LANL News:

The National Nuclear Security Administration has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for a Los Alamos County project to restore parts of Los Alamos Canyon including the reservoir and surrounding areas.

The Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities is planning to restore and address sedimentation from post wildfire flooding impacts in in the canyon. 

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. 

The project is located on United States Forest Service and Department of Energy/NNSA property. Los Alamos County retains a 40-foot-wide easement for the road surface between the reservoir and West Road. Los Alamos County and its contractors will perform the work in coordination with the NNSA and the USFS.

The DOE/NNSA portion of the project is located at the far bottom end (east) of the project area near the intersection of the Creek with West Road and starts about 500 feet above the intersection. The DOE/NNSA project area is about 1000 feet long and is centered around a concrete stream crossing on the road that is presently covered with sediment from the erosion upstream in the burned watershed.

The FONSI further explains the project and cites a USFS Environmental Assessment for the Northern New Mexico Riparian, Aquatic, and Wetland Restoration Project. The FONSI and additional information is available here.