The idea that the relatively small amount of hydropower now produced at the lower Snake River dams must be replaced with power from carbon-emitting fossil-fueled sources is a myth perpetrated by special interests opposed to salmon recovery – many of whom have spent years denying power production’s role in creating climate change. If allowed to continue, this would have eventually impacted Snake River populations as well, but fishing was reduced and the resilient salmon rebounded quickly. Federal taxpayers, through Congressional appropriations, should pay any additional energy costs associated with dam removal. The four lower Snake River dams are Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite. The current recovery plan is too expensive and promises not fish recovery, but decades more in multi-billion dollar spending. Orcas rely on salmon for up to ninety percent their diet, but these fish are in rapid decline. The four dams on the lower Snake River are part of a vast and complex hydroelectric power system operated by the federal government in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The loss-of-load probability, or LOLP, indicates the likelihood that resources will not be adequate to serve load in the region. As a result of this extensive research, hundreds of federal, state, tribal and independent scientists have concluded that removing the four lower Snake River dams is the best and perhaps only means to protect these fish from extinction and recover healthy populations. Because these dams can’t provide flood control and have virtually no storage capacity, they can reach that maximum for just a few days in any year (during a rapid spring snowmelt for example). The short answer is “YES!” In the Northwest right now, generating “new energy” through investments in conservation is cheaper than generating new energy from coal or other fossil fuels. The answer is simple: The federal government’s salmon plans have failed because they circumvented legal requirements and politicized science. Fishery scientists have monitored Snake River wild salmon population declines since the 1950s. Removal of the lower Snake dams will reduce the river barge corridor by 140 miles. Federal agencies that manage the dams released their Columbia River System Operations Draft Environmental Impact Statement Friday morning. The lower Snake River dams have enabled large quantities of grain to be shipped by barge from Lewiston, Idaho all the way to the mouth of the Columbia River, 465 miles away, making the ninth-largest city in the nation’s 39th most populous state the West Coast’s farthest-inland port. Those populations, like the Snake, also encounter mortality as a result of habitat destruction, harvest, hatcheries, predators and ocean conditions, but they are not imperiled. From 1994 to 2004, they ranged from 0.35 to 2.5 percent, exceeding 2 percent in just a single year. Not all crops can travel by barge, and the barge system can’t send goods to important markets in the Puget Sound, or north, south or points farther east—it only goes between Portland and Lewiston Idaho. 2. Raising levees, dredging, and other measures will cost millions of dollars over the long term and pose threats to fish, wildlife and recreation opportunities. Each year more than $550 million in funding, more than twice that of even Everglades restoration, goes to NOAA Fisheries, the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies for this effort. Taxpayers could be liable for billions to tens of billions of dollars in compensation payments to treaty tribes and Canada if the fish go extinct. More recent studies also show that populations of other Columbia Basin salmon that migrate through four or less dams and reservoirs, such as those from the Yakima and John Day rivers are performing significantly better than those from the Snake river. Over the last two decades, federal agencies have spent more than $8 billion in failed attempts to restore Columbia and Snake River salmon. Are the 4 Lower Snake River dams next? In 1855, Natives Peoples of the Northwest signed a treaty with the United States government that ceded most of their lands - lands which currently make up much of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon - in return for the right to have and to fish for salmon and steelhead in their usual and accustomed places. The higher power replacement cost estimates are based on greater percentages of renewable energy. They have intensively studied the plight of the wild salmon in the last several decades using advanced tagging methods and modeling. Sheldon told colleagues at a January 31 public hearing that agriculture in the basin relies on the irrigation provided by these dams, in addition to the Clarkston-Lewiston Port, for transporting their produce to market. If we continue with the status quo, salmon will be driven to extinction and U.S. taxpayers will be left with an enormous price tag. We can retire the dams and keep the lights on. A federal court called the plan “little more than a slight of hand” and stated that the “ESA requires a more realistic, common sense examination.”. Wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers are an important part of the Pacific Northwest’s history and heritage, and economy and culture. Further downstream are Little Goose Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, and Ice Harbor Dam. Substantial amounts of relatively inexpensive geothermal power are also available in Idaho, Utah and most likely in southern Oregon. Fishing is of course recognized as a cause of mortality for Snake River salmon and steelhead but since listing during the 1990s under the Endangered Species Act the federal government has tightly controlled harvest. The confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers at Burbank, Washington is part of Lake Wallula, the reservoir of McNary Dam. The study also offers a framework from which the federal agencies can draw as they develop a new plan for dam operations. “Even PacifiCorp now supports dam removal. People have been fishing for, sustained by, and enjoying salmon for centuries. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popular and successful “Million Solar Roofs” program could be instituted in the Pacific Northwest as well. However, there’s absolutely no conflict between fighting global warming and recovering threatened and endangered Northwest salmon and steelhead stocks. Only one solution will really solve the flood risk issue: removing the four dams on the lower Snake River. A key benefit for Snake River populations is the amount of high quality habitat they have that is not found in the other Columbia basins. Congress and Bonneville to decide fate of lower Snake River dams. The four dams on the lower Snake River are part of a vast and complex hydroelectric power system operated by the federal government in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. To date, the federal government has ignored this scientific consensus due not to scientific principles, but rather due to political issues. Our communities and future generations need and deserve both. As habitat destruction and dam construction has increased in the Columbia Basin, populations have declined and fishing opportunities been severely restricted. The Corps admits that the volume of sediment is too vast for dredging to solve the problem. Together, the four Lower Snake River dams have a “nameplate” (maximum) generating capacity of 3,000 megawatts. The dams became operational between 1961 and 1975. Fishing takes between 0 to 10 percent of any given run. They cited modeling by the Environmental Protection Agency that shows that removing the four lower Snake River dams would reduce Snake River water temperatures by 6.3 degrees F, on average, during the summer and early fall. Agriculture, Salmon, and the Snake River Dams . As noted in Question #2, Congress should provide much, if not all, of the funding needed to keep energy costs affordable for Northwest consumers. The only option the Corps is not studying is removal of the four dams. Box 67Spokane, WA 99210 Phone:  509-747-2030. The nameplate capacity of the 4 lower Snake dams totals 3,033 Megawatts, but over the past 11 years they have only produced an average of 961 aMW (annual Megawatts), or 33% of nameplate capacity. The federal government wants to keep the Four Lower Snake River Dams in place. In winter and late summer, when electricity is most needed and most valuable, these four dams are able to generate less than half that average because there is very little water available to spin turbines. The Lower Snake River Project features four locks and dams in the state of Washington: Ice Harbor Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, Little Goose Dam, and Lower Granite Dam. The dams generate a negligible amount of power, and it will be cheaper to take them out than to update them to modern standards.” No fish= No orcas ! The Obama Administration along with the 111th Congress can help by fostering a forward-looking dialogue that will serve as the foundation for a durable strategy to bring wild salmon back to the Columbia-Snake Basin, and to keep communities healthy and whole. Global warming creates new challenges for recovering salmon and steelhead, and makes the impacts from the lower Snake River dams and their slackwater reservoirs even worse. How does lower Snake River dam removal affect tribal treaty fishing rights? H��WI�l� ��)� �EM$O`��W�lxU� ��W^��M2(��gë����8��]K=�{���P���t�y��_���_t��x y�y�c�?6o�~|�fy�FwBZ�Ĥ7�E�2�aS�F���M��]�w��]�C�8^g���M��?