Canadian and US Entities Unveiled

Many people have asked us what the Columbia River Treaty Entities do. As you may know, under the Treaty the Entities are charged with the responsibility to implement the Treaty. Working cooperatively under the oversight of the Permanent Engineering Board, they are responsible for coordinated operational planning and daily operations of the reservoirs and hydroelectric facilities. The U.S. Entity is made up of two individuals, the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration and the Division Engineer, North Pacific Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Under the Treaty, the Canadian Entity is specified to be BC Hydro. However, the Province of British Columbia has also been designated as Canadian Entity for disposal of the Canadian Entitlement, Canada’s half share of the downstream power benefits.

What do the Entities do exactly?

Two of the key elements of coordination between the two entities are the Flood Control Operating Plan and the Annual Operating Plan. The Flood Control Operating Plan governs the operation of the Treaty projects for flood protection in Canada and the US by ensuring that sufficient reservoir storage space is emptied ahead of when increased water flow is expected - typically from April through July. The Assured Operating Plan (AOP) provides agreed-upon base operation for power and flood control and is prepared five years in advance. Important components of the AOP are rule curves for each reservoir that sets daily storage levels, from full pool to minimum elevation, over a 12 month period. The AOP is also used to calculate the downstream power benefits that determine the Canadian Entitlement. The most recent AOP can be found at http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/PB/PEB_08/docs/aop/17AOPddpb.pdf

The Entities also develop Detailed Operating Plans (DOP) that are prepared annually for the following year. The DOP tweaks the AOP to include project-specific constraints that can include non-power, non-flood objectives such as changes in operations for fish flows. The current DOP is found at http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/PB/PEB_08/docs/dop/13DOP.pdf

The Entities appoint a Columbia River Treaty Operating Committee (CRTOC) that is made up of technical staff from the Entities. The CRTOC meets face-to-face every two months – alternating meeting locations between Canada (usually Vancouver) and the U.S. (usually Portland). A typical CRTOC meeting covers current and future reservoir operations, Canadian Entitlement delivery issues, HydroMet network and hydrology forecasting issues, Flood Control issues, Detailed Operating Plan and Libby Operating Plan, Assured Operating Plans and Determination of Downstream Power Benefit studies.

The Columbia River Treaty Permanent Engineering Board (PEB) consists of four members, two appointed by Canada, and two by the U.S. (under the Canada-BC Agreement, BC nominates one member which Canada appoints). Under the Treaty, the PEB is charged with handling tasks such as assembling flow records, assisting in settling differences that may arise between the Entities, and creating an annual report of the results being achieved by the Entities under the Treaty. The bulk of work done by the Entities is captured in the Permanent Engineering Board Annual Report to the Government of the United States and Canada. The most recent report can be found at: http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/PB/PEB_08/docs/PEB/2011_PebAnnRep.pdf