An environmental assessment on the management of federal dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers will be updated, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation stated Tuesday.
A 2020 assessment that assessed the maintenance and operations of the 14 federally regulated dams in the Columbia River Basin did not address new environmental data, which the agencies will analyze in a supplemental environmental impact statement.
The 2024 Tribal Circumstances Analysis and the 2022 publication, Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead, are among the additional data that will be taken into account under the supplemental research. According to both, the best chance to restore salmon and steelhead populations in the watershed is to breach the lower Snake River Dams in Washington.
The Columbia River System Operations Final Environmental Impact Statement, which was completed in 2020, established a strategy to maintain the lower Snake River dams. Ten organizations, including the Idaho Conservation League, the states of Oregon and Washington, the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama tribes, as well as other environmental groups, filed a legal challenge to it shortly after.
The parties, who are represented by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, agreed in December 2023 to a 10-year legal delay while they work together to update their fish restoration plan. According to a statement from Earthjustice, Tuesday’s decision to develop a supplemental study is a significant step toward achieving that objective.
According to a federal analysis, eliminating Snake River dams is crucial to assisting endangered salmon.
According to a news release from Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin, the information that is currently available gives us all we need to successfully map out our future. If we commit to the key activities that salmon and native fisheries require, such as breaking the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their services, we know we can prevent extinction and restore them to a healthy and harvestable abundance.
Environmental organizations praise the decision to revise the study, claiming that the 2020 report was flawed.
The 2020 research was defective, according to environmental groups, and a change would assist restore and prevent steelhead and salmon populations from going extinct.
We appreciate the decision to do a supplemental process to address these flaws and evaluate stronger measures in how we operate the hydropower system including breaching the lower Snake River dams, Sierra Club s Snake and Columbia River Salmon Campaign Director Bill Arthur said in a press release. Without more forceful action, we are headed toward extinction, which is not an option.
Today,four of the 16 salmon stocksin the Columbia and Snake Rivers are extinct. This includes Snake River coho, Mid-Columbia coho, Upper Columbia coho and Mid-Columbia sockeye.
Additionally,13 salmon and steelheadstocks in the Columbia River Basin are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Federal, state, and tribal agencies have collaborated to restore salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River Basin. Whilesome progresshas been made compared to the 1990s, when annual runs in the basin declined to around 1 million fish, current numbers remain far from historic levels of 10 to 16 million fish per year. Officials are also falling short of the goal to restore 5 million salmon and steelhead to the basin by 2025.
Federal agencies have been wrong over and over about the impact of dams on salmon, Idaho Conservation League Salmon and Energy Strategist, Mitch Cutter, said in a press release. This supplemental environmental study is a chance for them to do right by tribes, river communities and anyone else who depends on the wealth of Northwest rivers for their lives and livelihoods.
Hydropower coalition calls on federal government to withdraw review, calling it misleading
A coalition of power, navigation and agriculture groups across the Pacific Northwest is urging the federal government to withdraw its decision to initiate a supplemental study of the Columbia and Snake River dams.
The coalition, known as the Columbia Basin Regional Alliance for Transparency, includes Public Power Council, the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Northwest RiverPartners, Northwest Requirements Utilities, and other Pacific Northwest stakeholders. The coalition is dedicated to preserving hydropower and river commerce activities across the Columbia and Snake rivers.
In a press release, the coalition said a supplemental review would be premature, unnecessary and mislead the public about the role dams have to support the economy and the environment.
Hydropower is the largest source of energy in the Pacific Northwest, providing about 50% of the region s annual energy generation, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
The Columbia and Snake River system also provides an efficient transportation route for moving agricultural products from Idaho, Washington and Oregon to global markets. The four Lower Snake River dams create a navigable waterway with their lock system, enabling goods to travel from the Port of Lewiston to the Port of Portland, where they are prepared for export.
The proposed environmental review could lead to breaching federal hydropower facilities that serve as the largest source of affordable, reliable, clean energy for millions of people in the region while also providing world-class, clean river transportation for the regions and nation s economies, the coalition released in a statement.
Officials fall short of salmon return goals in Columbia River Basin but see signs of progress
Federal agencies accepting public comment for supplemental study
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation are asking federal, local and state agencies, Native American tribes, and the public to submit comments relevant to the supplemental plan by March 20.
The agencies will host three virtual public meetings the week of Feb. 10. Details of those meetings will be posted on the project website early in the new year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
To learn more about the project or to submit public comment, visit theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.
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