December 18, 2020
The state Department of Ecology issued the following notice on December 18:
Subject: Eightmile Dam Rebuild & Restoration Scoping Period is Now Open
Agency: Washington State Department of Ecology
Action: Notice of public scoping, request for comment, and announcement of public scoping meetings for the Eightmile Dam Rebuild and Restoration project.
Dear Interested Party,
Eightmile Lake is one of four lakes in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area managed by the Icicle and Peshastin Irrigation Districts (IPID) to provide water storage. The 90 year old dam on Eightmile Lake has been damaged by been flooding and was further damaged by the Jack Creek Fire in 2017. Emergency repairs were made to the dam in 2018. IPID is developing options to rebuild the dam to meet current safety standards. Washington Department of Ecology is inviting the public to participate in the environmental analysis of proposals by the dam owners to rebuild the dam, as part of an environmental impact statement (EIS) being prepared in accordance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The purpose of the environmental review is to understand the potential environmental consequences of each alternative proposal to rebuild the dam.
There will be two formal comment periods for the public: Scoping, and comments on the draft EIS. Two online public meetings will be held for the scoping process on January 13th from 3:00pm-6:00pm and on January 21st from 5:00pm-8:00pm via Zoom. Registration for the meetings will be on the project site. Two public meetings will also be held in summer 2021 to provide comment on the draft EIS.
The scoping period is from Friday December 18 to February 1, 2021. All comments related to project scoping must be submitted by this date. Comments may be submitted orally at the virtual scoping meetings or in writing.
Written comments may be submitted:
Online at: https://ecology.wa.gov/eightmile
If you have trouble with the web link, try this one:
https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-supply/Water-supply-projects-EW/Icicle-Creek-strategy/Eightmile-Dam
Or
By mail to:
Department of Ecology
Central Regional Office
Attn: Melissa Downes
1250 West Alder Street
Union Gap, WA 98903
Project-related information including details on the rebuild alternatives, can be reviewed on the project website at: https://ecology.wa.gov/eightmile
For questions about the project, or the scoping process, please email: melissa.downes@ecy.wa.gov