The Council invites your comments on this preliminary review report through November 23, 2010. See sidebar for instructions.
This preliminary review report comes in the middle of a process the Council is conducting under Section 4(h)(10)(D) of the Northwest Power Act to review project proposals related to research, monitoring, and evaluation (RM&E) and artificial production to implement the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The Council asked the ISRP to review 99 project proposals in these two categories as part of this dual-category review. See more about the RM&E/Artificial Production Review.
We welcome your comments on any or all aspects of the ISRP’s preliminary review report and the underlying project proposals. But we are particularly interested at this time in comments on a particular set of the project proposals and the ISRP’s review conclusions about those proposals. The ISRP concluded in its preliminary review report that 47 of the project proposals meet the ISRP’s science review criteria either in whole or in part or with certain qualifications. On the basis of the preliminary report, the Council may decide to make final project recommendations to the Bonneville Power Administration as early as December 2010 on some or all of the project proposals that have been found to meet the science review criteria. The project proposals with these ISRP ratings may be found in the list of project proposals on pages ii-vii of the ISRP’s preliminary report, with links from the list to the project descriptions and the ISRP’s review comments. It is these particular project proposals and the ISRP’s conclusions about these projects that we seek comments on by November 23. Your comments will help the Council decide how to use and consider the ISRP’s advice as it develops the project funding recommendation for these projects.
As for the rest of the project proposals, the ISRP concluded in its preliminary review report that these either require further work before the ISRP is able to conclude its review, do not meet science review criteria, require a response by the sponsor or are not amenable to review. The project sponsors for these project proposals have been asked directly by the Council and the ISRP to respond to the comments in the ISRP’s preliminary report by November 15, 2010. The ISRP will review these additional responses and hopes to issue a final review report by December 16, 2010.
Early in 2011, the Council will make final project funding recommendations to the Bonneville Power Administration on all the project proposals in these two categories. There will be an opportunity for further public review and comment after the final ISRP report in December and before the Council makes it final project recommendations.
For further information, please check the website as noted above or contact Lynn Palensky or Erik Merrill of the Council staff at (503) 222-5161 or (800) 452-5161.