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nificantly. Those screens are scheduled to be installed at Lower Granite and Little 

 Goose Dams in 1996. Spilling is generally believed to have a one to one effect, that 

 is, when 50 percent of the water is spilled, 50 percent of the juvenile fish are as- 

 sumed to be passed over the spillway. 



BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF HYDROPOWER DAMS EFFECTS ON FISH 



Under the Endangered Species Act, the Corps prepares a Biological Assessment 

 of the effects on listed species of planned operation of the Federal Columbia River 

 Power System (FCRPS), prior to the Spring start of the operating year. Following 

 consultations between the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the 

 Corps, NMFS issues a Biological Opinion. 



In its March 2 Biological Opinion for 1995 and future years, NMFS found that 

 the Corps planned operation of the FCRPS would jeopardize the continued existence 

 of the listed salmon. Accordingly, the Biological Opinion provided reasonable and 

 prudent alternative measures to avoid jeopardy. 



On March 10, 1995, Major General Ernest J. Harrell, Division Engineer for the 

 North Pacific Division, signed a Record of Decision documenting the Corps intent 

 to fulfill the recommended actions in the Biological Opinion. In its decision, the 

 Corps relied upon NMFS professional scientific determination that the reasonable 

 and prudent alternatives and measures will provide the necessary actions to halt 

 and reverse declines of listed Snake River salmon species. 



The Biological Opinion calls for a variety of actions and studies for salmon. Flow 

 augmentation, spills, juvenile transport, lowered reservoir levels, improvements to 

 existing passage systems and other actions are being implemented in the 1995 oper- 

 ating year. Further improvements to the existing system, and alternative configura- 

 tions of the physical projects, are being evaluated for the long term. One of these 

 is the surface bypass system for juvenile fish. This is a relatively new technology 

 whereby migrating juvenile salmon would be guided in the top 20 to 30 feet of the 

 reservoir surface where they normally travel, and passed over or through the dam. 



INFORMATION GAINED FROM 1994 SPILL FOR FUTURE SPILL POLICY 



In 1994, NMFS, responding to the states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon and 

 the four lower river Tribes, requested, and the Corps implemented, an emergency 



Srogram of spUling at all eight of the lower Columbia ana Snake River dams. The 

 [ay 9, 1994, request went beyond spUl measures in the 1994 Biological Opinion and 

 previously agreed upon spill measures, such as those provided in the 1989 long-term 

 spill agreement. The 1995 Biological Opinion again called for spill at all eight dams, 

 including at "collector" dams where a msgority of juvenile fish would normally have 

 been collected and transported. 



The Corps incorporated information fi-om the Scientific Panel convened by NMFS 

 on the 1994 spill operation in its Biological Assessment dated December 15, 1994. 

 The Corps eacpressed concern about exceeding current state water quality stand- 

 ards in the Biobgical Assessment and referenced a letter dated November 9, 1994, 

 to Federal agencies, the states, and other regional interests, from General Harrell. 

 That letter indicated the Corps would attempt to adhere to the state water quality 

 standards in operating its projects, and that requests to exceed state standards 

 should be coordinated by the requesting agency. For the 1995 out-migration season, 

 NMFS has obtained waivers fi^om Idaho, Oregon and Washington. 



WORKING WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS ON SALMON MORTALITY ISSUES 



The Corps assures that evaluations which it fiinds on salmon passage at its 

 projects are fully coordinated internally and with regional entities and programs. It 

 accomplishes this through an interagency technical review and oversight process 

 called the Anadromous Fish Evaluation Program (AFEP). The Corps is working with 

 NMFS to bring AFEP into coordination processes established under the Pacific 

 Salmon Coordinating Committee (PSCC) or the forum currently proposed by NMFS 

 for implementing the Recovery Plan. 



Under the new structure, a Corps AFEP Coordination Team oversees the program 

 and provides command and control, program management, quality assurance and 

 regional interface for all anadromous fish evaluations. The Coordination Team will 

 consult with appropriate Indian Tribes, assure regional coordination with the PSCC 

 or some other body as identified by NMFS and the PSCC, and inform the Power 

 Planning Council of activities. . , t, j 



A Technical Coordination Team provides a process for interfacing with Federal 

 and State fish agencies. Tribes and other interested parties to assure that they have 

 adequate opportunity for review and to provide recommendations throughout the de- 

 velopment and implementation of AFEP studies. The Team will also coordinate sci- 



