[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 19349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9886]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Delivery of the Canadian Entitlement

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of availability of Record of Decision (ROD).

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SUMMARY: The Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of BPA, acting 
for BPA, and, as Chair of the United States Entity (which is the 
Administrator of BPA and the Division Engineer, North Pacific Division 
of the United States Army Corps of Engineers), acting for the United 
States Entity, has decided to supplement an earlier decision regarding 
the Canadian Entitlement. The decision is to enter into an agreement to 
enable disposal of the Canadian Entitlement directly in the United 
States. The Canadian Entitlement, established in the Columbia River 
Treaty of 1964, is the portion (one-half) of the downstream power 
benefits from three storage dams in Canada that is owed to Canada.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents discussed below are available from 
BPA's Public Information Office, P.O. Box 12999, Portland, Oregon 
97212. They may also be obtained by calling BPA's toll-free document 
request line: 1-800-622-4520. The documents are: Delivery of the 
Canadian Entitlement Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of January 
1996, the March 1996 ROD, the November 1996 ROD, and the Supplement to 
the November 1996 ROD described in this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Entity (which is 
responsible for representing United States interests pursuant to the 
Columbia River Treaty) issued a Delivery of the Canadian Entitlement 
ROD on November 8, 1996. The ROD was based on the Delivery of the 
Canadian Entitlement EIS (DOE/EIS-0197, issued in January 1996). The 
November 1996 ROD announced the United States Entity decision to 
fulfill its obligation under the Columbia River Treaty between Canada 
and the United States of America by delivering the full Canadian 
Entitlement at existing transmission interconnections between the 
United States and Canada near Blaine, Washington, and Nelway, British 
Columbia. The November 1996 ROD also replaced an earlier March 12, 
1996, ROD.
    The November 1996 ROD did not address delivery of the Canadian 
Entitlement in the United States. It did, however, note that: ``If the 
United States and Canadian Entities propose delivery in the United 
States, the United States Entity will review the Delivery of the 
Canadian Entitlement EIS to ensure that the impacts are adequately 
analyzed. A decision to dispose of the Entitlement in the United States 
would be the subject of an additional United States Entity ROD.''
    The Federal governments of Canada and the United States have 
exchanged diplomatic notes, as provided in the Columbia River Treaty, 
to permit disposal of all or part of the Canadian Entitlement directly 
in the United States. BPA and the Province of British Columbia have 
reached agreement on the terms and conditions of the disposal. The 
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of BPA, as Administrator and 
also as Chair of the United States Entity, has decided to enter into an 
agreement to enable disposal of the Canadian Entitlement directly in 
the United States. As a result, the United States Entity is 
supplementing the November 1996 ROD to recognize the decision to enable 
disposal of the Canadian Entitlement in the United States through 
September 15, 2024, as well as delivery at Blaine and Nelway.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Katherine Semple Pierce--KECP, 
Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 
97208-3621, phone number (503) 230-3962, fax number (503) 230-4089.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on March 31, 1999.
Judith A. Johansen,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer, Bonneville Power 
Administration, and Chair, United States Entity.
[FR Doc. 99-9886 Filed 4-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P