North Umpqua Hydropower Project -- Criteria for Evaluating Future Hydropower Projects Using Federal Mitigation Funds is the Topic of a Public Meeting
Release Date: Mar 23, 2015
Contact: Pam Sichting, (541) 957-3342
The U.S. Forest Service is hosting a public meeting on Thursday, April 2, to work on the strategic restoration plan for the federal mitigation fund established by the licensing of the North Umpqua Hydroelectric project.
The meeting is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Supervisor’s Office at 2900 NW Stewart Parkway in Roseburg. Because information provided during the working part of the meeting will be technical in nature, Umpqua Forest employees will provide background information and answer public questions from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Starting at 5:30 p.m., the first topic will be a brief review of the impacts related to the North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project. The group will also which potential projects go to each impact category and then begin developing the project evaluation criteria.
The end result will be a strategy that describes how to get the most effective use of the mitigation funds and develops a list of projects that will be undertaken on federal lands in the North Umpqua basin over the life of the federal mitigation fund.
Section 19.3 of the “North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project” Settlement Agreement requires PacifiCorp to annually deposit funds into an interest-bearing escrow account. Additional funds are also deposited as outlined in the Settlement Agreement. These funds are to be administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Anyone interested in attending this working meeting is encouraged to read a working outline from the last meeting. The document can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/detail/umpqua/landmanagement/?cid=stelprdb5411116.
For more information, contact Pam Sichting, North Umpqua Hydropower Program Manager, at (541) 957-3342.