LANL News:

The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s (DOE/NNSA) Los Alamos Field Office has issued a Floodplain Statement of Findings for the Los Alamos Canyon Sediment Reduction and Restoration Project.

The Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities is planning to restore and address sedimentation from post wildfire flooding impacts in Los Alamos Canyon located within the 100-year floodplain.

This restoration project includes:

• The upper watershed area above the reservoir;
• The reservoir; and
• The area where Los Alamos Canyon Creek, water pipeline and access road run parallel to each other down the valley.

This project will use bio-engineering and low impact stream restoration techniques to reduce erosion and preserve riparian health while maintaining pipeline and access road infrastructure.

This project is being done in coordination with the NNSA, a semi-autonomous agency within the DOE and the U.S. Forest Service as the land managers for the project area. This floodplain assessment is a DOE/NNSA requirement and applies to DOE/NNSA property.

DOE/NNSA did received 10 comments during the 15-day Floodplain Assessment public review and comment period. Comments were shared with the project team for consideration. Several suggestions based on comments received were added to the statement of findings section on steps to be taken to minimize potential harm to or within the floodplain.

Upon completion of the Proposed Action the floodplain will retain the same values and functions as present prior to the fence installation.

The Statement of Findings can be accessed online at https://energy.gov/nepa/articles/los-alamos-canyon-sediment-reduction-and-restoration-project-floodplain-statement.