NW Power/Conservation Council Approves Funds To Upgrade Fish Screens, Reviews Progress On $25 Million For Hatchery Maintenance

Idaho, Washington and Oregon are in line to receive $1,840,082 to upgrade or replace existing fish screens that prevent migrating juvenile salmon and steelhead from getting trapped in canals and irrigation ditches. The money will also be used in some cases to make repairs to state fish screen facilities, all in fiscal year 2025.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council approved the expenditure included in its asset management program at its June meeting in Helena, Montana. The Bonneville Power Administration will fund the fish screens through its 2024 rate case funds for fish and wildlife programs.

The Council also reviewed progress on $25 million of non-routine hatchery maintenance approved last year. The hatchery maintenance uses BPA Reserve Distribution Clause funds allocated to Fish and Wildlife for use in FY2024 after the power marketing agency finished FY2022 with higher-than-expected revenues, triggering the RDC.

Since 2018, BPA has either reduced funding for its fish and wildlife program or levels of funding remained flat — all part of the agency’s 2018-23 strategic plan to keep fish and wildlife costs below the rate of inflation. Its fish and wildlife budget dropped 10 percent in FY2020-21 to $249 million and another 1 percent in fiscal year 2022-23. Although the agency said it would raise the budget by 8 percent this year, the FY2024 budget amount is still lower than its FY2018-19 budget.

See CBB, January 13, 2023, BPA URGED TO DISTRIBUTE MORE EXCESS REVENUE TO SALMON RECOVERY, 70 PERCENT GOING TO KEEP RATES DOWN, 10 PERCENT FISH, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BPA-URGED-TO-DISTRIBUTE-MORE-EXCESS-REVENUE-TO-SALMON-RECOVERY-70-PERCENT-GOING-TO-KEEP-RATES-DOWN-10-PERCENT-FISH/

With the RDC, BPA allocated $50 million to address non-recurring maintenance needs at existing fish and wildlife assets. Some $25 million of that went to Lower Snake River Compensation hatcheries and the remaining $25 million is going to Fish and Wildlife Program-supported hatcheries between FY2024 and FY2027.

The RDC, a rate mechanism that implements an element of BPA’s Financial Reserves Policy, triggered for Power Services based on FY 2022 end-of-year results, the power marketing agency said in a news release early last year. It allows the administrator to repurpose financial reserves when certain conditions are met. The primary condition is that both the agency and the business line must exceed their upper days cash on hand thresholds: 90 days cash on hand for the agency and 120 days cash on hand for a business line. Days cash on hand is the number of days a business can continue to operate using its own cash on hand with no new revenue.

The amount above the thresholds can be used for debt reduction, incremental capital investment, rate reduction through a dividend distribution or any other high-value business-line-specific purpose determined by the administrator.

An Asset Management Subcommittee, represented by Council member Ed Schriever (Idaho) and Jason Sweet, Executive Manager, Fish and Wildlife Division, BPA, met in January to consider prioritizing the entirety of the $2.7M allocated to non-routine Asset Management in Bonneville’s FY2024 rate case for fish screens. Although $2.7 million was available for fish screens, fish screen managers only submitted $1.87 million in requests.

In addition to the fish screen projects approved by the subcommittee, it said it will also “investigate the potential to fund a 3rd party assessment of the Program’s screen fabrication facilities in FY25,” says a June 4 Council memorandum (https://www.nwcouncil.org/fs/18756/2024_06_5.pdf).

The Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee approved the plan at its May 14 meeting, and supported bringing the recommendations to the full Council for approval June 12.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will receive $862,000 for five projects, one on the Lemhi River ($65,000), one on the East Fork of the Salmon River ($355,000) and one on the Salmon River ($82,000). In addition, IDFG will receive funds for a septic system at its screen shop ($85,000) and funds to purchase a road grader for fish screen access ($275,000).

Some $539,360 will go to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for four projects with the largest of $348,280 going to total component replacement or rebuild on nine screens in the Deschutes, John Day and Grande Ronde rivers subbasins. $37,560 will be used at diversion dams on Trout and Fifteen mile creeks and $87,100 goes to replacement of walkways to meet safety standards at 9 fish screens in John Day and Grande Ronde subbasins. ODFW will also receive $66,500 for a mini-excavator to help clean fish screens.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is receiving $438,722 for five projects. $112,537 is for installing a wedge wire panel on Scott Ditch Fish Screen on the Naches River, $169,987 to replace the Clark and Lindsey Phase II Drum Screen Facility on the Yakima River, and $31,629 to rebuild Starbuck Electric Drum Screen on the Tucannon River and Chapman-Nelson Drum Screen on the Naches River. WDFW will also receive $26,524 to purchase Perforated Plate (standby materials) for drum screen repair and $58,246 for a bending machine and miscellaneous shop tools.

