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Environmental Impact Statement Re-licensing Idaho Snake River Hydroelectric Projects
 Snake River, Idaho

As part of a nationwide contract with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Louis Berger & Associates (Berger) has been retained to prepare the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Final Environmental Impact Statement and (FEIS) for the re-licensing of four hydroelectric projects on the Snake River in Idaho. These projects, owned by Idaho Power Company, include the Bliss, Lower Salmon Falls, Upper Salmon Falls, and Shoshone Falls Projects.

The four major actions to be considered in this EIS include: (1) licensing one or more projects as proposed by the applicant; (2) licensing one or more projects with Contractor (Berger) recommended levels of environmental enhancement or project modifications; (3) retiring one or more of the projects without removing the dams; and (4) continuing operation of the projects as they presently exist without enhancement or modification.

In addition to drafting the DEIS and FEIS, Berger has also been retained to complete a number of other tasks related to the re-licensing of these four projects. These tasks include:

  • Reviewing the adequacy of the licensee’s response to FERC’s additional information requests (AIRs) and determining if the application is ready for environmental analysis.
  • Reviewing and analyzing the draft Programatic Agreement (PA) for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
  • Preparing the draft and final letters updating the status of threatened and endangered species, and drafting the final letter requesting Section 7 consultation for threatened and endangered Snake River snails, pergrine falcon, and bald eagle.
  • Preparing draft and final 10(j) preliminary determination letters, assisting in 10(j) negotiations, and aiding in the preparation of meeting summary.
  • Preparing draft and final license articles.

Also to be included within this contentious EIS is an evaluation of the cumulative impacts of all eight Snake River Projects up for license. However, the cumulative analysis would only be for resources affected by the Bliss, Lower Salmon Falls, Upper Salmon Falls, and Shoshone Falls Project and would not include analyzing the cumulative effects on anadromous fish.
 
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