Icicle Work Group Releases DPEIS for Comment
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The Newsletter of the Alpine Lakes Protection Society (ALPS) 2018 Issue No. 1 Karl Forsgaard Icicle Work Group releases DPEIS for comment by Karl Forsgaard Above: Excavator at Eightmile Lake dam. On May 31, Chelan County manipulate water levels on seven and the State Department of lakes within the Alpine Lakes Also in this issue: Ecology announced the release Wilderness: Colchuck, Eightmile, Snohomish P.U.D. finally aban- of the Draft Programmatic Upper and Lower Snow, Nada, dones Sunset Falls project .........4 Environmental Impact Statement Lower Klonaqua and Square DNR plans new trail to Oxbow (DPEIS) for the “Icicle Creek Lakes. Creeks impacted by the Lake ..............................................5 Watershed Water Resources manipulation include Eightmile, Management Strategy.” The French, Icicle, Klonaqua, Leland, ALPS turns 50 ................................6 release initiates a 60-day Mountaineer, Prospect and Snow Fred Beckey dies ............................6 public comment period, with Creeks. Unending saga of Travel a comment deadline of July One of the DPEIS alternatives Management in Okanogan Wenachee NF ..............................7 30. ALPS will be submitting proposes to drain an eighth lake, comments on the DPEIS. Upper Klonaqua, by installing Olympic goats will move .............9 The DPEIS presents five a siphon or pump or blasting a Grizzly update .............................14 action alternatives, all of tunnel between Upper and Lower Changes to ALPS Board of which seek to construct dams Klonaqua Lakes. Trustees .....................................14 and related structures and Continued on page 2 Kachess SDEIS released for comment ....................................15 ALPINE 1 Continued from page 1 Alternative 4 includes chapters list consultation and several egregious proposals for coordination efforts, references, In other words, Alpine Lakes construction in the Wilderness: and contributors Wilderness remains at risk of drilling a tunnel between two DPEIS Appendix A is a “SEPA future water development, lakes (Upper and Lower Klonaqua Responsiveness Summary” including negative impacts to the Lakes); building a higher dam that includes the May 2016 wilderness lakes, streams and at Upper Snow Lake (enlarging scoping comments, with a table ecosystem. These projects would that lake); and a higher-than-ever summarizing comments and set bad precedents for the National dam at Eightmile Lake (making responses. Forms of the word Wilderness System, and must be that lake bigger than it has ever “relinquishment” appear many opposed. been). These projects were not times in the comments column, but This article will first describe part of the proposed action in never in the response column. DPEIS content, followed by Icicle the SEPA scoping conducted by IWG in 2016, so the public was Appendix B is a report Work Group background, recent entitled “Eightmile Lake Storage events including the Eightmile not provided an opportunity to comment on them during scoping. Restoration Feasibility Study,” dam “emergency,” and what you dated April 2018, prepared by can do to comment on the DPEIS. Like Eightmile “Restoration,” these projects run afoul of federal Anchor QEA LLC and Aspect DPEIS content wilderness law and state water Consulting LLC. It was prepared for IPID and Chelan County. The DPEIS describes six law. They are unprecedented in alternatives, including a No-Action the National Wilderness System. Appendix C is a report entitled alternative, IWG’s “Base Package” Alternative 5 includes the Feasibility Study – Alpine Lakes of component projects, and four “Full IPID Pump Station,” which Optimization and Automation,” other alternatives that combine would move IPID’s point of dated April 2018, prepared by “Base Package” components with diversion downstream to the Aspect Consulting LLC. It was other projects. The DPEIS and its Wenatchee River, and greatly prepared for Chelan County. appendices total 1,674 pages. improve flows in Icicle Creek Appendix D is a table of Alternative 1 is the IWG without building bigger dams in “WDFW Priority Species and “Base Package” of component the Wilderness. However, like all Preferred Habitats.” Appendix projects; it appears likely to be the of the alternatives, Alternative 5 E consists of copies of easement agencies’ preferred alternative (“… includes the defective Eightmile agreements and deeds. “Restoration” project to make this alternative represented the Appendix F is a report entitled Eightmile dam higher than it has best recommendation available “Changing Streamflow in Icicle, been since 1990, i.e., to enlarge after four years of study by IWG Peshastin and Mission Creeks,” Eightmile Lake. members”). dated May 12, 2017, by