Nooksack Watershed Management Project

Environmental Impact Statement

The WRIA 1 Watershed Management Project originally intended to develop the watershed plan and the associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) simultaneously. This was based on conversations with Department of Ecology officials.

In 2002, the Department of Ecology decided to develop its statewide Environmental Impact Statement on watershed planning in order to provide coverage under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) for as many local watershed plans as possible. The Ecology EIS will analyze the environmental impacts of a variety of different options for managing water. If the options included in the WRIA 1 Watershed Plan are also reviewed in the Ecology EIS, it won’t be necessary to do a separate EIS for the WRIA 1 Plan, and the Ecology EIS can simply be adopted by the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Project.

At this point, a separate EIS does not seem to be necessary. Work on the EIS has halted.

Documents

Scoping Meeting Packet (July 2002)

About Environmental Impact Statements

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) provides a way to identify possible environmental impacts from governmental decisions. These decisions include issuing permits for private projects, constructing public facilities, or adopting regulations, policies or plans.

SEPA requires environmental review for any proposal in Washington state that involves a government "action," or decision, including decisions about policies, plans, or programs, such as the adoption of a comprehensive plan or development regulations.

If a project is likely to have significant adverse impacts on the environment, an Environmental Impact Statement is required. The EIS is intended to help agency decision-makers, applicants, and the public understand how a proposal will affect the environment, by providing an objective discussion of significant environmental impacts, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or minimize adverse impacts.

For general information about the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and Environmental Impact Statements, please visit the Department of Ecology's web site.

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