# 2025-11210: Oregon Dam Repair Plan Gets More Environmental Review And Public Comment 2025-11210, Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Oregon State Office and Mt. Hood National Forest; Hood River County, Oregon; Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project, is a Federal Register notice from Agriculture Department, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Service published 2025-06-18, effective We will consider comments that we receive 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-03). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11210 - As of: 2026-11-03 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2025-11210 - Title: Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Oregon State Office and Mt. Hood National Forest; Hood River County, Oregon; Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project - Type: Notice - Agencies: Agriculture Department; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Forest Service - Citation: 90 FR 25987 - Published: 2025-06-18 - Effective: We will consider comments that we receive 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-11-03 ## In one line Oregon Dam Repair Plan Gets More Environmental Review And Public Comment ## Summary The USDA is updating plans to fix Clear Branch Dam in Hood River County, Oregon, and will study how this project might affect the environment. They’re extending the public comment period by 30 days and holding another meeting to hear your thoughts. This project could change local forest rules and aims to keep the area safe and healthy, with new timelines and details shared now. ## Abstract The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Forest Service previously published an NOI (referred to in this notice as the original NOI) to announce the intention to prepare an EIS for the Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project (Remedial Project) on September 19, 2022. NRCS and the Forest Service are jointly publishing this revised NOI to update the project timeline, preliminary description of the proposed action and alternatives, and expected impacts; and identify the substantive provisions for potential forest plan amendments to the 1990 Mt. Hood National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan), as amended by the 1994 Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl (Northwest Forest Plan). This revised NOI also provides an additional 30-day scoping period and gives notice of a supplementary scoping meeting. In addition, the project name has been changed from the Clear Branch Dam Rehabilitation Project to the Clear Branch Dam Remedial Project (Remedial Project) to better align with policy (National Watershed Program Manual 505.20). The NRCS Oregon State Office and the Forest Service, announce their intent to prepare an EIS for the Remedial Project, located within the Hood River watershed in Parkdale, Oregon. The project area includes Clear Branch Dam, Laurance Lake which is formed by the dam, and associated infrastructure all located on the Mt. Hood National Forest. The Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID)'s purpose is to provide clear and dependable irrigation water to its patrons. Recent developments have shown that Clear Branch Dam does not meet the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) safety standards and thus, in addition to remediation, this 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 project area in the Clear Branch watershed is primarily on National Forest System lands and includes Endangered Species Act (ESA) bull trout and Critical Habitat, significant recreation, and natural area amenities. NRCS is requesting comments to identify significant issues, potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the proposed action from all interested individuals, Federal and State agencies, and Tribes. ## Effects PRIA read - Proposed fix preserves irrigation service: benefit, high. If you are one of the Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID) patrons, the Proposed Action would remediate Clear Branch Dam and extend the dam's service life by approximately 75 years and authorize ongoing operation for 30 more years. The reservoir currently provides water to 404 users to irrigate 6… - No-action could remove irrigation infrastructure: cost, high. Under No Action Scenario 2, if NRCS does not fund remediation and the Forest Service does not issue the special use permit, MFID would be required to remove all infrastructure on National Forest System lands, including the dam, diversions, and pipes, and the site would be restored to a natural cond… - Alternative to build new reservoir on Dog River: benefit, high. Alternative 4 would build a new storage reservoir on Dog River, decommission Clear Branch Dam, restore the old dam site, and construct a run-of-river diversion on Clear Branch to connect to the new storage. The new reservoir would replace existing storage for irrigation, hydropower, and other MFID… - Public recreation likely closed during construction: cost, medium. For safety reasons, the project area would likely be closed to the public for several years during project implementation, which would affect recreation access. If you use the area for hiking, fishing, or other recreation, you may lose access for the duration of construction. - ESA-listed species and critical habitat may be affected: cost, medium. The EIS states that aquatic species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) — including bull trout, spring Chinook salmon, and winter steelhead trout — and critical habitat for bull trout and northern spotted owl may be affected by the project alternatives. If you fish, rely on these species,… - Forest Plan amendments may allow rock extraction and roads: mixed, medium. Implementing some alternatives (notably the Proposed Action with on-site rock processing) may require amendments to the Mt. Hood Forest Plan and the Northwest Forest Plan to allow rock material extraction and processing in riparian reserves, re-routing of Laurance Lake Road, and changes to soil, wa… ## Related documents - [2026-16965](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16965): Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation, 2026-08-20 - [2026-22296](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22296): Administrative Site Leases, 2026-11-02 - [2026-21849](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21849): Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska-2026-27 and 2027-28 Subsistence Taking of Wildlife Regulations, 2026-10-27 - [2026-21654](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21654): Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest; Washington; Amendments to the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest Land Management Plans, 2026-10-23 - [2026-21249](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21249): Proposed Recreation Fee Site, 2026-10-19 - [2026-21241](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21241): Proposed Recreation Fee Sites, 2026-10-19 ## Sources - [2025-11210 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/18/2025-11210/revised-notice-of-intent-to-prepare-an-environmental-impact-statement-for-the-oregon-state-office) - [2025-11210 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-18/pdf/2025-11210.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2025-11209, Cheese Products Deviating From Standard of Identity; Temporary Permit for Marke…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11209) - [Next: 2025-11211, Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Re…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11211) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11210 (as of 2026-11-03).