[6] Judge Chides BPA And Corps Over April Dam Incident

Judge James Redden issued an opinion and order this week that calls on BPA and the Corps of Engineers to comply with the 2007 spill agreement after an April marketing snafu, compounded by large releases of water from Grand Coulee to reach BiOp levels, led operators to operate turbines at lower Columbia mainstem dams outside of 1 percent efficiency to produce enough power to meet generating commitments. Operation of turbines within 1 percent efficiency is part of the spill agreement.

An anonymous early morning phone call to the judge's office a week after the incident alerted him to the April 3 problem, which was compounded by human error that led to a draft of Little Goose Pool below minimum operating pool. To raise the reservoir level, power generation and spill at lower Snake dams had to be reduced for a short time.

BPA had already admitted to the snafu at the April 4 TMT meeting, and had even given fish managers a heads up on April 3, the morning of the problem. With so few fish in the system, the managers expressed no concern, whatsoever.

But Redden said it was only luck that the biological impact was so low. He didn't accept the feds' assertion that impact was "minimal," given "the dangerously low rate of returning adult fish" and evidence that suggested poor fish survival from turbine operations outside of 1 percent efficiency.

A May 1 declaration by Steve Oliver, BPA's VP of Generation Asset Management explained the steps that led up to the decision to operate the turbines differently for a short time. Oliver said McNary operated outside of peak efficiency for 2 hours, The Dalles for 4 hours and Bonneville for only 1 hour, which boosted generation by 1750 MWh.

Oliver pointed out that the changes in operation did not reduce spill at those dams because the spill program didn't start in the lower Columbia until April 10. He also noted that 2004 and 2005 studies at McNary Dam compared changes in fish guidance efficiencies from changes in turbine operating efficiencies and found no statistical difference between the upper 1 percent operation and another one beyond that.

In layman's language, that means there was no meaningful difference in the ratio of fish that passed through the turbines compared to those who were guided into bypass systems from the two different operations.

Smolts were not even present at McNary Dam, while the smolt index at Bonneville was a tiny 13 fish/hr.

But Judge Redden questioned whether BPA would have acted any differently if the incident had occurred during the peak of the migration season. "Apparently, BPA's sales commitments to customers always trump its obligation to protect ESA-listed species," said the judge's order. "BPA must realize, however, that the fish-protection measures detailed in the 2000 and 2004 BiOps are not optional. Nor is compliance with the ESA."

Judge Redden said he was issuing the order to emphasize these points, and told the agencies to notify him "as soon as practicable" if any future violations occur and mitigation measures that may make up for them. -B. R.

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