Phase 2 of the long-term planning process for Capitol Lake/Lower Deschutes Watershed will begin soon.

Enterprise Services received an appropriation of $4 million in the 2018 supplemental capital budget to begin an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). A project-specific EIS is needed before short-term actions like dredging can occur or before a long-term management plan can be selected for implementation.

The first step for Enterprise Services as the lead agency for the EIS is to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to hire a consultant to conduct the EIS. We expect to issue the RFQ on April 4, 2018, and hope to have a consultant team under contract by early July 2018. Once a consultant team is hired, more information on the EIS process will be available.

We are committed to keeping interested parties informed on next steps and opportunities to participate as the EIS process progresses. The EIS process is established under the State Environmental Policy Act and provides opportunities for the public; local, state, and federal agencies; and tribal governments to participate in developing and analyzing information.

Long-term planning process Phase 1

During Phase 1, representatives from local and tribal governments; coordinating state agencies; and the community served on advisory committees that worked throughout 2016 to complete the first of three phases in an overall long-term plan to manage Capitol Lake/Lower Deschutes Watershed. The Phase 1 report and related information can be found on the Capitol Lake Reports webpage.

More information

More information is available on Enterprise Services' Long-Term Planning for Capitol Lake/Lower Deschutes Watershed webpage.

If you have questions, please contact Carrie Martin, (360) 407-9323.