Federal firings could pinch services at Corps and BPA

Organizations that promote and advocate for navigation and power generation on the Snake and Columbia rivers are sounding the alarm over federal layoffs and retirements.

The Trump administration is poised to fire as many as 600 probationary employees of the Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific Northwest, according to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association. The Bonneville Power Administration that markets electricity generated at federal dams and manages a vast transmission system in the region is losing about 400 employees — roughly half to retirement and half to job cuts.

The loss of those workers could slow or even cripple services provided by the dams, say Neil Maunu, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, and Kurt Miller, executive director of the Northwest Public Power Association.

Maunu said the layoffs when combined with an unknown number of people who accepted the government’s recent deferred resignation offer will rob the Corps of its ability to carry out critical work associated with navigation. His letter to members of Congress from Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana specifically cites the upcoming lock maintenance program at Snake and Columbia River dams and the near annual effort to dredge the lower Columbia River navigation channel as examples.

“The Columbia-Snake River system is the nation’s number one wheat export gateway. It is absolutely critical this supply chain link remain open and unrestricted, if not, it jeopardizes the thousands of farmers across the country who rely on it — this is a national issue of extreme importance,” Maunu wrote. “Billions of dollars in economic impact are at stake if we do not ensure our partners at (the Corps) have the resources and people they need to carry out this important mission.”

The ports of Lewiston and Clarkston are both members of the waterways association.

“We would hate to have staffing issues interrupt what those folks provide for us here in the (Lewiston-Clarkston) Valley,” said Port of Lewiston general manager Scott Corbitt. “They do a great job in maintaining our levee system and making sure all the infrastructure is solid and in place and not in danger.”

Miller said his organization is communicating with members of Congress and the administration to stress that BPA is self-funded and was already understaffed.

“The BPA is the beating heart of public power in the Northwest. It’s really risky to cut before you really understand what the agency is doing,” he said. “This is the number one issue for public power in the region — for community-owned electric utilities. We need a healthy, effective BPA and you can’t do that but cutting staff.”

President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have moved quickly over the past two weeks to reduce costs and eliminate so-called waste fraud and abuse. As part of that effort, they have dismissed thousands of federal employees on probationary status who generally lack civic service protections against indiscriminate firings. They previously enticed employees to voluntarily resign with the promise of eight months of severance pay.

Miller said since BPA and other power marketing administrations across the country are funded by ratepayers rather than taxpayers, the firings won’t reduce the deficit. In addition, their work aligns closely with Trump’s desire for energy dominance and cheap and reliable electricity.

While members of Congress from the northwest are generally aware of this and the importance of BPA’s work, Miller said it has been difficult for them to pass that message on to the administration, where many senior posts have not yet been filled.

“We definitely understand the desire for efficient, accountable government. We can all get behind that,” he said. “But it does feel like some of these agencies, like BPA which is not publicly funded, got caught up in this dragnet.”

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com.