����o)r��n�t�S�N�����[�� �Ȝ����Sj���z�zW��P�����R( �����VN�[Ap��a6�k�\ qJ�\6���K���B��Õ5D�5 ����B�����w��� ��p�b����~=���5�M��Y�V��Q�$"^�<09Sgw�P�Ǥ�O���[Hp3w��g���B� N'1GDG�[��64���xedBqz�K@�8^ Due to these minimal overall impacts, scientists have determined that totally eliminating fishing for the renowned Snake River spring/summer chinook and steelhead in particular would provide very little to no benefits and fail to recover these endangered populations. Lower Granite is now 55 percent full of sediment and the river level has now risen higher than downtown! 5. sierraclub.org. The federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest are a major factor in the decline of these fish and yet the federal government continues to minimize the harm caused by these dams. In an extended cold-snap or other power emergency, such as another power plant shutting down unexpectedly, these four dams can produce in excess of 2,650 MW over a sustained period of 10 hours per day for fi ve consecutive days. Yet one simple fact remains: not all dams are created equal. Can we replace the dams’ power with clean energy? Reality: The four lower Snake River dams are relatively unreliable sources of power compared to some other dams in the federal Columbia River system. 8 . Their actual yearly output is just over 1,000 average megawatts, or about what a city of size of Seattle or Milwaukee or Denver or Louisville uses. Lewiston community leaders are opposed to raising levees, which will cut the town off further from it’s rivers and disrupt popular bike path and walking paths. Initial studies conclude that the economic benefits of salmon and steelhead recovery exceed the costs to replace the dams’ seasonally-limited power. A Long Legal Fight for the River Over the past 25 years, conservation and fishing groups have gone to court challenging federal agency hydropower systems operation plans that failed to protect threatened and endangered salmon in the Columbia River basin. 8. Remove the Dams on the lower Snake River - “It’s not just a biological crisis we’re having out here. How much energy do these four dams produce? Why do scientists support partial removal of the 4 lower Snake River dams? What can Congress and the President do to solve this problem and restore salmon and steelhead to abundance? Dams – blocking the river’s flow and creating large stagnant reservoirs have especially impacted the salmon’s ability to flourish. It is caught in the ocean and the lower Columbia River where it mixes with other abundant populations found on the lower Columbia River. Europeans were farming wheat along the Lower Snake as early as the late 1800’s. Congress can make lower Snake River dam removal the cornerstone of a recovery plan that begins to reign in the federal agencies’ spending cycle that is ineffective and out of control. Prior to the dam building era that began in the early 1900s, salmon were commercially caught at high rates in the Columbia River. A growing flood threat exists to the cities of Clarkston and Lewiston because of the four lower Snake River dams. 11. Thirteen species of salmon and steelhead are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act and many more have already been lost from this planet, many of which were extremely important to tribal cultures. The four Lower Snake dams were the last built in the federal Columbia hydropower system. Below is a list of commonly asked questions about Columbia and Snake River salmon and the four lower Snake River dams with answers from regional stakeholders. Restoring this national treasure and valuable natural resource is the joint responsibility of all Americans. Lower Granite Dam, one of the four dams on the Lower Snake River that are driving all remaining Snake River salmon toward extinction. While Snake River dam removal would not completely solve the tribal treaty right issues to date, this action would go a long way in helping to restore Snake River salmon to levels necessary to meeting treaty right obligations. The Lower Snake River Project's four dams and navigation locks have transformed this part of the Snake River into a series of reservoirs. The dams, for example, kill between 40 and 92 percent of the migrating Snake River salmon and steelhead. 1 0 obj<> endobj 2 0 obj<>stream They are “run-of-river dams,” which means they don’t store water. Naturally occurring sediment coming down the Snake River, is piling up behind Lower Granite dam and raising the level of the river. Additionally, the federal government has ignored sound science. The salmon were, and continue to be, so important to these peoples that their governments were willing to give up the rights they had to large tracks of land in order to ensure that salmon graced the waters of this region forever. Here’s how: The low-cost estimate ($80 million, see Question 2 above) for replacing the four lower Snake River dams’ power is based on creating 90 percent of this new energy through investments in conservation (efficiency) and 10 percent from new, truly clean, salmon-safe renewable energy like wind or biomass. 