Attachment_1_Statement_of_Work.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, NORTHWEST REGION

AND

THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement NEPA Document Review Hells Canyon Complex Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 1971) This Statement of Work (SOW) is for the provision to review supplemental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 for the issuance of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex Hydroelectric Project (Project) located in Oregon and Idaho on the Snake River. The BIA will fund a qualified third-party contractor to complete the SOW associated with the Project relicensing effort, which is owned and operated by the Idaho Power Company (IPC). The review of the SEIS would be conducted in coordination with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Nez Perce Tribe, Burns Paiute Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (collectively the Tribes).

PARTICIPANTS

The Parties to the SOW are the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Northwest Regional Office, and the designated third-party contractor.

BACKGROUND

The BIA’s Hydropower Compliance Program is of vital importance to Indian tribes throughout the nation, and particularly the Pacific Northwest. Many northwest tribes and their tribal members have trust resources within their reservations that are directly impacted by the operation of hydroelectric projects on navigable waters. In addition, many tribes have reserved off-reservation rights to the fishery and associated habitat that sustains the fisheries. The Federal Power Act (FPA) provides the BIA with the authority to require that the non-federal hydropower license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) contains conditions necessary for the protection and utilization of Federal reservations. The FPA also allows the BIA to recommend measures that will protect trust resources. The BIA has a Federal trust and regulatory responsibility to require and/or recommend operations conditions that will protect trust rights and resources in the licensing of hydropower projects as well as to ensure that licenses are implemented in a way that is consistent with the trust responsibility. This responsibility stems from the Indian reserved rights and resources on reservation homelands and to off-reservation trust resources.

The current FERC license for the Project expired on July 31, 2005, and the Project is operating under an annual license. The Tribes have been heavily involved with the relicensing of the Project in accordance with the Federal Power Act. Pre-1860, approximately 1 to 1.7 million adult Pacific salmon and steelhead passed the area now blocked by the construction of the Project. Private interests and the promotion of economic gains were responsible for the displacement and elimination of anadromous fish from the impeded area of the Snake River Basin. The impacts from the construction and operation of the Project compounded already existing impacts associated with other hydroelectric, water storage, and water diversion projects in the subbasin. These impacts led to the complete blockage and displacement of anadromous fish populations from many of the watersheds in the middle and upper Snake River, upon which the Tribes were reliant and negated efforts to restore salmon at smaller tributary projects. The ecological, cultural, and social impacts related to the loss of anadromous fisheries in the middle and upper Snake River Basin to the Tribes cannot be understated. From time immemorial the peoples of the Snake River Basin used anadromous fish resources for subsistence and in their traditional cultural practices. Correspondingly, impacts from impeded passage to watersheds in the States of Idaho and Oregon are significantly constraining available harvest opportunities and increasing conservation demands outside of the impeded area.

Many of the tributaries above the Project are currently nutrient-limited. However, this was not the case when salmon runs were abundant. The nutrients from salmon carcasses were the driving force of the food web within this geographic area. The drainages upstream of the Project have suffered significant ecological impacts due to this loss of nutrients. The losses in these drainages are not only anadromous fish but also resident fish, wildlife, riparian habitat, and aquatic/terrestrial plants. The entire ecosystem surrounding these drainages have felt the impacts of damming of the Snake River.

The Project relicensing process has a long and convoluted history. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was drafted in August of 2007, but due to 401 water certification issues between the states of Idaho and Oregon, along with a variety of other issues, the relicensing effort stalled. Now that the 401 certifications have been completed, the FERC relicensing process is moving forward. However, the FEIS is 15 years old. On June 17, 2022, FERC issued a notice of intent to prepare a supplemental EIS with the goal of a final EIS in the near future. Given this deadline it is of utmost importance of this Project relicensing effort, it is of utmost importance to ensure the analysis contained in the supplemental EIS accurately portrays the scope and context of Project impacts to trust resources.

