Resource Contingency Program - Oregon : Final Environmental Impact Statement, Hermiston Power Project.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has statutory responsibilities to supply electrical power to its utility, industrial, and other customers in the Pacific Northwest. In 1990, to cover the outer range of potential load growth with new resources, BPA embarked upon the Resource Contingency Program (RCP). Instead of buying or building generating plants now, BPA has purchased options to acquire power later, if and when it is needed. The decision to acquire any of these option energy projects to fulfill statutory supply obligations will be influenced by Federal system load growth, the outcome of BPA`s Business Plan, required operational changes in Columbia-Snake River Hydroelectric facilities, and the loss of major generating resources. In September 1993, three option development agreements were signed with three proposed natural gas-fired, combined cycle combustion turbine CT projects near Chehalis and Satsop, Washington, and near Hermiston, Oregon. Together these three projects could supply BPA with 1,090 average megawatts (aMW) of power. Under these agreements, sponsors are obtaining permits and conducting project design work, and BPA is completing this EIS process. In September 1993, BPA published a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on these three proposed gas-fired combustion turbine projects and held public scoping meetings in October 1993 at each site. In February 1994, BPA released an Implementation Plan on the proposed scope of the EIS. A draft EIS on the three proposed projects was published in February 1995. The impacts of the Chehalis and Satsop projects located in Washington State will be covered in one EIS document, while the impacts of the Hermiston project located in Oregon are covered in this final EIS document. It is BPA`s intent to continue to base the analysis of impacts on the assumption that all three projects may be constructed at some point in the future