Supplemental  Watershed Plan #3 and Environmental Assessment for the Rehabilitation of NORTH BRANCH FOREST RIVER WATERSHED DAM #1 (BYLIN DAM)

The purpose of the project is to bring North Branch Forest River Watershed Dam No. 1 (Bylin Dam) into compliance with current NRCS and North Dakota Department of Water Resources dam performance, design, and safety standards. The need for the project is to improve dam safety to minimize risk for downstream residents, to mitigate flooding issues for the area downstream of the dam, and to provide recreation opportunities at the dam site in the future.

The preferred alternative is the structural rehabilitation of the dam to a high-hazard designation. The alternative consists of construction of an auxiliary spillway channel that is lined with articulated concrete blocks (ACB) to prevent erosion and failure of the spillway. A newly constructed principal spillway riser tower and a principal spillway conduit will be installed. The existing principal spillway riser tower will be removed, and the existing principal spillway conduit will be abandoned. The downstream embankment slope will be flattened, and the addition of a new chimney filter and foundation drain will be implemented to address seepage concerns.

Total Installation Cost:                 $10,660,000

Federal (NRCS) Contribution:       $7,449,250

Current Status

The comment period on the Draft Plan/Environmental Assessment ended on September 24, 2024.  All final comments were addressed in the Final Plan/EA and are included in Appendix A. The ND State Conservationist signed the Finding of No Significant Impact  on October 10, 2024.  Email or mail inquiries to Christi Fisher, USDA-NRCS 220 East Rosser Ave. Bismarck, ND 58502-1405. christi.fisher@usda.gov