4. No. 7. 10. The people of the Northwest and Nation deserve restored wild salmon to levels that also restore recreational, commercial, and tribal fisheries. The Lower Snake River Dams Power Replacement Study confirms that clean and renewable resources can provide a viable and effective energy alternative to the continued operation of the dams. And it would devastate fishing communities from California to Alaska and into Idaho. LSR Freight Transport graph . Those benefits include increased commercial fishing, a resurgence of recreational jobs and businesses, and a substantial reduction in the expensive, wasteful (and largely ineffective) salmon programs now in place. Investments in a modern rail system and improved highways is not only affordable, it will provide far more benefits to the region’s farmers, businesses and communities that the lower Snake River barge system does. All replacement portfolios resulted inannual LOLP values . How does global warming affect Columbia-Snake River salmon and steelhead survival? The draft EIS identifies and evaluates a no-action alternative and five alternatives, one of which includes breaching the four lower Snake River dams. During the past few decades Inland Northwest local railroads—called short lines—have fallen into disrepair, with serious economic consequences for struggling farm communities, local business owners and manufacturers. Because these dams can’t provide flood control and have virtually no storage capacity, they can reach that maximum for just a few days in any year (during a rapid spring snowmelt for example). 9. As global warming worsens, the lower Snake Dams will become progressively less reliable as an energy source – especially in summer. Scientists predict that the salmon and steelhead of the Snake River that are born at high altitudes where cooler temperatures will persist have the best chance of surviving the current warming trend. As the Columbia and Snake Rivers were populated with dams and other forms of habitat destruction, opportunities to fish have been severely reduced. Water levels in the reservoirs can only be increased a few feet. Right now, Members of Congress can help by introducing a bill authorizing the partial removal of the four lower Snake River dams, the replacement of the limited services the dams provide, and the protection of communities affected by that action. A hundred years ago, fishing impacts were significant. In order to restore Snake River salmon populations to sustainable numbers, scientists have determined that they must consistently return adults to the uppermost Snake River dam, Lower Granite, at a minimum rate of 2% to 6%. Crops and other products will be railed and trucked to Pasco, WA where they can be loaded onto barges, or continue to Portland by rail. Compelling evidence proves dams kill salmon. Americans are ready for effective solutions to one of the toughest natural resources challenges of our day. The bottom line: the limited power produced by the four lower Snake River dams can be replaced without adding to our climate pollution, at little or no cost to consumers, and with great benefits to endangered salmon and the communities, businesses, and cultures that rely upon them. Why should U.S. taxpayers be concerned with salmon restoration in the Columbia and Snake River basin? As a federal court found in 1994, the federal hydrosystem is calling out for a “complete overhaul” not just the tweaks and minor adjustments the federal government seem willing to provide. How does global warming affect Columbia-Snake River salmon and steelhead survival? In the latest plan, for example, the federal government treated dams as unchangeable parts of the environment, much like a mountain. As the answers to Questions 3 & 6 (above) indicate, the Northwest is blessed with an abundance of cost-competitive clean energy answers to our power needs. Ice Harbor Dam is lowermost of the four lower Snake River dams and therefore offers the best indication of the entire waterway’s economic viability. It is a false choice. Snake River fall Chinook is the one exception. What can Congress do to solve this problem and restore salmon and steelhead to abundance? In 2002, the General Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released a report titled, “Columbia River Basin Salmon and Steelhead: Federal Agencies' Recovery Responsibilities, Expenditures and Actions” that stated there is no conclusive evidence that the last two decades of federal salmon recovery actions have succeeded in helping to restore these fish. The four dams in particular question are Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Granite and Lower Monumental. 