More than 800 people submitted comments on Capitol Lake’s future. What’s next?

State staff are reviewing and analyzing more than 800 comments the state Department of Enterprise Services received on the draft environmental impact statement on the options for the future of Capitol Lake in Olympia.

All draft EIS comments received during the 62-day comment period that ended Sunday will be published on the project website by early October, DES said in a Monday news release. The final EIS will include a comment response summary that documents comments and how they were addressed.

The final EIS is expected in 2022 and will identify a preferred alternative for long-term management of the man-made lake and the mouth of the Deschutes River, according to DES.

The EIS examines three options for the body of water that runs from Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River to Budd Inlet’s West Bay: a managed lake, an estuary created by removal of the Fifth Avenue Dam, and a hybrid of the two. The port is mentioned often in the report because under the estuary and hybrid plans, maintenance dredging would have to occur to clear a buildup of sediment in the inlet.

The DES news release said the EIS’s executive and technical work groups and community sounding board will reconvene in November. Topics for those meetings are expected to include:

• Summary of Draft EIS comment themes;
• Description of focus areas for the Final EIS;
• Discussion on the remaining steps in identifying a preferred alternative.

Work group and community sounding board meetings are open to the public. Information about meetings is posted on the project meetings page. Here are meeting times:

• Technical Work Group: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 17.
  
  
• Community Sounding Board: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 17.

If you have questions, email DES at info@capitollakedeschutesestuaryeis.org or call 360-407-9323.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 2:03 PM.