Role and Responsibility

The Cascade Crossing Transmission Project (Cascade Crossing) proposes to cross both private and public lands, including the Mt. Hood and Willamette National Forests, as well as lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is the lead federal agency coordinating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, and is responsible for approving or denying Portland General Electric’s (PGE) special use permit on USFS-managed lands.

The federal agencies, led by the USFS, will analyze the project’s environmental impacts in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The NEPA process has several steps which include opportunities for public participation.

The USFS Mt. Hood National Forest is the main point of contact for this project regarding the NEPA process. The USFS works to sustain health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s 193 million acres of forests and grasslands to meet the multiple needs of present and future generations.

Bureau of Land Management

Cascade Crossing also proposes to cross federal lands managed by the BLM's Prineville and Salem Districts. PGE has applied to the BLM for a right of way grant to cross BLM’s federally-managed land.

BLM is a cooperating agency with the USFS and is actively participating in the NEPA process. The BLM Oregon State Office is the key contact for Cascade Crossing on BLM-managed lands.

The BLM manages 253 million acres nationwide for multi-use purposes which include such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, energy production and conserving resources on public lands.