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Kittitas County, Washington <br />P <br />BOARD O COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />r <br />District One District Two District Three <br />AITIT.ASCOUNIT Paul Jewell Gary Berndt Obie O'Brien <br />March 10, 2015 <br />Ms. Candace McKinley <br />Environmental Program Manager <br />Bureau of Reclamation <br />Columbia -Cascades Area Office <br />1917 Marsh Road <br />Yakima, WA 98901-2058 <br />RE: Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess <br />Reservoir Conveyance Draft Environmental Impact Statement Response <br />Dear Ms. McKinley: <br />Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) <br />for the Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant (KDRPP) and Keechelus Reservoir-to-Kachess <br />Reservoir Conveyance (KKC) projects, as part of the overall Yakima Basin Integrated Plan <br />(YBIP). While the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners, along with many others, has <br />formally endorsed the YBIP, we do have some specific comments related to the KDRPP and <br />KKC projects and their respective impacts. <br />We would like to state at the outset, that we support Alternative 4 — Combined KDRPP and KKC <br />as described in the DEIS. Agriculture is Kittitas County's largest single industry. The jobs <br />provided by agricultural activities sustain many local families and contribute significantly to our <br />rural way of life and the County's rural character. Continuing to support this industry is critically <br />important to Kittitas County's economic and cultural future. Unfortunately, that future is at risk <br />from uncertain water supply and climate change impacts if action is not taken. Therefore, we <br />favor Alternative 4 for the following reasons: <br />a. The Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) operates entirely within Kittitas County, <br />delivering irrigation water to approximately 60,000 acres of productive farm <br />ground. As mentioned in the DEIS, KRD is a proratable district, susceptible to <br />reduced irrigation water allocations during drought years. When this occurs, <br />farmers served by KRD suffer economically; at times significantly. This, in turn, <br />damages the entire economy of the region. Alternative 4 is the best option <br />described in the DEIS to reduce the impact of droughts on proratable irrigation <br />districts like KRD. <br />b. Alternative 4 — Combined KDRPP and KKC is more effective during drought <br />years in providing water supply to proratable water users (66%) then any of the <br />other Alternatives in the DEIS. We believe Alternative 4 represents a partial <br />KITTITAS COUNTY COURTHOUSE • 205 WEST 5'T', RM 110 • ELLENSBURG, WA 98926 <br />(509) 962-7508 • FAX (509) 962-7679 <br />