[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46667-46668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19975]


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PACIFIC NORTHWEST ELECTRIC POWER AND CONSERVATION PLANNING COUNCIL


Mainstem Amendments to Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife 
Program

AGENCY: Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning 
Council (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Council).

ACTION: Notice of final action adopting the 2003 Mainstem Amendments to 
the Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 4(h) of the Pacific Northwest Electric 
Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 839 et seq.), 
the Council has amended its 2000 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife 
Program by adding what are called the 2003 Mainstem Amendments.
    On March 14, 2001, the Council requested that state and federal 
fish and wildlife agencies, Indian tribes and others submit 
recommendations for amendments to the Council's Fish and

[[Page 46668]]

Wildlife Program concerning the mainstem Columbia and Snake rivers. A 
memorandum accompanying the request for recommendations outlined 
certain points to consider in developing mainstem amendment 
recommendations. Council Document No. 2001-04. By the June 15, 2001, 
deadline for submitting mainstem amendment recommendations, the Council 
received nearly 1,000 pages of recommendations and supporting 
information from 22 entities and individuals. As required by Section 
4(h)(4) of the Northwest Power Act, the Council released the 
recommendations to the public for an opportunity for review and 
comment, until October 2001. Council Document No. 2001-16 (http://www.nwcouncil.org/library/recommend/mainstem/Default.htm).
    In October 2002, the Council released for public review and comment 
a draft of proposed mainstem amendments to the fish and wildlife 
program, and at the same time invited further comment on the mainstem 
amendment recommendations originally received. The Council held a 
number of public hearings in the four states of the Council 
(Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho) and received extensive written 
comments on the draft amendments and the recommendations. Written 
comments on the draft mainstem amendments and recommendations are 
posted on the Council's Web site, at http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/program/mainstem/2002-16Comments/default.asp.
    After reviewing the recommendations and the comments on the draft 
mainstem amendments, the Council revised the draft and adopted 
substantive mainstem amendments to the program in April 2003. In July 
2003, the Council completed this process of amending the fish and 
wildlife program by adopting findings on the recommendations for 
mainstem amendments as part of the program (Appendix B to the 2003 
Mainstem Amendments), as well as a final analysis of the relationship 
of the mainstem amendments to the adequacy, efficiency, economy and 
reliability of the region's power supply (Appendix A to the 2003 
Mainstem Amendments).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The mainstem amendments are the Council's 
second step in what will eventually be a comprehensive revision of its 
Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife program. In the first phase, 
which resulted in the 2000 Fish and Wildlife Program, the Council 
reorganized the program around a comprehensive framework of scientific 
and policy principles. The fundamental elements of the revised program 
are the vision, which describes what the program is trying to 
accomplish with regard to fish and wildlife and other desired benefits 
from the river; basinwide biological objectives, which describe in 
general the fish and wildlife population and habitat characteristics 
needed to achieve the vision; implementation strategies, which will 
guide or describe the actions needed to achieve the desired ecological 
conditions; and a scientific foundation, which links these elements and 
explains why the Council believes certain kinds of actions should 
result in desired habitat conditions and why these conditions should 
improve fish and wildlife populations in the desired way.
    The program amendments in 2000 set the stage for the subsequent 
phases of the program revision process, in which the Council will adopt 
specific objectives and strategies for the river's mainstem and 
tributary subbasins, consistent with the basinwide vision, objectives 
and strategies in the program and its underlying scientific foundation. 
This notice concludes the adoption of a set of program amendments 
relevant to the mainstem Columbia and Snake rivers. The Council next 
intends to incorporate specific objectives and measures for tributaries 
into the program in locally developed subbasin plans for the more than 
60 subbasins of the Columbia River.
    The role of the mainstem amendments was described in the 2000 Fish 
and Wildlife Program, in the section on Basinwide Hydrosystem 
Strategies and in the section entitled Schedule for Further 
Rulemakings. The Council repeated this guidance in the March 14, 2001, 
request for mainstem amendment recommendations. The mainstem amendments 
were to contain the specific objectives and strategies (or measures) 
for the federal operating agencies and others to implement in the 
mainstem Columbia and Snake rivers to protect, mitigate and enhance 
fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of 
hydroelectric facilities while assuring the region an adequate, 
efficient, economical and reliable power supply. The final amendments 
thus include objectives and strategies relating to, among other 
matters:
    [sbull] The protection and enhancement of mainstem habitat, 
including spawning, rearing, resting and migration areas for salmon and 
steelhead, resident salmonids and other anadromous and resident fish;
    [sbull] System water management;
    [sbull] Passage spill at mainstem dams;
    [sbull] Adult and juvenile passage modifications at mainstem dams;
    [sbull] Juvenile fish transportation;
    [sbull] Reservoir elevations, operational requirements and habitat 
conditions to protect resident fish and wildlife;
    [sbull] Water quality conditions; and
    [sbull] Research, monitoring and evaluation.
    In developing the mainstem amendments, the Council asked the 
recommending entities to consider, among other things, the consistency 
of their mainstem recommendations with the basinwide provisions in the 
2000 Fish and Wildlife Program, especially the role of a mainstem plan 
in a multispecies, habitat-based, basinwide program. The Council 
evaluated the mainstem recommendations and the draft and final program 
amendments for consistency with the program framework elements adopted 
in 2000, including the vision, biological objectives, habitat and 
hydrosystem strategies, and underlying scientific principles. The 
Council also evaluated the draft and final amendments for consistency 
with, and a basis in, the mainstem recommendations, as explained in the 
findings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The final 2003 Mainstem Amendments, 
which include the appendices with the findings on recommendations and 
the power system analysis, can be found on the Council's website, at 
http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/program/mainstem/Default.htm. You may also 
contact the Council's central office for a copy, by telephone at 1-503-
222-5161 or 1-800-452-5161; by fax at 1-503-795-3370; or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

Stephen L. Crow,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 03-19975 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P