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Angoon Hydroelectric Project

Final Environmental Impact Statement - March 2009

Admiralty Island National Monument

Abstract

Kootznoowoo Inc.'s proposal is to construct a hydroelectric plant and associated facilities at Thayer Creek on Admiralty Island. The Forest Supervisor of the Tongass National Forest will decide the required terms and conditions, if any, to be included in the Special Use Authorization (SUA) to protect resource values within the project area related to the construction and operation of a hydroelectric facility on Thayer Creek.

The hydroelectric facility would serve the community of Angoon, as directed in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA). In 2003, Kootznoowoo, Inc., the village corporation for the Angoon Community Association, asked the Forest Service to begin the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process necessary to develop a hydroelectric facility. In 2004, Kootznoowoo submitted an application requesting Forest Service authorization for the project. The project is within the Kootznoowoo Wilderness on Admiralty Island National Monument, Admiralty Island, Tongass National Forest, in Southeastern Alaska. The project area is approximately 50 air miles south of Juneau.

Kootznoowoo’s Selected Project Arrangement, the basis for the action alternatives in this EIS, included a diversion dam, intake structure, marine facility, three access roads, two staging areas, transmission lines, a power plant, a surge tank, 6,100 feet of 42-inch diameter pipeline and 510 feet of 36-inch diameter pipe. The hydroelectric plant would be a run-of-river facility using only the water available in the natural flow of the river. Under normal conditions, run-of-river facilities involve minimal water storage, and power generation fluctuates with the stream flow. The proposed facility would create a 10-20 acre pond behind a small dam.

This environmental impact statement describes and evaluates the environmental effects of the three action alternatives and the no-action alternative.

Dear Planning Participant:

Enclosed is your copy of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the Angoon Hydroelectric Project on Admiralty Island, Tongass National Forest.

The Final EIS analyzes three action alternatives for developing hydroelectric power utilizing Thayer Creek and one no-action alternative. Kootznoowoo Inc. ’s development proposal (their Selected Project Arrangement ) serves as the basis for the terms and conditions displayed in all three action alternatives in this EIS. The action alternatives are modifications, in the form of terms and conditions in the Special Use Authorization (SUA) to Kootznoowoo Inc.’s Selected Project Arrangement, that reduce potential effects to resources in the project area and that allow alternatives to meet specific requirements found in the 2008 Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan).

The Record of Decision (ROD) has not been signed at this time. I plan to release the ROD at least one month later than this Final EIS to provide an opportunity for the public and agencies to review the Final EIS. The ROD will document my decision on the Selected Alternative and the facts considered in reaching the decision. The effective date of implementation for the decision and the Notice of Rights of Appeal will also be specified in the ROD.

For more information or additional copies of the EIS, contact Michelle Putz at the Supervisor’s Office at 907-747-4278 during regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Thank you to those who took time to review and comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Your interest in the management of the Tongass National Forest is appreciated.

Sincerely,

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