Northwestern Division News

Weekend weather was wet, wasn’t worrisome

Tom Conning, Public Affairs Specialist — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:56:00 GMT

Dry January is typically associated with people making New Years resolutions to stop drinking alcohol for the month, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the original instigator of this fad. Many USACE dams have flood risk management as an authorized purpose, which means the agency uses them to help reduce flooding to downstream communities.

Juvenile salmon benefit from spring spill

Pentagon News — Mon, 08 May 2023 16:47:00 GMT

In April, the Northwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started spilling water on the Snake and Columbia rivers to help juvenile salmon migrate downstream. We met up with Julie Ammann, Reservoir Control Center chief at Bonneville Lock & Dam to check it out.

Coordinated action critical to preventing flooding in Portland, Vancouver

James M. Rabe — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 19:05:28 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. – Coordinated operations of storage reservoirs across the Columbia Basin reduced water levels by nine feet near Portland and Vancouver in mid-June preventing additional flood damage attributable to a powerful atmospheric river that impacted most of the four-state region, and beyond.

Comment period to close soon on CRSO draft environmental impact statement

Matt Rabe — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 15:21:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration continue to welcome comments on the draft Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement through April 13, 2020.

All CRSO EIS meetings switched to virtual

Pentagon News — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 21:47:00 GMT

Evolving health and safety policies from our regional partners designed to hinder the spread of COVID-19 in Washington and Oregon have prompted federal officials to replace all scheduled in-person public comment meetings with phone-in meetings for the recently released Columbia River System Operation draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Feds shift Seattle, Portland CRSO EIS meetings to 'phone only'

Pentagon News — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 18:33:00 GMT

Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration decided that the in-person public comment meetings planned for Seattle and Portland will not be held due to the high number of COVID-19 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in those geographical areas and calls from local officials to limit public exposure. Phone-in options have been added to the formal comment choices for those avoiding crowded venues.

Federal agencies release Columbia River System Operations draft environmental impact statement and preferred alternative

PORTLAND, Oregon — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 16:50:00 GMT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration today released the Columbia River System Operations draft environmental impact statement for a 45-day public review and comment period from February 28 - April 13, 2020. The draft includes the Preferred Alternative for the operations, maintenance and configuration of the 14 federal dam and reservoir projects that comprise the Columbia River System.

CRSO: Introducing the affected environment

Pentagon News — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 23:34:00 GMT

Essential to the National Environmental Policy Act process and the comparison of the alternatives under consideration is the development of the Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences sections of the environmental impact statement.

CRSO: Operating dams to support fish passage

Pentagon News — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 23:00:00 GMT

The Corps and Reclamation operate Hungry Horse, Libby, Albeni Falls, Grand Coulee and Dworshak dams to store water to reduce flood damages downstream and deliver water for irrigation, among other purposes. However, storing water can interrupt the seasonal river flow patterns.

Defining the Environment under NEPA

Pentagon News — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 21:03:42 GMT

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to evaluate each of the alternatives thoroughly to support comparisons about their implementation and their impacts on resources in natural and physical environments.

CRSO EIS Featured Project - Hungry Horse Dam

Pentagon News — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 20:52:00 GMT

The Columbia River System is large and complex. This educational feature introduces you to individual projects that play a role in supporting the region’s tribes, communities, industries and fish and wildlife species.

CRSO EIS Featured Project - Dworshak Dam

Pentagon News — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 18:55:00 GMT

Citizen’s Guide to ESA Accomplishments

Pentagon News — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 17:58:00 GMT

For highlights of eight years of accomplishments to protect and conserve ESA-listed salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, read the 2016 Citizen’s Guide.

CRSO: Introducing the range of alternatives

Pentagon News — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:22:00 GMT

This update provides an overview of the alternatives. All alternatives were designed to benefit ESA-listed fish species. The alternatives represent different ways to balance the multiple purposes of the system.

Operating the Columbia River System today

Pentagon News — Thu, 16 May 2019 19:43:00 GMT

Federal agencies operate many Columbia River dams to meet a wide spectrum of needs in the Pacific Northwest. Among the most important are flood risk management, power production, fish and wildlife conservation, navigation, irrigation, recreation and municipal and industrial water supply.

What is the No Action Alternative?

Pentagon News — Thu, 16 May 2019 19:15:00 GMT

The National Environmental Policy Act requires agencies to always describe and analyze a “no action” alternative in an EIS. In simple terms, a No Action alternative for an existing or ongoing federal project considers what would happen if the federal agency continued to operate and maintain the authorized project with no changes.

Learn and Link

Pentagon News — Thu, 16 May 2019 18:55:00 GMT

Learn more about the Columbia River System Operations and the Environmental Impact Statement process.

Learn and Link

Pentagon News — Thu, 16 May 2019 18:54:00 GMT

Learn more about the Columbia River System Operations and the Environmental Impact Statement process.

CRSO EIS Featured Project

Pentagon News — Thu, 16 May 2019 18:50:00 GMT

Webcast outlines reasonable range of alternatives

Pentagon News — Thu, 16 May 2019 18:10:00 GMT

An online webcast outlining the five alternatives undergoing a detailed evaluation.