The states of Oregon and Washington, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council this week that flexible spill in 2020 met all of a flexible spill agreement’s goals in its second year. All were signatories to the 2018 flexible spill agreement.

In asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a 2018 U.S. District Court ruling that Portland General Electric had not committed water quality violations at its Pelton Round Butte Project on the Deschutes River, the Deschutes River Alliance asserts that adaptive management has not been effective when it comes to maintaining state water quality standards in the river.

In 2009, the Columbia Basin Bulletin produced the 77-page e-book “SALMON AND HYDRO: An Account of Litigation over Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinions for Salmon and Steelhead, 1991-2009.” We are making the book available to CBB members.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration signed a joint Record of Decision on Monday that commits the agencies to implementing immediate and long-term actions identified in July in a final environmental impact statement for operations of 14 Columbia/Snake River mainstem dams. The Columbia River Systems Operations EIS also includes a new biological opinion for 13 species of salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Tucked into the Columbia River System Operators’ final environmental impact statement for the Columbia River power system’s impacts on salmon and steelhead that was released late last week is a more than 1,600 page biological opinion from NOAA Fisheries.