Oregonian: Idaho Power aims to relicense dams after settlement talks fail

Idaho Power aims to relicense dams after settlement talks fail

10/27/2005, 1:49 p.m. PT

By JOHN MILLER

The Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Power Co. is asking federal regulators to resume a review of a new license for its Hells Canyon dam complex, after yearlong negotiations with state and federal agencies, Indian tribes and environmental groups failed to result in a settlement over issues including whether the company should erect fish ladders for migrating salmon.

The three 50-year-old dams, located along a 25-mile stretch of the rugged Snake River canyon dividing Idaho from Oregon, are Idaho Power's largest, with a combined output of 1,167 megawatts, capable of lighting nearly 900,000 homes. The last license expired in July 2005, and a temporary license is now in place as the utility asks the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to operate them for another 30 years.

In an Oct. 20 letter, Idaho Power told the commission its talks with more than a dozen government agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Services, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, Idaho and Oregon state environmental quality offices, and the Nez Perce and Shoshone-Bannock tribes, had ended without a pact.

"It is unlikely that the parties will be able to reach agreement, in the near term, on a comprehensive settlement," Jim Tucker, an Idaho Power lawyer, told FERC Secretary Magalie R. Salas.

Idaho Power hasn't ruled out a return to the bargaining table.

But the abyss separating the company from the other parties was too vast and would have stalled the relicensing effort, Tucker said. As a result, he asked FERC to start its process of drawing up a preliminary environmental impact report based on the company's 36,000-page relicensing proposal. FERC has pledged to do that before the end of October.

Environmental groups criticized Idaho Power's move, saying that withdrawing from negotiations without a settlement could lead to future obstacles. And FERC officials said failure to resolve contentious issues could eventually lead to additional hearings — or even a court battle.

"There's that possibility that we won't like what we see and we'll appeal it," said Connie Kelleher, associate director of conservation group American Rivers' Seattle office. "Or somebody else won't like it."

Citing a confidentiality agreement that accompanied the settlement talks, Idaho Power, American Rivers and government agencies contacted by The Associated Press declined to comment on what led to the impasse.

But according to FERC officials, points of contention revolve around water quality issues, including river temperatures; disagreement over water flows that may be needed to flush young salmon through dams toward the Pacific Ocean; and whether fish ladders should be installed that could allow salmon and steelhead to swim past the dams on their eastward migration.

"The Idaho Power Co. hasn't conducted the studies that are necessary for an assessment of whether or not passage would be successful," said Ritchie Graves, National Marine Fisheries Service biologist. "That's what we've maintained throughout this relicensing. The last time studies of that nature were done was in the 1950s and 1960s, and we've had a lot of improvements in technology since that time."

Environmentalists aiming to extract concessions from Idaho Power have sided with the federal agencies.

"The Hells Canyon Dams are the absolute end of the road for migrating salmon and steelhead," said American Rivers' Kelleher. "When you do a relicensing, you take a fresh look at the project and ask, 'What impact have these dams been causing and what should the company do to mitigate that?'"

Measures to address such concerns could cost Idaho Power hundreds of millions of dollars beyond the $324 million its licensing proposal currently sets aside to offset environmental problems that have emerged as a result of the three dams.

The state's largest utility counters that the quality of fish habitat on the Snake River above the Hells Canyon complex is so degraded that it wouldn't support sustainable populations of salmon and steelhead. As a result, it wants to concentrate its efforts on restoring habitat below the dams.

The company has spent millions to study the issue, said spokesman Dennis Lopez.

"We believe that the environment and habitat upstream from the Hells Canyon project at present is not conducive to reintroducing anadromous fish," Lopez said. "On the other hand, we know from our research that downstream from the project, there's more than adequate excellent habitat to continue to build fish runs."

Starting in November, state and federal government agencies and five Idaho- and Oregon-based Indian tribes will have a chance to ask FERC to attach certain conditions to Idaho Power's license proposal. By next spring, FERC is due to publish its draft environmental impact statement for another round of public scrutiny.