The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are extending the public scoping period for their re-do of an environmental review of the Columbia River system operations.

The agencies originally announced in December their intent to supplement the 2020 Columbia River Systems Operations environmental impact statement, or CRSO EIS.

The original deadline for public comment was March 30, the new deadline is May 9. Virtual public meetings originally scheduled for the week of Feb. 10 have been moved to the week of April 7.

The extension will allow more time for the public to comment, Tom Conning, public affairs specialist for the Corps’ Northwestern Division, told the Capital Press.

“For instance, we’ve only received 19 unique public comments,” Conning said. “It will allow more time to provide input. We also received several requests to extend it.

“I don’t know how common it is for federal agencies to extend comment periods, but since public input is so important for this (supplemental environmental impact statement), we felt an extension was prudent,” Conning continued. “I didn’t get any specifics on who asked for the extension, but have the impression that we wouldn’t be able to share that without their consent.”
Conning said he has seen extensions of other EISs.

“Sometimes it depends on complexity or getting enough public attention to the fact that we’re doing a project,” he said.

“(The Corps) and Reclamation recognize the need for additional collaborative dialogue about the system and are seeking input from the public to inform a SEIS during the scoping process,” the agencies stated in a press release. “The co-lead agencies still need public input and invite federal and state agencies, Native American Tribes, local governments and the public to submit scoping comments relevant to the supplemental NEPA process.”

The co-lead agencies decided to supplement the 2020 CRSO EIS after a review last fall that considered input from Tribes, stakeholders and federal and state agencies, to evaluate “updated and changed circumstances,” including:

• Changes to operations, maintenance and configuration of the 14 projects in the Columbia River system.

• New species listed or proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act, such as the wolverine.

• New reports, studies or other information since the CRSO EIS was completed.

When the new environmental review re-do was announced, a coalition of stakeholders, the Columbia Basin Regional Alliance for Transparency (RAFT), expressed alarm that it would be “both premature and unlawful.”

“There are significant concerns regarding the co-lead agencies’ proposal to base the analysis on interim reports from the 12/14 Agreement studies and unscientific policy, which lack conclusive findings,” the coalition stated in December. “Relying on these incomplete studies undermines the integrity of the NEPA process and risks rendering the final NEPA document unlawful, as NEPA is designed to promote informed decision making.”

The federal government, several regional Tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington entered into an agreement Dec. 14, 2023.

Final authority to breach the dams remains with Congress, but that agreement put breaching of the four lower Snake River dams on the table “as soon as practical,” a Tribal leader said at the time.

Since the election, President Donald Trump is not expected to push as hard for dam breaching, various agricultural analysts say.

To learn more and submit comments, visit the project website at www.nwd.usace.army.mil/columbiariver.