5. Lower Granite Dam is located approximately 40-miles downstream of Lewiston, Idaho. Lower Snake River Dams Power Replacement Study . How much will it cost to replace that power? Lower Snake River Dams Stakeholder Engagement Final Report — March 2020 3 Major Findings and Perspectives The report focuses on six major topics: (1) salmon and Southern Resident orcas, (2) energy, (3) agriculture, (4) transportation, (5) recreation, (6) and economics. The difference lies in the number of mainstem dams they encounter. Today, dams play a far greater role killing salmon than fishermen. Yet one simple fact remains: Download the PDF on fishing and salmon numbers. The cumulative effect of eight dams on the lower Columbia and lower Snake Rivers is too much for salmon survival and if the four dams on the lower Snake were removed (cutting the total number of dams Snake River stocks face in half), these salmon can rebound to healthy levels. Lower Granite Dam with Channel Bypass. 1. 3. Download the PDF on fishing and salmon numbers. Subject: President Obama: Protect Orcas by Removing Four Lower Snake River Dams Hi, President Obama is considering taking bold, needed action that would help to save orcas (killer whales) in the Pacific. Seattle, WA 811 First Ave.,Suite 305Seattle, WA 98104 Phone:  206-300-1003, Spokane, WA P.O. All residents of the Northwest and nation will share the economic benefits of dam removal. Congress and the Obama Administration have an invaluable role to play – whether it’s passing needed legislation, providing vital funding for salmon restoration, or exercising its oversight responsibilities to ensure that recovery measures are truly working. They are particularly valuable in times of extreme hot and cold weather, when demand for electricity peaks. Tribal, state and federal fisheries biologists have all supported the removal of the four lower Snake River dams as a keystone action necessary for any valid salmon plan. If we stay on the current path, taxpayers will not only continue to foot the bill for costly salmon recovery but will shoulder the massive cost of extinction. This money has been spent on ridiculous schemes such as loading salmon into trucks and driving them around the dams, all the while ignoring cost-effective solutions for recovery like partial removal of the lower Snake River dams. Since this time the Lower Snake River has been used as a means for getting products to markets. What salmon and salmon-based communities need most is real leadership: Members of Congress and a President who will bring together stakeholders from across the Northwest and beyond to articulate and implement a shared vision that includes abundant salmon populations, thriving rural communities, and clean, affordable energy for the region. This would have a minimal impact on BPA - the agency responsible for selling power from the Columbia Basin federal dams. 11. Further, Northwest consumers should not bear even this minimal expense alone. They are “run of the river” dams with very little storage capacity and are thus almost totally dependent on the amount of snowpack and rate of runoff. Fewer goods, mostly fertilizer and fuel, travel upriver. The Corps of Engineers is studying options to address this serious problem, including raising the series of levees that block the towns from the river. Removing the four lower Snake River dams and restoring a free-flowing river will reduce the impacts of global warming on salmon and steelhead and help ensure a healthy, sustainable future for wild pacific salmon and the communities that depend upon them. How to Breach the 4 Lower Snake River Dams with a Pile of Policy Papers and Two D-8’s •Prepared by Jim Waddell Civil Engineer, PE USACE Retired + = Rev: Feb 2018. The 4 dams produce their greatest amount of power during spring runoff, when power demand, and consequently price, are at their lowest levels. ���.Ӭ#�+�jC�U�a-���i7?�B�0l�A�vձ�? The four lower Snake River dams can operate above their rated capacity to produce up to 3,483 MW for several hours. The stakes are high as the region considers the best options for dam operations. Currently, wheat, barley and other goods are barged down river from Lewiston, ID and a couple other ports on the lower Snake River. They also submerged 63 rapids big enough to have earned themselves names and increased the mortality of … An extensive modeling effort completed in 2000 analyzed of the causes of mortality for Snake River salmon. The lower Snake River dams produce roughly 1,100 average megawatts of carbon-free electricity compared to the Klamath River dam’s 78 average megawatts. Wheat, barley and other crops are destined for Portland, OR and then exported overseas. An independent economic analysis recently rein- … The shallow, slow-running river will become even warmer, further threatening salmon survival throughout the region.