The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Oregon has released a Finding of No Significant Impact for the Powder Valley Water Control District (PVWCD) Infrastructure Modernization Project.
NRCS Oregon has determined that the project will not cause significant local, regional, or national impacts to the environment. With a completed environmental assessment in place, the project is now eligible for federal funding and may move forward into final design and construction.
PVWCD proposes to modernize aging District irrigation infrastructure to reduce water loss, improve water delivery reliability, and address operation inefficiencies. The project would replace 3.3 miles of open ditch with pipeline, replace several ditches with a single, more efficient 3.4-mile pipeline, retire 6.7 miles of ditches that are no longer needed, and install fish screening and passage improvements. These improvements would save water, make water deliveries more reliable, support fish and streams, and help local farms and ranches better withstand drought.
The project is a joint effort between NRCS Oregon and PVWCD as the project sponsor, in coordination with other agencies, Tribes, and the public.
The Final Environmental Assessment, Finding of No Significant Impact, and other supporting project documents are available below or at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/state-offices/oregon/powder-valley-water-control-district
The project may be partially funded through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, administered by NRCS and authorized by Public Law 83-566. Through this program, NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to local organizations (project sponsors) for planning and carrying out projects that help solve natural resources and related economic problems in a specific watershed. These issues can include watershed protection, flood prevention, erosion and sediment control, water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, and wetlands creation.
For more information about this and other irrigation modernization efforts, visit the NRCS Oregon public notice webpage.
Visit FCA for more information about irrigation modernization.