PURPOSE

This SOW is intended to provide the BIA with a compilation of concise comments associated with the pending issuance of the SEIS by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the relicensing of the Project in accordance with the Federal Power Act. Given the significant amount of time elapsed between the expiration of the Project’s previous FERC operating license and present time, it is of utmost importance that BIA reviews and provides comments on the SEIS in manner that reflects the scope and magnitude of FERC issuing a new 30–50-year license for the Project. FERC is scheduled to release the SEIS in September 2025.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The third-party contractor would be tasked with providing comments on the SEIS in alignment with the BIA’s trust responsibilities associated with the relicensing of hydroelectric projects under the purview of FERC. The Scope of Services includes the following tasks:

Task 1: Document Review: BIA has developed a 2012 NEPA Guidebook which provides a robust foundation for the review of federal actions and their effects on trust resources. In addition to reviewing and becoming acquainted with the principles of the BIA’s 2012 NEPA Guidebook, the third-party contractor would review all pertinent documents associated with the development of the SEIS in this FERC proceeding:

1. BIA’s 2012 NEPA Guidebook, 59 IAM 3-H

2. FERC’s 2006 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

3. Department of the Interior’s 2006 comments on the 2006 DEIS; and

4. Other pertinent documents on the FERC record leading to the development of the SEIS.

Task 2: SEIS Comment Development: Following the completion and public notification of the SEIS on the FERC website in September 2025 for the Project under FERC No. 1971, the third-party contractor will be tasked with developing comments on the SEIS that are solution-oriented and provide specific examples. Comments should also contribute towards the development and refinement of alternatives that address the purpose and need for the action at hand, in this case the FERC relicensing of the Project. When drafting comments on the SEIS, the third-party contractor shall focus on the purpose and need of the proposed action, the proposed alternatives, the assessment of the environmental impacts of those alternatives, and the proposed mitigation. Specifically, special attention in the development of these comments will be targeted on trust resources in alignment with the BIA’s Hydropower Compliance Program that would be affected by FERC’s issuance of a new 30–50-year license for the continued operation and maintenance of the Project. The contractor would also attend meetings with the Tribes and BIA to gain a better understanding of trust resources that are affected by the continued operation and maintenance of the Project.

Task 3: Comment Compilation: Following the completion of Task 2, the contractor will compile, document, and provide all substantive comments to the BIA in the form of a document which divides comments into specific categories as described above in order for them to be filed on the FERC record for this relicensing proceeding. Draft comments will be shared with BIA for sufficiency and accuracy; and allow opportunity for input and direction from the BIA. A final draft of compiled comments will be provided to the BIA as the final deliverable in accordance with this SOW.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The third-party contractor shall:

· Provide qualified personnel and related resources as needed to complete all tasks in a timeframe agreed upon by the third-party contractor and BIA.

· Provide a timeline and associated milestones for tasks 1-3 above.

Bureau of Indian Affairs will:

· Assign a BIA Point of Contact (POC) for all matters relating to this SOW. The BIA POC will be responsible for coordinating all matters with the third-party contractor.

· Monitor the work of the third-party contractor to assure timelines/milestones are met and all materials and work products are technically and programmatically acceptable.

· Provide and administer this SOW (with any associated modifications).

· Provide funding to the third-party contractor for the execution of this SOW.

PRINCIPLE CONTACTS.

The following are designated as the principal BIA contacts in the execution of this SOW.

1. Steve Lewis, Hydropower Program Manager, 911 NE 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97232, phone: (360) 614-5896; stephen.lewis@bia.gov Brian Roberts, Contracting Officer, Northwest Regional Office, Ft. Vancouver Office, 993 McClellan Rd, Vancouver, WA 98661; (360) 614-585; brian.roberts@bia.gov

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

BIA 2012 NEPA Guidebook, 59 IAM_3-H BIA 2010 Final Environmental Impact Statement (Kerr Hydroelectric Project - FERC No. 5) PPL Montana; 2002 Drought Management Plan 2024 CSKT/EKI Drought Management Plan (SKQ Hydroelectric Project – FERC No. 5).