“RDC funds previously prioritized for non-routine hatchery maintenance continue to meet the program’s hatchery needs,” the June 4 Council memo says, noting that $24,542,786 of the $25 million has been allocated. Approved in 2023, implementation at these hatcheries continues, with. Here’s a run-down:

Ten hatcheries have been awarded contracts, with two still out for signature and two more in development. The largest of the awards has gone to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation ($3,404,540), the Kootenai Tribe ($2,364,189), the Nez Perce Tribe ($2,005,535) and the Colville Tribe ($1,701,089) and the Spokane Tribe ($1,171,995). Others include IDFG, Westland Irrigation District, the Yakama Nation and the Warm Spring Tribes.

Still out for signature are ODFW ($4,550,000) and WDFW ($403,661).

Under development are Alaska Energy for chiller support ($500,000) and Terraphase, a Umatilla well analysis ($30,000).

The Council’s Asset Management Strategic Plan was approved in 2018 to address non-recurring maintenance needs in order to ensure the longevity and integrity of the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program’s past investments made for the benefit of fish and wildlife, including hatcheries, fish screens and lands, Mark Fritsch, Project Review and Implementation in the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Division, told the Council. The plan established an annual $500,000 asset management placeholder.

BPA also has a Strategic Asset Management Plans initiated for hatcheries in 2020 that is updated biennially to support the Integrated Program Review cycle, Jason Sweet, executive manager of BPA’s Fish and Wildlife Program, told the Council. BPA’s Plan, he said, describes BPA’s long-term objectives and strategies, asset criticality and risk assessments.

Sweet said the two programs – the Council’s Asset Management Strategic Plan and BPA’s Strategic Asset Management Plans – have been “maturing together.”

Fritsch said “I can’t speak enough how these (two programs) are complimentary to each other.”

For background, see:

— CBB, November 30, 2023, BPA SAYS FOURTH QUARTER BOOSTED 2023 REVENUES BEYOND FORECASTS, INTENDS TO “ACCELERATE FISH AND WILDLIFE MITIGATION’, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BPA-SAYS-FOURTH-QUARTER-BOOSTED-2023-REVENUES-BEYOND-FORECASTS-INTENDS-TO-ACCELERATE-FISH-AND-WILDLIFE-MITIGATION/

— CBB, SEPTEMBER 28, 2023, NW POWER/CONSERVATION COUNCIL RELEASES TWO REPORTS DETAILING FISH/WILDLIFE SPENDING; $932 MILLION BY BPA IN FY 2022, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/NW-POWER-CONSERVATION-COUNCIL-RELEASES-TWO-REPORTS-DETAILING-FISH-WILDLIFE-SPENDING-932-MILLION-BY-BPA-IN-FY-2022/

— CBB, JUNE 21, 2023, COUNCIL/BPA APPROVE USING $25 MILLION IN BPA FUNDS FOR LONG OVERDUE MAINTENANCE AT AGING COLUMBIA BASIN HATCHERIES, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/COUNCIL-BPA-APPROVE-USING-25-MILLION-IN-BPA-FUNDS-FOR-LONG-OVERDUE-MAINTENANCE-AT-AGING-COLUMBIA-BASIN-HATCHERIES/

–CBB, May 18 2023, COUNCIL/BPA MOVING CLOSER TO APPROVING HUGE INCREASE FOR HATCHERY MAINTENANCE DUE TO FLUSH REVENUE YEAR FOR BPA, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/COUNCIL-BPA-MOVING-CLOSER-TO-APPROVING-HUGE-INCREASE-FOR-HATCHERY-MAINTENANCE-DUE-TO-FLUSH-REVENUE-YEAR-FOR-BPA/

— CBB, January 13, 2023, BPA URGED TO DISTRIBUTE MORE EXCESS REVENUE TO SALMON RECOVERY, 70 PERCENT GOING TO KEEP RATES DOWN, 10 PERCENT FISH, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BPA-URGED-TO-DISTRIBUTE-MORE-EXCESS-REVENUE-TO-SALMON-RECOVERY-70-PERCENT-GOING-TO-KEEP-RATES-DOWN-10-PERCENT-FISH/

