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This is the FINAL EA/IS.

This Environmental Assessment and Initial Study (EA/IS) for the proposed Sediment and Wood Augmentation along the Trinity River Restoration Reach, also referred to as the Trinity River Sediment and Wood Augmentation Project, Augmentation Project, Project, or Proposed Action, has been prepared by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP, Program) to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). An EA provides coverage for NEPA and IS provides coverage for CEQA. The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) will act as the project CEQA lead. Reclamation’s TRRP is the lead agency under NEPA and the Cooperating Agency is Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Redding Field Office. The primary objective of the Augmentation Project is to enhance river conditions for salmon and steelhead, including federal- and state-listed species and stocks, by creating more spawning and rearing habitat in the mainstem Trinity River. This objective is met through the placement of sediment and wood into the river at strategic locations. The federal agencies worked with the Regional Water Board to analyze the potential impacts of the proposed activities under NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR], Section 1508.9(a)), and CEQA (California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.).

 

The 2000 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) did not address the issue of wood augmentation and no specific recommendations were formulated as the TRRP was developed and initiated. Wood placement was identified and analyzed in the 2009 Master Environmental Impact Report (2009 Master EIR) as a component of channel rehabilitation projects. In 2011, formal Trinity River-specific wood recommendations were established (HVTFD 2011; Cardno Entrix and CH2MHill 2011), and wood placement activities at TRRP projects have been analyzed as part of the site-specific NEPA and CEQA documents. TRRP is currently authorized to place sediment at five sediment augmentation sites upstream of Grass Valley Creek: Trinity River Fish Hatchery, Weir Hole, Cableway, Sawmill and Lowden Ranch, under the 2009 Master EIR.