Kootenai Lower Meander Project Draft Environmental Assessment March 2017 DOE/EA‐2051 Table of Contents 1 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION ........................................................................................ 6 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Need for Action ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Purposes ................................................................................................................................................. 6 1.4 Background ............................................................................................................................................ 7 1.5 Public Involvement ............................................................................................................................... 8 2 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES .......................................................................... 9 2.1 Proposed Action .................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 No Action Alternative ........................................................................................................................ 16 2.3 Comparison of Alternatives ............................................................................................................... 16 2.4 Mitigation Measures ........................................................................................................................... 20 3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ................. 25 3.1 Soils and Geology ................................................................................................................................ 25 3.2 Wetlands ............................................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Water Resources .................................................................................................................................. 28 3.4 Fish and Fish Habitat .......................................................................................................................... 32 3.5 Recreation ............................................................................................................................................. 35 3.6 Cultural Resources .............................................................................................................................. 37 3.7 Visual Resources .................................................................................................................................. 39 3.8 Noise ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 3.9 Air Quality and Greenhouse Gasses ................................................................................................. 41 3.10 Public Health and Safety .................................................................................................................... 42 3.11 Transportation and Utilities ............................................................................................................... 43 3.12 Socioeconomics .................................................................................................................................... 44 3.13 Other Environmental Resources ....................................................................................................... 47 3.14 Cumulative Effects Analysis .............................................................................................................. 47 4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTATION, REVIEW, AND PERMIT REQUIREMENTS .. 51 4.1 National Environmental Policy Act .................................................................................................. 51 4.2 Wetlands, Floodplains, and Water Resources ................................................................................. 51 4.3 Fish and Wildlife ................................................................................................................................. 52 4.4 Land Use Plan Consistency ................................................................................................................ 54 4.5 Farmland Protection Policy Act ........................................................................................................ 54 4.6 Cultural and Historic Resources ....................................................................................................... 54 4.7 Air Quality ........................................................................................................................................... 55 4.8 Climate Change ................................................................................................................................... 55 4.9 Noise ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 4.10 Hazardous Materials ........................................................................................................................... 56 4.11 Executive Order on Environmental Justice ...................................................................................... 56 5 TRIBES, AGENCIES, AND PERSONS CONSULTED ........................................................... 57 5.1 Federal Agencies ................................................................................................................................. 57 Lower Meander Project 2 Draft Environmental Assessment 5.2 State Agencies ...................................................................................................................................... 57 5.3 Tribes ..................................................................................................................................................... 57 5.4 Local Governments ............................................................................................................................. 57 5.5 Other ..................................................................................................................................................... 57 6 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 58 7 WORKS CITED .............................................................................................................................. 59 Lower Meander Project Draft Environmental Assessment 3 List of Figures Figure 1 Lower Meander Project Location ............................................................................................................. 9 Figure 2 Lower Meander Project Area .................................................................................................................. 10 Figure 3 Kootenai Lower Meander construction actions, Phase 1 (upstream) ................................................ 11 Figure 4 Kootenai Lower Meander construction actions, Phase 2 (downstream) .......................................... 11 Figure 5 Examples of large bank structures in the Kootenai River ................................................................... 13 Figure 6 Pool excavation actions in the Kootenai River ..................................................................................... 14 Figure 7 Vegetated brush bank structures under construction at the 2015 Bonners Ferry Islands project ............................................................................................................................................... 14 Figure 8 Staging areas and temporary haul roads .............................................................................................. 15 Figure 9 Examples of temporary river access road construction ...................................................................... 16 Figure 10 Peak Flows in the Kootenai River ,1932‐2012 ..................................................................................... 28 Figure 11 Sediment plume during 2015 Island Construction ............................................................................ 30 Figure 12 Excerpt from FEMA FIRM Panel 16027 0575 B showing the regulatory floodplain in the Lower Meander Project area within Boundary County. ........................................................... 31 Figure 13 Main public access roads into the project area .................................................................................. 43 List of Tables Table 1. Lower Meander project features by construction phase ...................................................................... 10 Table 2. Design details for large bank structures ................................................................................................ 12 Table 3 Design details for excavated pools ........................................................................................................... 13 Table 4 Comparison of Alternatives by BPA purposes ...................................................................................... 16 Table 5 Comparison of Alternatives by Resource Impact1 ................................................................................