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Technical Appendix to provide opportunities for review and comment on the Fbrum 

 alternatives. 



As part of developing the Forum alternatives, the SOR lead agencies have considered 

 mechanisms for public involvement in decisionmaking related to issues of water quality 

 and water development in other areas of the country. Although none relate specifically 

 to river ojjeration planning, they do provide an insight into different processes which 

 elicit public input into agency decisions. 



The recognition that a Forum was needed in the future came only after the agencies 

 began to consider other operations problems. Initially, the SOR lead agencies were 

 faced with the expiration of two important power-related contracts - the Canadian 

 Entitlement Allocation Agreement and the Pacific Northwest Coordination Agreement 

 — that required renewal and /or renegotiation. The utilities who are parties to these two 

 agreements see them as directly linked. However, before these contracts could be acted 

 upon, the agencies recognized a need to consider comprehensively the Columbia River 

 system and its operation, evaluate various system operation alternatives, and develop a 

 System Operating Strategy. The SOR was created to accomplish this task. 



The SOR Team then recognized that there was a final piece in the puzzle that needed to 

 be addressed. Since conditions, knowledge or requirements will change in the future, 

 there is a need for a method of periodically reviewing and updating the System 

 Operating Strategy without having to repeat the intensive analysis that is currently 

 underway. The Forum was identified to fill that need and forms a pivotal part of the 

 overall SOR approach. It completes the review of hydro system and allows for efficient 

 implementation of river operations in the futiire. 



September 15, 1993 6 



