2023 Feasibility & Cooperation Agreement Portland General Electric & Willamette Falls Trust

Willamette Falls is a place of immense importance to Northwest Tribes since time immemorial, as an economic, social and cultural gathering place for fishing and harvesting lamprey eels and cultural activities. The Willamette Falls Trust (the Trust) represents the interests of regional tribal nations with historic, cultural and treaty-based ties to the Willamette Falls, and since 2015 has sought to establish public access to Willamette Falls that would elevate the culture and presence of Indigenous peoples and the property.

Portland General Electric Company (PGE) has owned land on the west side of the Willamette Falls, including a portion of an island, for well over a century. It is the birthplace of the first long-distance transmission of electricity and home to PGE’s federally regulated and licensed Sullivan hydropower plant. PGE prioritizes stewardship of fish, wildlife and the environment at the falls. Paper mills have operated on the island for over a century and continue operating even today.

On June 16, 2023, PGE and the Trust entered a one-year feasibility and cooperation agreement that:

• Enables the Trust to assess the feasibility of using a portion of PGE’s land for a possible project establishing future public access and elevating the culture and presence of Indigenous peoples and history;

• Supports the Trust during this one-year feasibility phase, including limited, PGE-escorted access to a portion of PGE’s property on the west side of Willamette Falls. The feasibility study will assess a portion of PGE’s property on the island that is outside of federally regulated boundaries associated with PGE’s hydropower plant;

• Ensures all interested parties have the opportunity to be included in the feasibility process led by the Trust and acknowledges the numerous key stakeholders with interests in the area, including the Willamette Falls Locks Authority, local municipalities, and the Willamette Falls Paper Company;

• Reaffirms PGE’s recognition of the area’s immense importance to Northwest Tribes and intent to grant a permanent easement that gives Tribal nations safe access for traditional cultural practices at the falls in manner that allows PGE to continue to operate its Sullivan hydroelectric facility; and

• Affirms the importance of the continued operation of PGE’s emissions-free Sullivan hydroelectric facility at Willamette Falls and the associated fish passage benefits, including PGE’s intent to relicense this facility in 2035.

What portion of PGE’s land is involved in this agreement?

The feasibility assessment and any potential project are limited to a portion of PGE’s property in the area known as Moores Island and lie outside of the federally regulated FERC boundaries associated with PGE’s Sullivan hydroelectric facility. The map below illustrates approximately nine acres from the island’s mid-point extending down river to the northernmost tip of PGE’s land and the border of an adjacent landowner. Access to this property would be through a route that is yet to be determined.

What is a feasibility assessment?

A feasibility assessment provides the Trust the opportunity to conduct due diligence and planning work to determine the feasibility of this property meeting their project’s goals. It will assess the scope, access, feasibility, costs, funding and schedule that may be associated with developing the project they envision. It may also assess the possibility of eventually acquiring PGE’s property to move forward with the project.

How did PGE determine it would proceed with Willamette Falls Trust?

As part of the broader West Linn Waterfront Redevelopment planning process in 2018, PGE and the City of West Linn engaged with stakeholders and the community to explore future possibilities for our land. In 2021, PGE shared with stakeholders and community members the dangerous conditions of some papermaking buildings. We gathered ideas about preserving the industrial history. PGE consistently heard significant interest in honoring the history of the property while looking to future uses, preserving and protecting the environment and providing scenic views in a setting the whole community could access and learn from. PGE determined that the Trust articulated a vision that would meet all of those interests.

Will this agreement impact ongoing industrial operations on the island?

No. PGE will continue operating its hydropower plant through its current license and will seek relicensing in 2035. Fish passage and Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife monitoring facilities will not be affected. The current paper company has a lease to operate its mill through 2034 (if all extension options are exercised). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has property rights that impact PGE’s property, and that it intends to convey to the Willamette Falls Locks Authority, which intends to reopen, operate and maintain the locks.

How does this agreement impact PGE’s ongoing effort to condemn property at Willamette Falls?

This agreement has no impact on the property subject to the condemnation action, though it acknowledges PGE’s intent to grant a perpetual easement for cultural practices that would provide safe and equitable access to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon while allowing PGE to continue to operate its Sullivan hydroelectric facility.