SANDPOINT - The Pend Oreille Basin Commission is meeting Friday to discuss the Bonneville Power Administration's plan to fluctuate the level of Lake Pend Oreille for power needs.

The meeting starts at 10 a.m. in the City Council chambers at Sandpoint City Hall at 1123 Lake St. The meeting was originally set for last week at another location, but had to be postponed because of a lack of quorum on the basin commission.

Representatives from BPA, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Idaho Conservation League are slated to make presentations to the board. The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions about the proposal.

Under the plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would use Albeni Falls Dam to strategically raise and lower the lake within a 5-foot range from December to March to match the ebb and flow of consumer power demands.

Lake elevation changes would be limited to 6 inches per day.

The proposal has raised a host of concerns in Idaho. Those concerns include hastened erosion, wildlife habitat impacts, damage to docks and water intakes, and the spread of aquatic invasive species.

A federal analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act concluded the flexible winter operations plan would have no greater impact than typical dam operations, although the determination has done little or nothing to soothe the concerns of plan critics.

Some in the community were hoping federal regulators would develop a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement on the proposal instead of a less rigorous Environmental Assessment.

The basin commission acknowledges the desire for an EIS, but the NEPA analysis is done and no longer negotiable.

As a result, the basin commission plans to focus on other aspects of the issue, including a BPA offer to direct $3 million in erosion management funding and other inducements if the state agrees not to challenge the plan.

The offer remains under advisement by state officials.