BUREAU OF RECLAMATION’S ODESSA SUBAREA SPECIAL STUDY FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ADOPTED BY NRCS

The 2012 Odessa Subarea Special Study Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) produced with the collaboration of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) was adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service-Washington (NRCS-WA). Further, in its issued Record of Decision (ROD), NRCS-WA selected the alternative 4A. This selection is the same as Reclamation issued in their 2013 ROD for the FEIS. The development of a Watershed Plan will be based on the existing FEIS under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program authorized by Public Law 83-566 (P.L. 83-566) through the partnership of the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID), NRCS-WA, Reclamation, and Ecology. An authorized watershed program provides NRCS-WA eligibility to pursue funding support through P.L. 83-566 to implement distribution systems in phases to provide water to eligible lands currently irrigated through the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program.

Currently the largest irrigation district in the state, ECBID has authorization to irrigate 472,000 acres of which 169,000 acres are developed and managed by 4,500 landowners within the federal Columbia Basin Project (CBP). Groundwater levels in the Odessa Subarea Aquifer are significantly declining effecting water quality and domestic, commercial, municipal, and industrial uses. Well depths in the area range from 800 to 2,100 feet with some reportedly out of production. Drilling deeper is not a solution as water may be unusable, expensive to access, or not available at all. The decline means the ability for growers to irrigate is at risk.

Alternative 4A identified by Reclamation’s 2013 ROD and NRCS-WA’s 2024 ROD, aims to replace 70,000 acres of acre to acre groundwater irrigation in the Odessa Subarea with 164,000 feet of new diversions from the Columbia River. ECBID is sponsoring the adoption of FEIS and the development of a Watershed Plan under P.L. 83-566 with funding and technical support from NRCS-WA, Reclamation, and Ecology. Also assisting through the planning process are the Columbia Basin Conservation District, Farmers Conservation Alliance, and Parametrix.

For more information, visit the following sites:

• https://www.ogwrp-programs.org/watershed-plan
• https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/washington/nrcs-washington-public-notices