Bill looks to block dam breaching on lower Snake system

Rep. Dan Newhouse led a cadre of Northwest Republicans in their pledge to protect the lower Snake River hydropower system by introducing anti-dam breaching legislation Wednesday.

The bill known as the Defending Against Manipulative Negotiators Act would forbid the use of federal funds to breach or alter the four lower Snake River dams. It also blocks federal money from being used to implement the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative — an agreement between the Biden administration and plaintiffs in a decades-old lawsuit over the harmful effect the Columbia River Hydropower System has on threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead.

The initiative aims to help the Nez Perce and other Columbia River treaty tribes develop alternative energy projects that can be counted as replacement power if the dams are breached in the future. The initiative also calls for studies that look for the best ways to replace the transportation and irrigation services now provided by the dams.

“The Defending Against Manipulative Negotiators Act is the first of many pieces of legislation coming that combats this Administration’s radical, unfair, and unsubstantiated effort to destroy our dams and the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on them,” Newhouse said in a news release.

The bill is co-sponsored by Cathy McMorris Rodgers of eastern Washington, Russ Fucher, representing Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Cliff Bentz, both of Oregon.

Snake River wild salmon and steelhead runs once numbered in the millions. But the runs declined dramatically following construction of eight dams between Lewiston and the Pacific Ocean. Most returning adult fish are now from hatcheries and wild spring chinook, steelhead, sockeye and fall chinook are all protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Scientists have long identified the dams, which have fish ladders and sophisticated fish bypass systems but also dramatically slow the rivers, as a significant source of mortality. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration went on record last year saying breaching the Snake River dams is necessary to restore wild fish to abundance.

The Nez Perce Tribe and the coalition of environmental and fishing groups have successfully challenged several iterations of the federal government’s plan that aims to balance the needs of the protected fish with operation of the hydropower system. Central to the case are treaty-reserved fishing rights dating to 1855 that are held by the Nez Perce and other tribes guaranteeing them the right to fish for salmon and steelhead.

The latest challenge was filed in 2020. But the parties spent the past two years in mediated talks. In December, they reached an agreement that is centered around the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative.

Newhouse and his colleagues contend because the agreement was born out of closed-door negotiations, it is invalid and unfair. They also believe dam breaching would be an economic disaster.

“This legislation protects crucial industries, preserves the way of life for communities across the region, and maintains a source of clean, reliable baseload energy,” said Fulcher in a news release.

Dam breaching has long been proposed as a solution to the depleted runs of wild fish. Most people agree it would take an act of Congress to remove the dams and no legislation has been introduced to do so. But over the past three year’s, the idea has gained momentum.

In 2021, Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, proposed a $33 billion plan that would breach the dams and mitigate affected communities and industries. Last year, Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, both Washington Democrats, said Snake River salmon must be saved but the services provided by the dams have to be replaced before breaching. In September, President Biden issued a memo calling for a “sustained national effort” to honor treaty commitments to the Nez Perce and other tribes by restoring Snake and Columbia river salmon and steelhead to healthy and abundant levels. Biden did not say the dams should be breached but declared it the policy of his administration to work with Congress, states, tribes and local governments to pursue durable solutions to restore salmon and steelhead to healthy and abundant levels while also supporting a clean energy future and agriculture in the region.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.