Environmental

Ten-year partnership to restore salmon and expand clean energy in Columbia River Basin

Ten-year partnership to restore salmon and expand clean energy in Columbia River Basin

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced an agreement to work in partnership with Pacific Northwest Tribes and states to restore wild salmon populations, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System.

The agreement, when combined with other funding the administration is anticipated to deliver, will bring more than $1 billion in new federal investments to wild fish restoration over the next decade and enable a 10-year break from decades-long litigation against the federal government’s operation of its dams in the Pacific Northwest, according to a release.

The agreement was filed in the Federal District Court in Oregon and sets commitments made by the Federal Government and implemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States; the states of Oregon and Washington; the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama Tribes; and environmental non-profit organizations.

Implementation of the agreement will diversify and develop affordable, clean and reliable energy options for the region. Investments under this agreement will help to ensure continued energy reliability and affordability, transportation, recreation, irrigation and other key services, including in the event that Congress authorizes breaching of the four Lower Snake River dams.

“President Biden understands that the Columbia River System is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, and for the first time under his direction, federal agencies are putting all hands on deck to support regional and Tribal efforts to restore wild salmon in the region. This agreement charts a new path to restore the river, provide for a clean energy future and the jobs that come with it, and live up to our responsibilities to Tribal Nations,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

This agreement honors Tribal treaty rights. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to honoring and respecting Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and robust Tribal consultation into planning and decision-making, according to a release.

“As Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) we are bound to the salmon and the rivers – these are our life sources. We will not allow extinction to be an option for the salmon, nor for us. The United States is bound to salmon and to us by Treaty where we reserved all our fisheries – our Treaty is the supreme law of the land under the United States Constitution,” said Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler, Nez Perce Tribe. “The federal dams on the lower Snake and mainstem Columbia rivers have had – and continue to have – devastating impacts on the salmon and our people. So today, as Six Sovereigns joining together with the United States to advance salmon restoration throughout the Basin – including preparation for breach of the four lower Snake River dams – we are also witnessing the restoration of Tribal Treaties to their rightful place under the rule of law.”

As part of the agreement, the Biden-Harris Administration will invest $300 million over 10 years to restore native fish and their habitats throughout the Columbia River Basin, with added measures to increase the autonomy of states and Tribes to use these funds. The administration will also facilitate the build-out of at least 1 to 3 GW of Tribally-sponsored renewable energy production, increased flexibility for the hydro system and studies of dam services.

The agreement keeps energy affordable by avoiding potentially significant rate increases from court-ordered dam operations. The Bonneville Power Administration estimates the agreement will have an annual average rate impact of 0.7%.