Public Notice: Water Quality Certification of Trout Creek Peninsula Restoration in Idaho

Summary

On April 15, 2025, the EPA received a request from the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho for a water quality certification for the Trout Creek Peninsula Restoration Project (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District project number NWW-2025-171).

Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires applicants for federal permits and licenses that may result in discharges into waters of the United States to obtain certification that the discharge will comply with applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act. Where no state agency or Tribe has authority to give such certification, EPA is the certifying authority.

In this case, the proposed project is within Tribal trust lands of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho. Therefore, EPA is the certifying authority for this proposed project.

According to the application, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho proposes to impact wetlands and waters in order to conduct habitat restoration activities. The project is located in the Kootenai River and adjacent wetlands in Boundary County, Idaho (latitude 48.841442, longitude -116.405803).

EPA is only requesting comments on its Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for this proposed project.

Project description

The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho proposes to impact approximately 25 acres of waters and wetlands by excavating approximately 72,059 cubic yards and discharging approximately 100,697 cubic yards of fill material.

The project proposes to conduct habitat restoration activities across four sites on an approximately 80-acre tract of the Trout Creek Peninsula to:

• Improve hydrologic connectivity.
• Increase the area of seasonally inundated off-channel aquatic habitat.
• Increase plant community diversity.
• Decrease the abundance of reed canarygrass.

Project elements include lowering floodplain surfaces, installing floodplain roughness treatments, removing dense stands of reed canary grass sod, willow brush trench installation, as well as planting, seeding, and exclusion fencing.

Project goals include increasing the frequency of inundation, reducing reed canary grass, re-establishing cottonwoods and willows, protecting existing mud flats, adding vegetated brush trenches to help deter wildlife browsing, and adding micro topography to deter reed canary grass. The entire site will be seeded after to deter weed and non-target vegetation.

A copy of the application is available upon request by contacting Jeff Brittain (brittain.jeffrey@epa.gov), 206-553-0532.