The Bonneville Power Administration is proposing to fund the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho to upgrade their existing Kootenai white sturgeon aquaculture facility and construct a new facility to expand their white sturgeon and burbot artificial production programs. The new facility would be located on property owned by the Tribe at the confluence of the Moyie and Kootenai Rivers near Bonners Ferry in Boundary County, Idaho. Current production of Kootenai River white sturgeon at the existing Tribal Hatchery is restricted by capacity limitations and adequate facilities for artificial burbot production do not exist.

BPA has prepared a Preliminary Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental consequences of this proposed action and we would like to hear your views.  Please submit your comments by March 18, 2013 so that they are considered in our decision on this project. 

If you would like a copy of the Preliminary EA please visit the project webpage or call our toll-free document request line:  1-800-622-4520.  Leave a message naming this project and giving your name and complete mailing address.  If you have any further questions or need more project information, please call me toll free at 1-800-622-4519, or directly at (503) 230-5756.  You may also e-mail me at esgresh@bpa.gov.  Thank you for your interest in our work.

View previous comments received during the initial public scoping period when the project was formerly called the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Native Fish Aquaculture Program:
http://www.bpa.gov/applications/publiccomments/CommentList.aspx?ID=141

BPA proposes to completely rebuild the Midway-Moxee 115-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Benton and Yakima Counties, Washington. This 34-mile long transmission line is owned and operated by BPA. It begins at the BPA Midway Substation and ends at the BPA Moxee Substation in Moxee, Wash., about five miles east of Yakima. The rebuilt transmission line would continue to operate at 115-kV.

Rebuilding this transmission line would enable BPA to continue providing reliable electric power to local utilities. The rebuild is needed because the transmission line, which was built in the early 1940s, is old; the existing wood pole structures and electrical wires (conductors) show normal deterioration due to age. Some existing access roads would need to be improved to provide construction access and some new access roads may be needed to reach structures for which BPA currently does not have adequate access.

Beginning in spring 2013, BPA employees or contractors will conduct background research, field studies, coordination and consultation to learn more about the project area environment and the potential impacts of this proposed project. BPA will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the potential environmental impacts of the proposed work and identify ways to reduce these impacts. The preliminary EA is expected to be available for public review and comment in late 2013 or early 2014.

Feedback we receive during the public comment period will be used to help develop the EA. In addition we will have at least one public meeting to provide information on the project and take questions and comments. The first meeting will be held in Moxee, Wash., Wednesday, Feb. 20. 

BPA will provide details about the meeting at www.bpa.gov and on the project website.

The Bonneville Power Administration proposes to fund the replacement of an existing seasonal fish weir on Lolo Creek in Clearwater County, Idaho with a permanent weir. The weir is located on property managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It will be used to monitor federally-listed Snake River steelhead and to collect spring Chinook salmon to support an ongoing supplementation program in the watershed. The proposed weir would be designed to maintain the free-flowing nature of Lolo Creek and accommodate use by kayakers and other recreationalists. The Nez Perce Tribe would operate and maintain the weir.

BPA, in cooperation with BLM, recently completed a preliminary environmental assessment of the project. These agencies involve the public during environmental review to meet obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act. The public is invited to comment on the preliminary environmental assessment during a comment period that is scheduled to close March 1, 2013.

To learn more about the project, go to: www.bpa.gov/go/lolocreekweir or contact Dan Gambetta at 503-230-3493, or by email at dagambetta@bpa.gov. To submit comments and view past comments, go to www.bpa.gov/comment and look for this project. You may also call toll free 800-622-4519.

View previous comments received during the initial public scoping period:
http://www.bpa.gov/applications/publiccomments/CommentList.aspx?ID=142

These are general comments that BPA has received in 2013.

BPA is proposing to rebuild nearly 28 miles of the Grand Coulee-Creston No. 1 115-kV transmission line between the cities of Coulee Dam in Grant County and Creston in Lincoln County, Wash. The proposed project would include replacing all wood pole structures (including poles, cross arms, cross braces, guys, anchors and insulator assemblies) and conductor (including groundwire and fiber communications), improving existing access roads, and developing temporary access roads. The rebuilt line will continue to operate at 115-kV. The intention is that the rebuilt line will maintain at the same structure locations and similar pole heights as the existing line.

Over the next three years, BPA employees or contractors will be conducting field activities related to planning and environmental review. BPA will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to assess the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action and identify ways to reduce those impacts.

Feedback we receive during the public comment period will be used to help develop the EA. We have already held two public meetings to provide information on the project and take questions and comments. We will be holding one more public meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

          Wilbur Community Center
            5 SW Railroad Avenue
            Wilbur, WA 99185

BPA would like your comments on the draft environmental impact statement for the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project. BPA is proposing to build a 500-kilovolt (kV) lattice-steel-tower transmission line that would run from a new 500-kV substation near Castle Rock, Wash., to a new 500-kV substation near Troutdale, Ore. This new transmission line would increase the transmission capacity in the southwest Washington/northwest Oregon area and allow BPA to provide for local load growth, maintain reliable power, and accommodate requests for transmission service.

The draft environmental impact statement describes the proposed project and why it is needed, discusses the environmental impacts the project would create, and lists mitigation measures that would lessen or eliminate those impacts. You can access information in the draft EIS online, at local libraries and at drop-in sessions in December. BPA will also host public meetings in January and February to collect comments on the draft EIS. 

BPA’s preferred alternative is the Central Alternative, using Central Option 1 and is described in this Issue Brief. We believe this alternative provides the best balance to fulfill multiple goals. While it is neither the least expensive nor the easiest to construct, the preferred alternative provides a way forward that would limit project impacts and disruptions across many communities and neighbors, manages costs to ratepayers, and achieves the goal of preserving transmission system reliability for everyone in the I-5 area in the future.