 25, 2022 – February 23, 2023
Final PEIS: Spring 2024
Corps’ Record of Decision: Fall 2024

CONTACT

For more information and for the Corps' point of contact, please visit the Corps' project website.

DOCUMENTS

Draft PEIS (November 2022)

Public Scoping Report  (December 2019)
Public Scoping Report Appendices Part 1
Public Scoping Report Appendices Part 2
Notice of Intent  (04/01/2019)
Public Scoping meeting boards
Scoping Informational brochure