CLEAR BRANCH DAM
REMEDIAL PROJECT
OVERVIEW
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Oregon State Office, as lead federal agency, in partnership with the Forest Service – Mt. Hood National Forest (Forest Service, cooperating action agency), and the Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID, Project Sponsor, Owner, Operator), intends to prepare a Watershed Plan-Environmental Impact Statement (Plan-EIS) for the Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project (Remedial Project) located within the Hood River watershed in Parkdale, Oregon. The purpose of the Remedial Project is to continue to provide a clean, dependable water supply for the Upper Hood River valley (collectively, Principals), as authorized in the 1962 Middle Fork Hood River Watershed Work Plan. There is a need to remediate Clear Branch Dam to meet current dam safety and environmental compliance standards for NRCS, the Forest Service, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and other regulatory agencies.
NRCS and the Forest Service previously published a Notice of Intent (NOI, original NOI) to prepare a Plan-EIS for the Remedial Project on September 19, 2022. NRCS and the Forest Service are jointly publishing a revised NOI to update the expected project timeline, preliminary description of the proposed action and alternatives, and summary of expected impacts; and identify the substantive provisions for potential forest plan amendments to the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), as amended. The revised NOI also gives notice of an additional 30-day public scoping comment period and a supplementary scoping meeting.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Supplementary Public Scoping Meeting
Date: July 09, 2025
Time: 4 P.M. to 6 P.M. PT
Location: Mt. Hood Town Hall, 6575 Highway 35, Mt Hood, Parkdale OR 97041
On July 9, 2025, the Project Principals held a supplementary public scoping meeting during which agency representatives, stakeholders, and members of the public were invited to provide input relevant to the Plan-EIS process. During the meeting, Principals provided updated information on the project timeline, proposed action and alternatives, broad categories of expected impacts, and answered general questions about the NEPA process, including scoping and preparation of the Plan-EIS.
It is important that participants provide their comments prior to the close of the public scoping comment period on July 18, and clearly articulate any input regarding the Remedial Project and alternatives to it. The presentation from this meeting was recorded and is available to view at the link below.
Prior Public Scoping Meetings
In 2016, NRCS, the Forest Service, and the Project Sponsor initiated scoping for an environmental assessment for the rehabilitation of Clear Branch Dam. A public scoping meeting was held on August 15, 2016, in Parkdale, Oregon. Once the action agencies determined that the Remedial Project would require preparation of an EIS, a public scoping meeting to present the Remedial Project and receive input to assist in developing the scope of a draft Plan-EIS was held on October 4, 2022, in Parkdale, Oregon.
This latter scoping meeting was recorded and is available to view at the link below:
Purpose and Need
The Rehabilitation Project would be implemented as agricultural water management, as authorized under sections 3 and 4 of Public Law 83-566. The primary purpose of the Rehabilitation Project is to provide a clean dependable water supply for the Upper Hood River valley in Hood River County, Oregon, as authorized in the 1962 Middle Fork Hood River Watershed Work Plan.
The purpose of the Remedial Project is to provide a clean, dependable water supply to provide for the irrigation of up to 8,000 acres of agricultural land in the Upper Hood River valley. Recent developments have shown that Clear Branch Dam does not meet FERC dam safety standards; thus, this Plan-EIS will examine alternative solutions to meeting this FERC requirement while also meeting MFID’s purpose which is to supply clean and dependable water. The Remedial Project is being designed to meet the safety and environmental standards and therefore achieve the purpose while also providing for improved water quality and fish habitat conditions as a result of the remedial work being proposed for the dam and its operations.
