The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation are extending the public comment period for the Columbia River System Operations Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to August 15, 2025.
The public may also attend virtual meetings, which the agencies will announce this summer. More information is available here: https://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/columbiariver/.
In early April, the co-lead agencies delayed the meetings and extended the scoping period in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s removal of National Environmental Policy Act implementing regulations. This delay allowed the agencies time to assess any NEPA process changes, align agency objectives, and better describe their proposal to the public for more informed feedback during the scoping period.
“USACE and Reclamation are committed to transparency and meaningful public engagement, and both agencies remain available to discuss the SEIS and provide information related to this process. The co-lead agencies’ goal is to ensure the use of updated information to continue balancing the Columbia River System’s authorized purposes in accordance with all relevant laws and regulations and to continue operating and maintaining their facilities to meet Congressionally authorized purposes,” said a Corps press release.
“The co-lead agencies continue to seek public input and invite federal and state agencies, Native American Tribes, local governments, and the public to submit comments relevant to the supplemental NEPA process. The agencies will also publish the end date of the comment period in the Federal Register and will post an updated schedule for the public scoping meetings on the project website.”
The two agencies announced in December that they intend to reopen the 2020 Columbia River System Operations (CRSO) Final Environmental Impact Statement that addressed the ongoing operations, maintenance and configuration at the 14 multiple purpose dams. While not recommending breaching the four lower Snake River dams, the 2020 FEIS laid the groundwork if breaching was decided on later.
Piggy-backing on the FEIS, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at the same time in 2020 had completed biological opinions of the dam operations and their impact on fish and wildlife.
Scoping meetings are the first steps in the Corps’ and BOR’s reopening of the Columbia River EIS to address environmental effects from proposed changes to the selected alternative in the CRSO EIS.
For more background see CBB, April 12, 2025, “Corps/BOR Scoping Meetings On Changes To Columbia River Salmon/Steelhead EIS To Be Rescheduled” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/corps-bor-scoping-meetings-on-changes-to-columbia-river-salmon-steelhead-eis-to-be-rescheduled/