Zasoby i środowisko · 16.11.2004

Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Implementation Final Environmental Impact Statement, Olympic National Park, Clallam County, WA; Notice of Availability

Pursuant to Sec. 102 (2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended) and corresponding Council of Environmental Quality implementing regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508), the National Park Service, Department of the Interior and its cooperating agencies have completed a draft supplement to the Elwha River Ecosystem Restoration Implementation final environmental impact statement (1996 Implementation EIS). Two dams (built in the early 1900s) block the Elwha River and limit anadromous fish to the lowest 4.9 river miles. A 1996 Implementation EIS (second of two impact statements that examined how best to restore the Elwha River ecosystem and native anadromous fishery in Olympic National Park) selected dam removal as the preferred option and identified a particular set of actions to remove the dams. The release of sediment from behind the dams would result in sometimes severe impacts to water quality or the reliability of supply to downstream users during the dam removal impact period of about 3-5 years, which the Implementation EIS proposed mitigating through a series of specific measures (see below). However, since 1996, when the Record of Decision