The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in partnership with the Lyons Dam Committee, is announcing the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Lyons Dam Removal and Grand River Restoration Project.
The EA under consideration was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and provides a description of the overall project Purpose and Need, alternatives considered as part of the analysis, and an assessment of impacts from project alternatives. Alternatives considered in detail include the following:
- No Action: Leave dam/fish ladder in-place, maintain current water level above Lyons Dam.
- Dam Removal with Restoration: Remove 8.2 feet of the dam, close off and fill the fish ladder; fill raceway pond and restore the high-gradient habitat of the Grand River.
The Draft EA is available for public review and comment. The Draft EA document may be viewed for 10 days from the date of this notice at the following locations:
- Village of Lyons, 212 Water Street, Lyons MI 48851;
- Lyons Township District Library, 240 East Bridge Street; Lyons, MI 48851;
- Ionia Conservation District, 431 Swartz Ct. #300, Ionia, MI 48846, and
- USFWS, Elmira Field Office, 6644 Turner Road, Elmira, MI 49730.
- Draft EA documents may also be viewed online:
- Draft Lyons Dam Removal and Grand River Restoration Project Environmental Assessment (4.3 MB PDF)
- Appendix A MDEQ Emergency Order (134 KB PDF)
- Appendix B Sequence of Work & Narrative (3.4 MB PDF)
- Appendix C NEPA EA Public Scoping Meeting Summary and Comments (6.9 MB PDF)
- Appendix D Sediment Sampling and Analytical Results (7.8 MB PDF)
- Please contact Rick Westerhof for the appendices to Appendix D
- Appendix E Agency Consultation (6.3 MB PDF)
Written comments must be submitted within 10 days of this announcement or by June 27, 2016 to:
Sandra Sroonian
Amec Foster Wheeler
Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.
41 Hughes Drive
Traverse City, MI 49686
Email: sandra.sroonian@amec.com