— CBB, Nov. 22, 2022, BPA 2022 NET REVENUES EXCEED TARGET BY $792 MILLION; PROPOSING FLAT RATES FOR 2023-25, 8 PERCENT INCREASE FOR SALMON MITIGATION https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/bpa-2022-net-revenues-exceed-target-by-792-million-proposing-flat-rates-for-2023-25-8-percent-increase-for-salmon-mitigation/

— CBB, June 16, 2022,

BPA TO RAISE ANNUAL FISH/WILDLIFE BUDGET BY 8.7 PERCENT STARTING 2024; HAS ASSESSED HATCHERY, FISH SCREEN MAINTENANCE NEEDS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BPA-TO-RAISE-ANNUAL-FISH-WILDLIFE-BUDGET-BY-8-7-PERCENT-STARTING-2024-HAS-ASSESSED-HATCHERY-FISH-SCREEN-MAINTENANCE-NEEDS/

— CBB, April 14, 2022, COUNCIL DECISION MEMO TO BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION CALLS FOR AGENCY TO ADDRESS FLAT-FUNDING OF BASIN FISH/WILDLIFE MITIGATION PROJECTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/council-decision-memo-to-bonneville-power-administration-calls-for-agency-to-address-flat-funding-of-basin-fish-wildlife-mitigation-projects/

— CBB, March 31, 2021, MORE SPILL FOR SALMON BUMPED BPA FISH/WILDLIFE COSTS UP 18 PERCENT IN 2021; FOR ESA FISH, MOST SPENT ON MID-COLUMBIA STEELHEAD AT $36 MILLION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/more-spill-for-salmon-bumped-bpa-fish-wildlife-costs-up-18-percent-in-2021-for-esa-fish-most-spent-on-mid-columbia-steelhead-at-36-million/

— CBB, Sept. 30, 2021, SCIENCE PANEL REVIEWING BPA-FUNDED BASIN FISH/WILDLIFE PROJECTS SAYS TIME TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY; MORE SYNTHESIS, SOLICIT NEW PROJECTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/science-panel-reviewing-bpa-funded-basin-fish-wildlife-projects-says-time-to-do-things-differently-more-synthesis-solicit-new-projects/

— CBB, June 20, 2021, “BPA Opens Fish/Wildlife Budget Process For FY2020, Hopes To Hold Spending Steady,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/bpa-opens-fish-wildlife-budget-process-for-fy2020-hopes-to-hold-spending-steady/

— CBB, March 11, 2021, REPORT: 2020 TOTAL BPA FISH/WILDLIFE COSTS DROP BY $177 MILLION OVER 2019; $611.5 MILLION, 25 PERCENT OF WHOLESALE POWER RATES, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/report-2020-total-bpa-fish-wildlife-costs-drop-by-177-million-over-2019-611-5-million-25-percent-of-wholesale-power-rates/

— March 19, 2020, “Draft Report Pegs BPA’s 2019 Fish/Wildlife Costs At $788 Million, $17 Billion Since 1981; 25 Percent Of Wholesale Power Rate,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/draft-report-pegs-bpas-2019-fish-wildlife-costs-at-788-million-17-billion-since-1981-25-percent-of-wholesale-power-rate/

— CBB, March 15, 2019, “Report On 2018 BPA Fish/Wildlife Costs Released For Comment; $16.8 Billion Since 1981,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/report-on-2018-bpa-fish-wildlife-costs-released-for-comment-16-8-billion-since-1981/

— CBB, January 18, 2019, “Latest Numbers Show Cuts to BPA Fish And Wildlife Spending at $6.3 million,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/latest-numbers-show-cuts-to-bpa-fish-and-wildlife-spending-at-6-3-million/

–CBB, August 17, 2018, “Council Gets Update On BPA Efforts To Reduce Funding For Fish/Wildlife Program Projects,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/441295.aspx

–CBB, July 13, 2018, “Council F&W Committee Talks Policy About BPA Project Funding Cuts, Columbia Basin Fish Accords,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/441105.aspx

–CBB, June 15, 2018, “Bonneville Power Looking At Spending Reductions In Columbia Basin Fish/Wildlife Spending,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/440947.aspx

— CBB, February 2, 2018, “Bonneville Power Releases Five year Strategic Plan, 2018-2023,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/bonneville-power-releases-five-year-strategic-plan-2018-2023/