MADRAS The U.S. Forest Service dove into its own review of the Cogentrix power plant proposal Thursday night by inviting the public to point out issues and impacts the federal agency might miss. Around 100 people participated in the workshop process at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, offering Forest Service officials information on everything from the number of bald eagles in the area to concerns about the tranquility of Smith Rock.

After hearing two hours of comments, Andy Linehan, the project manager of the application with CH2M Hill, the consulting agency for Cogentrix, said the dialogue fleshed out previous comments. ”People are giving us useful details about general questions they had earlier,” he said, standing near a wall of posters filled with questions and observations about the plant’s water use.

Because overhead electrical transmission lines and buried natural gas and water pipelines will cross the Crooked River National Grassland, the Forest Service must evaluate the proposal by Cogentrix to build a 980-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in an analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Their review will also include an environmental impact statement.

Though comments by the Forest Service will be taken into consideration by the Oregon Office of Energy for its review, the Forest Service special use permit is separate.

Unlike other agencies, the Forest Service doesn’t have standards for certain effects, such as noise or emissions, to apply to this kind of project. ”A lot of the analysis we do is necessarily subjective,” said Rod Bonacker, the project manager on the application for the Ochoco and Deschutes national forests.

In addition to working on the Cogentrix application to the Office of Energy, CH2M Hill will work with the Forest Service to provide information for their review. Mary Zemke, the founder of Stop Cogentrix, questioned why the consultant was also working with the Forest Service. ”I would think they would need an independent firm to do this,” she said, ”one that’s not tied to Cogentrix.”

Linehan explained that it is not unusual for firms working on applications to provide information to federal agencies as well. All the decisions are made by the Forest Service, Bonacker emphasized.

After dividing into free-form groups, workshop participants in one cluster raised concerns about the increase in noxious weeds in the grasslands and how soil changes could affect vegetation. In another corner, Sara Miller stood in front of a map and circled and dated areas where she had seen antelope, elk and bald eagles.

Martha Ahern asked the Forest Service to consider the effect on recreators’ spiritual experience. Build the plant and ”there goes the balance,” she said.

Though many participants were Jefferson County residents, Gabe Chladek, a Bend small business owner, said the noise from the plant might affect campers and climbers at Smith Rock. ”It’s silent now,” he said, ”but it won’t be once you have a power plant humming.”

Through its review, the Forest Service may offer suggestions on how Cogentrix might mitigate the plant’s impact on the environment, wildlife and recreators, said Bonacker. The proposals could include different pipeline routes, a different plant design or specific hours or seasons of operations to reduce disturbances for animals or recreators, he said.

What steps the company might actually take to decrease their impact would probably be up to Cogentrix, Bonacker said. Occasionally, the mitigation that is proposed during the NEPA process becomes so complicated and expensive that the project becomes unviable and the applicant withdraws, he said.

A draft environmental impact statement will probably be available for public comment around July, Bonacker said, with a final version completed sometime in the fall. Public comment, particularly from now until March 15, will help the Forest Service develop the review, he said.

The company has faced a variety of permit hurdles and environmental challenges in the past. ”There are some situations where environmental permit conditions it becomes apparent that there’s going to be an issue,” said Jef Freeman, vice president for communications for Cogentrix.

”Sometimes it’s just a prudent business decision to not proceed with what we thought was a business opportunity and move elsewhere.”

Last year, a lawsuit over water permits at a proposed power plant in Bogalusa, La., ”which would have delayed the project beyond the threshold we were willing to live with,” said Freeman, eventually led the company to sell the development rights to Calpine Corporation. That plant is expected to begin operation this summer.

Cogentrix and The Nature Conservancy settled a dispute in December over the construction of a gas-fired plant next to Baker Swamp Preserve in Ohio. The power company will donate 189 acres around the swamp and will provide money to a wetlands protection fund.

Throughout construction and operation of the plant, The Nature Conservancy will monitor the site in order to determine its environmental impact on the swamp.

But with ownership or partial ownership of 28 facilities, Cogentrix continues to grow. ”I would like to think that part of the reason for our success is our ability to address those issues of local concern,” said Freeman.

Julia Lyon can be reached by calling 541-504-2336 or by sending an email to Julia Lyon.