Idaho Power Company; Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Hells Canyon Hydroelectric Project

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 1971-079] In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969  [ 1 ] and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) regulations, 18 CFR part 380 , the Office of Energy Projects has reviewed Idaho Power Company's (Idaho Power) application for a new license to continue to operate and maintain the Hells Canyon Hydroelectric Project No. 1971 (project) and has prepared a final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the project. [ 2 ] The project is located on the Snake River in Washington and Adams Counties, Idaho, and Wallowa, Malheur, and Baker Counties, Oregon and occupies a total of about 5,270 acres of federal land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest Service). The Hells Canyon Project consists of three developments (dams, reservoirs, and powerhouses) on the segment of the Snake River forming the border between Idaho and Oregon. The three developments are Brownlee, Oxbow, and Hells Canyon, which combined provide 1,222.3 megawatts of power generating capacity and an average of 5,571,005 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. On August 31, 2007, Commission staff issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed relicensing of the project. On December 30, 2019, Idaho Power filed an Offer of Settlement and Stipulation and Implementation Agreement (2019 Settlement), r…