PUBLIC NOTICE ANNOUNCING PUBLIC REVIEW

PUBLIC NOTICE ANNOUNCING

PUBLIC REVIEW

PERIOD FOR ADOPTION

OF THE Odessa SUBAREA

SPECIAL STUDY FINAL

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

STATEMENT AND RECORD

OF DECISION

The U.S. Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS)

is adopting the 2012 Odessa

Subarea Special Study Final Environmental

Impact Statement

(FEIS) produced by the Bureau

of Reclamation in cooperation

with the State of Washington,

represented by the Washington

State Department of Ecology.

The FEIS examined the potential

to replace groundwater with

Columbia Basin Project water

for currently irrigated lands

within the Odessa Subarea

Special Study Area. The FEIS

and Record of Decision identified

Alternative 4A: Modified

Partial-Replacement-Banks

with Limited Spring Diversion

Scenario as the selected alternative.

Alternative 4A aims 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, the Odessa Groundwater

Replacement Program—a

consortium of local, state, and

federal partners—has worked

towards phased implementation

of Alternative 4A. NRCS is

adopting the FEIS to support

implementation of Alternative

4A. Implementing Alternative

4A will support agriculture and

address groundwater depletion

impacting agricultural, municipal,

industrial, and commercial

users in the Odessa Subarea.

NRCS intends to select Alternative

4A as its preferred alternative.

NRCS invites agencies and

individuals who have special

expertise, legal jurisdiction, or

interest in the NRCS adoption of

the FEIS for the Odessa Subarea

Special Study to participate

and comment. Changed circumstances

or new information will

be evaluated to determine if a

new or supplemental EIS should

be prepared.

Public comments may be

submitted until 30 days after

the Notice of Availability

is published in the Federal

Register, which is estimated

to be on December 8, 2023.

Comments may be emailed to

comments@ogwrp-programs.

org, submitted online at https://

http://www.ogwrp-programs.org/watershed-

plan, submitted via

phone at (541) 716-6085, or

mailed to Farmers Conservation

Alliance, 102 State Street, Hood

River, OR 97031.

Additional information is available

online at https://www.

ogwrp-programs.org/watershed-

plan or the NRCS Washington

https://www.nrcs.usda.

gov/conservation-basics/conservation-

by-state/washington/

nrcs-washington-public-notices.

Encontrará más información

en la página web 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/nrcs-washington-

public-notices.

USDA is an equal opportunity

provider, employer, and lender.

Published November 2, 9 and 16,

2023