Federal officials say a plan regarding a new water source for the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District will not require a full environmental impact statement.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Monday issued a finding of no significant impact for its plan to drill a series of wells over several years to replace the Lewiston Orchards Project.
Under the plan, once the drilled wells prove to provide an adequate supply of water, Reclamation would transfer nearly 580 acres of its property, including Mann Lake and Soldiers Meadow Reservoir, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Officials say the current system of diversion dams, reservoirs, and canals has proven inefficient. It also diverts water from streams where threatened steelhead spawn, and was built on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation without the tribe’s permission. (Lewiston Tribune)