the UW Alternative 2 was developed The DPEIS is organized into Climate Impacts Group, followed by IWG “in response to SEPA chapters. Chapter 1 includes by a series of “Flow Charts scoping comments that requested background information, of Instream Flow Benefit per examination of pump station purpose and need, and the Alternative Based on Climate options and omission of the IWG “guiding principles.” Change Modeling,” prepared by Alpine Lakes Optimization, Chapter 2 provides narrative Aspect Consulting LLC. summaries of the alternatives. Modernization and Automation Background project.” Chapter 3 describes the affected environment including earth, The co-lead agencies on the Alternative 3 “is a response water resources, water use, fish DPEIS (Ecology and Chelan to SEPA scoping comments and wildlife, vegetation, aesthetics, County) are also co-conveners that expressed a desire for air quality, climate change, noise, of the Icicle Work Group (IWG). an alternative that excluded land use, wilderness, shorelines, One of the IWG goals is to extract projects within the Alpine Lakes transportation, cultural resources more water for “new home Wilderness Area. … It calls for and socioeconomics. Chapter 4 construction” in the Wenatchee a legislative change to waive describes anticipated impacts of Valley. They also claim to solve impacts to instream flows when each alternative and mitigation instream flow problems in Icicle conservation and pump-exchange- measures. Short-term and long- Creek near the Leavenworth based supplies cannot perfectly term impacts are organized by National Fish Hatchery, to protect meet demand required to provide resource, impact type, alternative, tribal fishing rights and improve domestic reliability.” and project. The remaining irrigation reliability. 2 ALPINE We appreciate the irrigators’ UW Climate Impacts Group method for getting an excavator to need for water to irrigate projections of a dramatic decrease the dam (on the ground through their orchards and keep them in flows during the peak season the wilderness) was not going to productive. We do not object to in the next 50 years. The letter be approved by the Forest Service, the exercise of valid, existing concluded that in light of the making the cost much higher (the water rights, but we question an recent climate change analysis excavator was flown in by a large assertion of water rights that have and the non-compliance with the helicopter). been relinquished or are otherwise Wilderness Act, the proposed dam In December 2017, ALPS invalid. While we appreciate the construction at Eightmile and submitted a letter signed by 33 goal to improve instream flows Snow Lakes, and the Klonaqua organizations requesting that in Icicle Creek, it is contradictory Lakes Tunnel proposal should be IWG conduct a public meeting to exploit one natural area under removed from consideration in the in the Seattle area as part of the the guise of enhancing another, upcoming DPEIS (unfortunately, public involvement process for particularly when other options these bad projects are included in the upcoming DPEIS release, and are available. the DPEIS released a year later). allow a public comment period The Alpine Lakes Wilderness At the July 2017 meeting of of at least 90 days. The letter is one of the nation’s more IWG, it was announced that the was submitted to the Governor’s popular wilderness destinations DPEIS release would be postponed office because IWG leadership and attracts people from around from July to October 2017 (it was had been non-responsive when the world, particularly to the later postponed several more times these requests were made earlier Enchantments Basin, known for before being released on May 31, in the year. The letter asked its competitive permit lottery. 2018). that the Seattle-area meeting With 615 miles of trail (including At the July 2017 IWG meeting, be considered an official public a section of the Pacific Crest Trail), ALPS reminded IWG of the meeting, announced in the same world-class climbing, hiking and issue of relinquishment of IPID way, held and facilitated in the backpacking, and 400,000 acres water rights at Eightmile Lake, same way, and public comments of spectacular mountain scenery where there are only pieces of treated the same way as proposed and lakes, the area is beloved by the former dam, and those pieces for the Leavenworth public recreationists and is an important have not held water in decades meeting. However, IWG rejected contributor to the regional (so an entirely new dam is what is these requests, providing only an recreation economy. being proposed at that site, not a unofficial informational meeting For several years, a coalition “repair”). ALPS also said that the in the Seattle area, and a comment of more than 40 conservation and Eightmile “restoration”