Public Notice

Public Notice Announcing the Record of Decision for the Adoption of the Odessa Subarea Special Study Final Environmental Impact Statement

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service – Washington (NRCS-WA) has adopted the 2012 Odessa Subarea Special Study Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) produced by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in cooperation with the State of Washington, represented by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). NRCS-WA has issued its own Record of Decision (ROD) that selects the same preferred alternative, Alternative 4A, as was selected by Reclamation.

The FEIS examined the potential to replace groundwater with Columbia Basin Project water for currently irrigated, eligible lands within the Odessa Subarea Special Study Area. The Reclamation 2013 ROD identified Alternative 4A: Modified Partial-Replacement-Banks with Limited Spring Diversion Scenario as the selected alternative. Alternative 4A seeks to replace acre-for-acre groundwater irrigation on 70,000 acres in the Odessa Subarea with 164,000 acre-feet of new Columbia River diversions. Since Reclamation published the FEIS in 2012, entities associated with the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program, including East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, Ecology, and Reclamation, have worked towards phased implementation of Alternative 4A. NRCS-WA has adopted the FEIS and issued a ROD relating to the adoption of the 2012 FEIS. The NRCS-WA 2024 ROD documents Alternative 4A as its selected alternative. Implementing Alternative 4A would support agriculture and address groundwater depletion impacting agricultural, municipal, industrial, and commercial users in the Odessa Subarea.

The NRCS-WA ROD to adopt the FEIS, and additional program information, is available online at the following websites:

• https://www.ogwrp-programs.org/watershed-plan

• https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/washington/nrcs-washington-public-notices

Spanish language translation of the ROD is available upon request.

Encontrará más información en línea en https://www.ogwrp-programs.org/watershed-plan o en la página web de avisos públicos del NRCS de Washington en https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/washington/

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Published June 26, 2024