Revised Approach No. 2: 

 All Federal Agencies Act Consistent With Council Program 



Summary : This approach would require an amendment to the Northwest Power Act 

 mandating that all federal agencies must "act in a manner consistent with" the Northwest Power 

 Planning Council's fish and wildlife program, a consistency requirement to be facilitated by an 

 executive order or some other sort of administrative directive. The Council would estabUsh a 

 standing committee composed of the state and federal fish and wildlife agencies and the Basin's 

 Indian tribes to provide recommendations to the Council for program measures and oversee 

 implementation. 



Analysis : This approach calls for minimal amendments to the Northwest Power Act that 

 would require all federal agencies to "act in a manner consistent with" the Council's program, as 

 is currently required of the Bonneville Power Administration. A dispute resolution procedure 

 would address issues regarding the consistency between the Council's fish and wildlife program 

 and other federal laws, and would include a requirement that a federal agency explain, in 

 writing, why it is acting inconsistent with the program. 



Under this approach, the Northwest Power Act's obligations would extend to all federal 

 agencies responsible for federal river, habitat, harvest and production management, including the 

 Coips of Engineers, Bonneville Bureau of Reclamation, Federal Energy Regulatory 

 Commission, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 Environmental Protection Agency and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An Executive Order or 

 other administrative order would be needed to facilitate and implement the consistency mandate 

 to the federal implementing agencies in the revised Northwest Power Act. Because the 

 Council's program would consist of measures which are expected to be implemented by the 

 federal agencies, the Council's program would have to take into account the major federal laws 

 that govern these agencies: the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other federal 

 laws. Federal agencies would continue to implement these laws and processes, together with the 

 Council's program. 



As part of this approach, the Council would establish a standing committee composed of all 

 regional state and federal fish and wildlife agencies and tribes, similar in composition to the existing 

 Columbia Basin Fish and WildUfe Authority. This standing committee would develop a single set of 

 fish and wildlife program recommendations for Council review, consideration and adoption. The 

 Council would provide poUcy and plaiming guidelines to ensure that the committee acted within the 

 standards of the Northwest Power Acl. These guideUnes would assist the committee in developing 

 program recommendations, such as through setting funding constraints for each area of the program 

 and providing a systemwide goal and framework for the program. The Council in turn would give a 

 high degree of deference to the fishery agency and tribal committee recommendations. If the 

 standing committee could not reach agreement on a single set of program recommendations, the 

 Council would decide among alternative recommendations. The Council would estabUsh an 

 independent scientific advisory board to advise it in making a decision among competing 

 recommendations. After public hearings and consultations, the Council would adopt such measures 

 into its fish and wildlife program, or be required to explain in writing why it did not, based on the 

 existing provisions in the Northwest Power Act. 



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