Condit Dam Removal Condit Dam Removal - Access Washington

Condit Dam Hydroelectric Project
Final Supplemental EIS
2.0 PROJECT BACKGROUND
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The Condit Hydroelectric Project, located on the White Salmon River in Klickitat and Skamania
Counties, Washington, was constructed in 1912 and 1913 and has produced electricity since that
time. PacifiCorp is proposing to remove the Condit Hydroelectric Project following the
October 1, 2008, expiration of its license extension with FERC. Ecology is conducting an
environmental review under SEPA comparing the effects of continued operation of the dam (the
no-action alternative) with the removal of the dam (proposed action).
2.2 FERC RELICENSING PROCESS SINCE 1991
On December 27, 1991, PacifiCorp Electric Operations, which has since changed its name to
PacifiCorp, filed an application with FERC for a new license authorizing the continued operation
and maintenance of the Condit Hydroelectric Project.
In response to PacifiCorp’s application, FERC issued a NEPA FEIS in October 1996 that
analyzed the environmental and economic effects of five alternatives: 1) continuing to operate
the project with no additional mitigation or enhancement measures (no-action alternative);
2) operating the project as proposed by PacifiCorp (PacifiCorp’s licensing proposal);
3) operating the projects as proposed by PacifiCorp with additional staff-recommended measures
(PacifiCorp’s licensing proposal with modifications); 4) a staff-developed alternative involving
project retirement (1996 FEIS dam removal alternative); and 5) a staff-developed alternative
involving partial removal with a new upstream diversion (partial dam removal alternative). In
the 1996 FEIS, FERC staff recommended PacifiCorp’s licensing proposal with modifications
that included fish passage facilities and several other changes to benefit fish.
Subsequently, on October 29, 1999, PacifiCorp filed an application to amend the current license
to extend the license term to October 1, 2006 (increasing the current license term from 28 to 41
years), and to incorporate the terms and conditions of a Settlement Agreement that provides for
removal of the dam upon the expiration of the proposed amended license term. The Settlement
Agreement, formally entitled Condit Hydroelectric Project Settlement Agreement, was signed in
September 1999 by PacifiCorp, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S.
Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Columbia River Intertribal Fish
Commission, the Yakama Indian Nation, Ecology, the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW), and a number of other organizations including American Rivers, American
Whitewater Affiliation, Columbia Gorge Audubon Society, Columbia Gorge Coalition,
Columbia River United, Federation of Fly Fishers, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Friends of
the Earth, Friends of the White Salmon, The Mountaineers, Rivers Council of Washington, The
Sierra Club, Trout Unlimited, Washington Trout, and the Washington Wilderness Coalition. The
Settlement Agreement incorporated a dam removal plan and established a date for commencing
the removal. The Settlement Agreement also established PacifiCorp’s financial commitment to
dam removal with a capped limit. Terms for modification, withdrawal, and termination of the
Settlement Agreement were also specified. A key factor for approval from each signatory
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