In 1962, a Watershed Work Plan for Middle Fork Hood River Watershed in Hood River County, Oregon was authorized by the Soil Conservation Service, the predecessor to NRCS, under Public Law 83-566, the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (16 U.S.C. 1001-1009) and Public Law 78-534, the Flood Control Act of 1944 (33 U.S.C. 702b-1) under the general purpose of agricultural water management. The specific local purpose of the 1962 Work Plan was to provide a clean and dependable water supply and improved water distribution system for the irrigation of 8,000 acres; this objective was accomplished with the construction of Clear Branch Dam on Clear Branch of the Middle Fork Hood River in 1968. The dam is owned and operated by MFID, the Project Sponsor. Today, the reservoir behind Clear Branch Dam provides water to 404 users to irrigate 6,362 acres in the Upper Hood River valley.
In 2015, an assessment of Clear Branch Dam was performed by NRCS and MFID to evaluate the condition of the dam. Results of the assessment indicated that modifications to Clear Branch Dam were needed to extend its service life so that it may continue to meet the purpose underlying its construction. To meet this original purpose of providing a clean and dependable water supply, there is a need to remediate Clear Branch Dam to meet current dam safety and environmental compliance standards for NRCS, the Forest Service, the FERC, and other regulatory agencies.
In 2016, NRCS, the Forest Service, and MFID initiated scoping for an environmental assessment (EA) for the rehabilitation of Clear Branch Dam. A public scoping meeting was conducted on August 15, 2016, in Parkdale, Oregon. Since scoping for the environmental assessment was completed in 2016, NRCS, the Forest Service, and MFID have completed additional investigations and studies to evaluate the condition of the dam. As a result of the new information obtained during the EA process, the modifications needed are more extensive than anticipated during scoping in 2016.
Estimated federal funds required for the construction of the proposed action may exceed $25 million. Therefore, congressional notification and approval is required, consistent with the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
The 1962 Middle Fork Hood River Watershed Work Plan is being updated to incorporate revisions associated with the Remedial Project. A corresponding EIS is being prepared to analyze alternative ways to meet the purpose and need of the Remedial Project. As described below, multiple alternatives will be considered in detail to evaluate and compare their environmental effects and assess the extent to which they would meet the purpose and need. A No Action alternative under two scenarios will also be considered in detail, as described below.
Project Alternatives
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Taking no action would consist of activities conducted if no federal action or funding were provided. If the No Action Alternative is selected neither NRCS nor the Forest Service would take any action towards remediating Clear Branch Dam and the dam would remain in place and continue operating under current conditions, subject to the interim risk reduction measures required by FERC.
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NRCS would not fund the necessary dam remediation, and the Forest Service would not take action to approve MFID’s pending special use permit application. As such, a condition of the existing special use permit would require removal of all infrastructure owned by MFID from National Forest System lands, including the dam, diversions, and pipes. The site would be restored to a natural condition.
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The proposed action would include structurally remediating the dam to address excessive seepage and meet current dam safety and environmental compliance standards of NRCS, Forest Service, FERC, and other regulatory agencies. The proposed action includes measures to address flood conveyance, seismic hazards, fish passage, and water quality improvements. Specifically, the proposed action includes two agency actions: (1) NRCS’s proposed funding to remediate the structure (extending the life of the dam approximately 75 years) and (2) the Forest Service’s proposed issuance of a special use permit to authorize the remediation of the structure and the ongoing operation of the dam and related infrastructure for 30 more years. This alternative also includes several connected or related actions, such as re-routing portions of the Laurance Lake Road (National Forest System Road 2840) on National Forest System lands, road maintenance, temporary road construction, extracting rock material to reconstruct the dam, and developing staging areas. Under Alternative 3, rock material extraction of up to approximately 500,000 cubic yards and processing will be analyzed under two distinct scenarios. In the first scenario, rock material would be extracted from Eliot debris field and processed on site, which occurs on National Forest System lands. In the second scenario, rock material would be extracted and processed off-National Forest System lands and transported to the project area. Alternative 3 may include amendments to the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan.
