Congress and the Snake River Dams

OMAHA (DTN) -- Republicans in Congress on Tuesday denounced what they called a secret agreement with the Biden administration and four Northwest Pacific tribes meant to eventually breach four dams on the lower Snake River that are considered critical to hydropower generation and U.S. wheat exports.

Aided by the dams, grain terminals on the Snake River account for about 10% of all U.S. wheat exports, or about 75 million bushels of wheat moving through the four dam locks annually. Other commodities also move through barge traffic on the river.

A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing over an agreement announced back in December involving the Biden administration, the states of Oregon and Washington, as well as the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes, and some environmental organizations.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., chairwoman of the full committee, said the court agreement amounted to a "secret" deal that cut several major stakeholders in the process. The "secret, confidential mediation" also lays the groundwork for eventually breaching the Snake River dams," Rodgers said.

Rodgers was critical of the role of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in negotiating a deal.

"CEQ cut a secret backroom deal to please radical environmentalists who are profiting from a campaign to tear out our dams," Rodgers said.

Benda Mallory, chairwoman for CEQ, testified that the agreement does not specifically call for removing the four dams, but a study conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated that removing the dams would be an option for boosting salmon populations.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) filed with the court -- meant to end decades of litigation -- makes $300 million in commitments to restore salmon fish runs, but also potentially invest as much as $1 billion over the next decade for renewable energy infrastructure.

Critics of the deal say it sets up a plan to breach four dams on the lower Snake River -- the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams. Breaching the dams would force the loss of 3,000 megawatts of hydropower, enough low-carbon energy to power more than 2.2 million homes.

Casey Chumrau, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, said as much as 90% of Washington's wheat production is also exported, often through the Snake River dams. There is insufficient infrastructure to replace the barge traffic on the river.

"Any disruption to that system would hurt our ability to consistently provide abundant high-quality food production and weaken the competitiveness of U.S. producers in global markets," Chumrau said.

Family farms would be affected in pricing and transportation costs if the dams are removed, Chumrau said.

"The infrastructure does not exist now to replace the barging that takes place on the Snake River dams," Chumrau said. She added that it would be "much more costly" and less carbon-friendly to make that kind of switch.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said the December agreement meets treaty obligations to the Native American tribes to restore the salmon runs in the region. She also pushed back on the notion that the agreement would force the breach of the four dams.

"The agreement reasserts only Congress can reauthorize the removal of the dams," DeGette said.

Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., whose district includes the four dams, noted, "Salmon are an inseparable part of the culture of the Pacific Northwest." But Schrier also added, "The issue of the lower Snake River dams is incredibly complex; because of that, all constituents who have a stake need a seat at the table."

Schrier also questioned where funding would come from to address the power generation and transportation infrastructure that it would take to replace the dams. She noted her office has not been notified of any funding requests regarding the settlement.

Jeremy Takala, a member of the Yakama Nation's Tribal Council, was part of the negotiations team. He called the agreement "an historic opportunity" to save the salmon and honor a treaty between tribes and the U.S. government. He pushed back on claims that the agreement was done to appease environmental groups.

"We must restore Columbia Basin fisheries to healthy and abundant levels," Takala said. "The economic and ecological health of our region requires it, and my people's tribal treaty rights demand it, as the U.S. Supreme Court recently affirmed treaty fishing rights include the right to actually catch fish."

Jim Matheson, a former congressman and now CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, called the agreement "ill-conceived" and that it was "brokered in secret without contributions from electric utilities." Breaching the dams threatens electric reliability for the region, he said. Matheson also pointed out there would be no reason to talk about replacement power if there was no push to breach the dams. Matheson challenged the ability to replace hydropower with wind and solar, which are less consistent in their power generation.

"They know Congress has to do it, but this settlement effort is a way to force Congress' hands and put Congress in a position where breaching is more likely," Matheson said.

Stakeholders were left out of real negotiations, Matheson said, after some early listening sessions about it. "The people who keep the lights on were left in the dark," he said.

Neil Maunu, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, also said breaching the dam would have "far-reaching negative impacts" on transportation infrastructure in the region. He also cited that $27 billion of total cargo was shipped on the Snake River system in 2022, which includes 33 million tons of grain. Maunu also said the waterways association was an intervenor in the litigation but ended up being cut out of talks last year.

Takala noted the varying issues tied to power generation and shipping on the rivers, but he added, "We also want to keep in mind our salmon have been declining since the first hydro-system came into play," he said.

Also see "Key to Wheat Exports and Clean Power, Battle Over Snake River Dams, Salmon, and Environmental Justice" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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