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Middle Fork Irrigation District Scoping Meeting for the Clear Branch Dam Rehabilitation Project

Middle Fork Irrigation District Scoping Meeting for the Clear Branch Dam Rehabilitation Project
Public Notice Announcing Scoping Meeting – Middle Fork Irrigation District Clear Branch Dam Rehabilitation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in Oregon, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) and the Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID), is considering alternatives for the rehabilitation of Clear Branch Dam in Hood River County. MFID is the project sponsor and the Forest Service is a cooperating agency in this planning process.

A Watershed Work Plan for Middle Fork Hood River Watershed in Hood River County, Oregon was authorized by NRCS and its partners in 1962, under the authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, 83rd Congress, 68 Stat. 666), as amended. Construction of Clear Branch Dam was completed in 1969 with assistance from NRCS. The dam is owned and operated by the MFID and is located on the Mt. Hood National Forest near Parkdale, Oregon.

The purpose of the dam and its surrounding infrastructure is to provide a clean, dependable water supply for the Upper Hood River Valley. The reservoir (Laurance Lake) behind Clear Branch Dam provides water to more than 400 users to irrigate over 6,000 acres in the Upper Hood River valley.

NRCS, MFID, and the Forest Service plan to prepare a Watershed Plan-Environmental Impact Statement (Plan-EIS) to develop and evaluate alternatives that meet the purpose of providing a clean dependable water supply for the Upper Hood River valley. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations at 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 require that federal projects such as this one evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with each alternative with input from the public.

You are invited to attend a public scoping meeting on October 4, 2022 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. NRCS and project partners will present the range of resource issues and conceptual alternatives under evaluation. Participants will have an opportunity to submit their comments, ideas, and concerns. This meeting will be a hybrid in-person and virtual event on Zoom.

Public Scoping Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Time: 5:00-7:00pm PT
Location: Zoom (virtual) and Parkdale Rural Fire Protection District Office at 4895 Baseline Dr. Mt Hood, Parkdale OR 97041
Register at: clearbranchdam.com

A recording of the meeting will be available afterwards at the same website. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. A request for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting to Ed Salminen, WPN, at 541-490-6644 or contact@clearbranchdam.com.

A 30-day public scoping period will begin with publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) in the federal register on September 19, 2022. Commenters are responsible for verifying the actual date of publication of the NOI and the close of the public comment period. Comments may be emailed to contact@clearbranchdam.com or mailed to:

Ed Salminen, Watershed Professionals Network LLC
P.O. Box 8Parkdale, OR 97041