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This alternative would replace the storage provided by Laurance Lake (formed by Clear Branch Dam) with a new storage reservoir on Dog River, decommission Clear Branch Dam, restore the dam site and former reservoir pool to pre-dam conditions, and construct a new run-of-river diversion on Clear Branch and conduit to tie the new storage reservoir into MFID’s conveyance system. This alternative would also transfer existing storage water rights for Laurance Lake to the new storage reservoir (subject to approval by the Oregon Water Resources Department) and convey water via a combination of new pipe and existing pipe from a new run-of-river diversion on Clear Branch near the existing Clear Branch Dam. The new reservoir would be located on National Forest System lands and Hood River County lands. The new Clear Branch diversion would convey water to the new storage site year-round and would fully replace the existing storage. The new storage reservoir would be used as usual for irrigation, hydropower, and all other MFID uses. The existing live flow water right at Clear Branch would continue to be fully utilized under existing water rights. No new storage or live flow water rights would be obtained. This alternative includes two proposed agency actions: (1) NRCS’s proposed funding to build the new dam and all associated construction activities and (2) the Forest Service’s proposed issuance of a special use permit to authorize the new project and ongoing operation of the new dam for 30 years. This alternative also includes connected or related actions, such as transportation improvements, temporary and permanent road construction, extracting rock material to construct the dam, developing staging areas, and recreational development. This alternative may include amendments to the Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan.
Summary of Expected Impacts
The EIS will be prepared as required by section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
Resource concerns for scoping were identified and categorized as relevant or not relevant to the Remedial Project. MFID, NRCS, and the Forest Service evaluated the existing irrigation infrastructure, bull trout life history modeling, water temperature requirements, current recreation, baseline conditions of locations for removal of material needed for remediation and road realignment, along with relevant resource concerns for each proposed solution.
Environmental resources in the project area consist of the natural and human-made environment. Some of the major resource concerns to be identified and addressed in the Plan-EIS include: endangered species, water quality, water quantity, and recreation. Aquatic species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) may be affected by the alternatives for the Remedial Project. The Middle Fork Hood River sub-basin supports bull trout, and the Middle and East Forks of the Hood River support spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead trout, which are all listed as threatened under the ESA. The reservoir behind Clear Branch Dam (Laurance Lake) is designated as critical habitat for bull trout and the locations below the reservoir in Coe Creek and Eliot Branch are designated as critical habitat for bull trout, spring Chinook salmon, and winter steelhead trout. The Middle and East Forks of the Hood River also support cutthroat trout, which is listed as a Forest Service sensitive species. Critical habitat for the northern spotted owl, which is listed as threatened under the ESA, is mapped near the confluences of Clear Branch, Pinnacle Creek, Coe Branch, Eliot Branch, and Dog River. Critical habitat for the northern spotted owl may be affected by the alternatives from the Remedial Project. For safety purposes, the area would likely be closed to the public for several years during project implementation; therefore, recreation use may be affected.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
The following permits and other authorizations are anticipated to be required in connection with potential decisions reached following preparation of the Plan-EIS:
Clean Water Act Permits. Implementation of this project may require a permit and/or supporting certification under Sections 401, 402 and 404 of the Clean Water Act.
Hood River County Permits. A permit may be needed and authorization regarding land use compatibility.
Oregon Department of State Lands Permits. Implementation of this project may require permits associated with working in waters of the State.
Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Permit. A permit may be required for areas lacking an existing permit.
Consultation. Consultation will be completed with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Schedule of Decision-making Process
A Draft Plan-EIS will be prepared and circulated for review and comment by agencies, Tribes, section 106 consulting parties, and the public for at least 45 days. The Draft Plan-EIS is expected in winter of 2026, and the Final Plan-EIS is expected in fall 2027.
NRCS, in cooperation with the Forest Service, will explain in its Record of Decision (ROD) its decision whether to adopt one of the alternatives evaluated in the EIS. Because the Remedial Project is located on National Forest System lands, the Forest Service's ROD will include whether to authorize construction of the project and whether to issue a new special use permit for continuing to operate Clear Branch Dam. The Forest Service’s ROD will address consistency of its decision with the Forest Plan, as amended by the Northwest Forest Plan.
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