Central Washington ignored in Snake River dams reports

This week marked the conclusion of the public comment period for Governor Inslee and Senator Murray’s recently released draft Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement Report. I have read the Inslee-Murray report, and while I could comment on the missing data points or perspectives that are found on every single page, it is also clear this draft report has come to the same conclusion that I, along with federal scientists, engineers, and fish biologists, have understood for many years now: Our communities cannot afford to breach and remove the Lower Snake River Dams.

Unfortunately, the Biden Administration just doesn’t seem to care. This morning, the Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released two draft reports that call for the removal of the dams on the Columbia River System. Even worse, the CEQ was using taxpayer dollars to collude with the plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit over the Columbia River System Operations final Environmental Impact Statement, which is explicitly stated in the first footnote of one of the draft “reports.”

Never mind that the data, which was unfortunately left out of both draft reports from the CEQ, continues to show the importance of the Lower Snake River Dams to our agriculture, transportation, navigation, irrigation, tourism, and clean energy sectors. The total estimated costs for breaching these dams are estimated by the Inslee-Murray report to be between $10.3 to $27.2 billion (noted as “low” estimates). Breaching is more than an unnecessary and unfair burden to place upon communities throughout Washington state and the Pacific Northwest, it would be catastrophic. Especially when these families are already struggling from soaring energy costs.

It is clear that the Biden Administration is working hand-in-hand with Governor Inslee, Senator Murray, and Congressman Simpson; indeed, all three were referenced in the Biden Administration’s limited communications. What’s even more clear is that these individuals do not care about the communities in our region, as the individuals and families across Central Washington and the Pacific Northwest who rely on the Lower Snake River Dams for their livelihoods were not consulted in these reports. Further, I was never contacted or consulted to provide information for any of these draft reports — which directly impacts federal infrastructure located in the district I represent — while Congressman Simpson, who doesn’t represent any of these dams, was.

It doesn’t end there. Neither the CEQ’s analyses nor the Inslee-Murray draft report even attempts to be scientific. The Inslee-Murray report fails to include an analysis of emissions estimates associated with the process of breaching and removing of the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD) Despite Washington state’s commitment to reducing its carbon emissions. The Biden Administration deliberately omitted ocean conditions, the number-one cause of salmon mortality, in their analyses. Indeed, the Biden Administration’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) who originally stated that the dams “are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the ESA-listed species” are now ignoring the science and toeing the party line.

Despite all of the facts supporting the crucial role the dams play for our region, and how they are not hurting our salmon’s success, the CEQ and Governor Inslee and Senator Murray still attempt to justify breaching our dams in order to “save our salmon.” We have only to look to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to see that this is nothing more than a false premise. The department recently reported that the U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee, which forecasts and monitors salmon and steelhead returns to the Columbia River, upgraded the 2022 forecast for sockeye returning to the river to 426,000, which is more than double the preseason forecast. Indeed, up to June 29, the preliminary sockeye count at the Bonneville Dam is 343,953 fish, which is the highest count to date in the last 10 years.

Even if all of the data and years of research on this issue were somehow proven false—which these reports do not even attempt to do—the Lower Snake River Dams are pieces of federal infrastructure, which means their operation is up to the entire United States Congress, not a politically motivated, taxpayer-funded process or report with no statutory authority. As the Member of Congress who represents the communities most impacted by the Lower Snake River Dams, I urge the Biden Administration, Governor Inslee, and Senator Murray to drop this ideological parade and join me in fighting for the people of Central Washington and the Pacific Northwest instead.