SANDPOINT - The Pend Oreille Basin Commission expressed concern Friday with a Bonneville Power Administration proposal to fluctuate the level of Lake Pend Oreille during winter.

But the proposal appears to no longer be a question of if, but a question of when and how.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and BPA are hosting a meeting today which will focus on how the flexible winter operations plan will be implemented. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building.

The state, meanwhile, continues to negotiate with BPA on an offer that will steer $3 million in erosion management funding to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in exchange for tacit approval of the plan.

The BPA offer is meant to mollify Fish and Game concerns that the flexible winter operations plan will exacerbate erosion and attenuate vital wildlife habitat in the Clark Fork and Pack river deltas.

Idaho's Office of Energy Resources said on Friday that it supports the BPA proposal because hydropower from the Albeni Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River is low-cost, clean and renewable energy and vital to the state and region.

However, the state's support is contingent upon protecting Lake Pend Oreille, rebuilding the lake's kokanee population and restoring wildlife habitat affected by the installation and operation of the dam.

"Idaho supports programs - for lack of a better way of putting it - that figure out how to squeeze more energy out of the hydropower system. But they support doing that in a manner that protects and maintains Idaho's fish, wildlife, water and land resources," Chip Corsi, Fish and Game's Panhandle region supervisor, told the commission.

The winter operations plan, for instance, would not go into effect until after kokanee are done spawning, which is in mid-to-late December.

But the arrangement between BPA and the state offers no protections to waterfront landowners, marinas and government entities that have docks and water intakes which could be damaged if they are frozen to the lake and riverbed and the water is drawn up.

Basin Commissioner Linda Mitchell said she had grave concerns over the proposal because it would bind the hands of the state if the plan backfires, leave landowners in the lurch and cause deep winter drawdowns to become more prevalent.

"We need to not sign off on this because this basically leaves the state out of future problems and we the people will be on our own to deal with the consequences," said Mitchell, who also insists that BPA justify its need for the plan.

John Williams of BPA said the plan was developed to reduce or offset the cost of having to turn to the marketplace to purchase power during winter months.

Albeni Falls is one of only two dams in the Columbia Basin which can be used to manage water for power generation.

Williams acknowledged the plan continues to be a source of unease in Bonner County and BPA intends to address those concerns.

"We know there's still concerns out there," he said.

The basin commission opted to wait until after today's meeting to formulate a position on the BPA proposal.