Publish Date
April 26, 2022
Summary
On March 31, 2022, EPA received a request from the Yakama Nation for a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the Simcoe Creek West White Swan Restoration Project (Seattle District Corps of Engineer’s project #NWS-2022-0260, applied for under Nationwide Permit 27 for Aquatic Habitat Restoration, Enhancement, and Establishment Activities).
Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires applicants for federal permits and licenses that may result in discharges into waters of the United States to obtain certification that the discharge will comply with applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act. Where no state agency or tribe has authority to give such certification, EPA is the certifying authority.
In this case, the Yakama Nation does not have the authority to provide Clean Water Act Section 401 certification. Therefore, EPA is making the certification decision for discharges that may result from the proposed project.
EPA is requesting comments on its Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for the proposed project.
As a certifying authority, EPA must decide whether to:
- Grant certification as proposed.
- Grant certification with 401 conditions.
- Deny certification.
- Waive certification.
Project Description
The proposed Simcoe Creek West White Swan Restoration Project is located within the Yakama Reservation Closed Area near the town of White Swan, Washington, at latitude 46.3816, longitude -120.7722.
The project includes reconnecting historic oxbow side channels to increase the quantity and quality of available salmonid and lamprey rearing habitat, and re-routing hydrologic flows to increase flow and floodplain connectivity within the project reach.
In-water work activities include installing 19 engineered large woody debris structures to provide aquatic habitat and support stream channel complexity (immediately and over time) and placing gravels and cobbles in riffles to increase hydraulic roughness and routing. In addition, the project involves construction of a 43.5-foot bridge next to the western-most existing box culvert on the main stem of Simcoe Creek, and excavation of 0.35 acres of floodplain benches to decrease bank slope and connect with the floodplain.
The applicant proposes to revegetate areas disturbed by construction activities and select riparian areas with native plant species. The project will not add additional wetland area, but intends to increase side-channel stream length by up to 2,411 feet to improve fish habitat as well as fish passage conditions of Simcoe Creek at W. White Swan Rd.
As part of the Simcoe Creek restoration work, the proposed project involves placing 5 cubic yards of permanent fill material into 170 square feet of wetlands, excavating 330 cubic yards of stream bank and channel over 16,050 square feet of stream, and placing 640 cubic yards of streambed gravels and cobbles over 19,520 square feet of stream, including placing 120 yards of large woody debris within 7350 square feet of stream.
The project construction work is proposed to occur between August and November 2022.
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