SANDPOINT - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is signing off on a controversial Bonneville Power Administration proposal to fluctuate the level of Lake Pend Oreille this winter to meet power needs in the Pacific Northwest.

Under BPA's Flexible Winter Power Operations proposal, the lake's level would fluctuate within a 5-foot range from December through March. The operating range is 2,051-2,056 feet.

The fluctuation is limited to 6 inches per day and the FWPO plan would not commence until Lake Pend Oreille kokanee are done spawning in mid-December.

The strategic release and storage of water would be controlled by the corps' Albeni Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River. Albeni Falls is one of only two federal projects in the Columbia Basin which can be used to manage water for power purposes.

"The new winter operations will improve BPA's ability to efficiently and cost-effectively manage the Federal Columbia River Power System, of which Albeni Falls Dam is part," Greg Delwiche, BPA's senior vice president for Power Services, said in a statement.

Delwiche added that the plan would increase BPA's ability to react quickly to local or regional cold-weather events or wintertime power emergencies.

The FWPO plan has drawn widespread criticism in Bonner County, although a few people contend that the proposal has merit and could benefit consumers.

Critics contend it will wreak havoc on shoreline infrastructure such as docks and water intakes, exacerbate shoreline erosion and impact wildlife habitat.

Those leery of the proposal strongly urged for a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement on the plan instead of a less rigorous Environmental Assessment. But regulators determined an EA would suffice, much to the dismay of the Idaho Conservation League.

"We were hopeful they would do more study. We don't think that the review that was done was thorough enough to examine the impacts on the lake," said Susan Drumheller, ICL's North Idaho associate.

The 117-page EA concluded that the potential impacts are no more significant than when the dam routinely manages the lake level within a 1-foot operating range during winter.

"Therefore, FWPO is not considered a substantial change as compared to current operations in regards to these environmental issues," the EA said.

But the EA piggybacks on a 16-year-old EIS that examined more than a dozen dams in the Columbia Basin, not just Albeni Falls.

"What they did was really a lot more superficial and we don't think that it took into account all the information that's out there and new information," said Drumheller.

A groundbreaking Idaho Department of Fish and Game project to restore the erosion-plagued Pack River Delta is not mentioned in the EA.

Fish and Game is developing a similar project to protect the Clark Fork Delta, which is eroding up to 8 feet a year.

"There's nothing in their final decision that I see that addresses any mitigation for (flexible winter) operations," Drumheller added.