[6] Enviros Sue NWPCC Over Newest Power Plan

The Idaho-based Northwest Resource Information Center filed a lawsuit July 6 in the Ninth Circuit Court that claims the latest power plan developed by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council illegally inflates the cost of salmon mitigation and ignores the benefits of increased fish runs.

The petition faults the Council for using a cost allocation methodology that "arbitrarily and artificially inflates the costs of measures for anadromous fish protection, mitigation, and enhancement, most notably bypass spill and reservoir operations. Moreover, the Council's analysis of the Program's cost is not based on methodology that quantifies the environmental costs and benefits of power from the FCRPS and other resources."

The lawsuit goes after BPA's cost estimates of foregone revenues and power purchases associated with dam operations necessary to aid fish. The petition says BPA's use of wholesale market rates, instead of the actual rates it charges customers for power to estimate costs, "exaggerates" the energy-related costs of salmon mitigation, which has "a chilling effect" on current or potential additional proposals to aid fish.

NWPCC spokesman John Harrison said the Council has no comment at this time because it is still studying the petition.

Meanwhile, Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda told The Lewiston Tribune July 8 that by using average costs, BPA's estimate of spill and flow augmentation costs would have been $300 million a year instead of $450 million. -B. R.

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