The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in conjunction with cooperating agencies, has developed a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to analyze the disposition of Ballville Dam, including alternatives and associated impacts, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has selected the Proposed Action—Incremental Dam Removal with Ice Control Structure as the preferred alternative. Of the alternatives evaluated in this EIS, this alternative best fulfills the agency’s statutory mission and responsibilities while meeting the purpose and need.
We will accept comments received or postmarked within 30 days of publication of the notice of the Final EIS in the Federal Register. Comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision on issuance of Federal funding will occur no sooner than 30 days after the publication of the Environmental Protection Agency’s notice of the Final EIS in the Federal Register and will be documented in a Record of Decision.
The FEIS is available on the internet at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/fisheries/ballville-dam.html
It can be reviewed in hardcopy at:
- Birchard Public Library, 423 Croghan Street, Fremont, Ohio 43420;
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ohio Ecological Services Field Office, 4625 Morse Road, Suite 104, Columbus, OH 43230 (614/416-8993, voice; 614/416-8994, fax);
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest Regional Office - Fisheries, 9th Floor – 5600 American Blvd. W., Bloomington, MN 55437 (612/713-5350, voice; 612/713-5292, fax).
Comments on the FEIS can be emailed directly to Ballvilledam@fws.gov, or by hard copy or fax to Brian Elkington, 5600 American Blvd. W., Bloomington, MN 55437 (612/713-5168, voice; 612/713-5292, fax). All comments must be received by September 2, 2014.
The purpose of the proposed removal of Ballville Dam is to restore natural hydrological processes over a 40 mile stretch of the Sandusky River, re-open fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage to 22 miles of new habitat, restore flow conditions for fish access to new habitat above the impoundment, and improve overall conditions for native fish communities in the Sandusky River system both upstream and downstream of the Ballville Dam.
