After … These dams will be breached in the future due to the economics. Projecting a recovery period for these fish of 50-100 years, the federal government’s 2017 Recovery Plan “contains an extensive list of actions” costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Federal agencies have finalized a plan that will keep the Snake River Dams in place. On Friday, the federal government released it’s Final Environmental Impact Statement regarding the four lower Snake River dams. This decision impacts the operations at the lower four Snake River dams by requiring the dams to spill more water, decreasing the electrical output of the dams and estimating an increase in cost of 2-3 percent. Specifically, the letters request clarification from the BPA on eight questions no later than June 1, 2017. . On June 25, 2020, Benton PUD Board of Commissioners passed a resolution in support of the Federal Columbia River Power System and the Four Lower Snake River Dams. BPA could also acknowledge that the limited amount of power produced by the four LSR dams is not worth the economic, ecological and legal costs of maintaining them. It allows for more springtime spill over dams to help juvenile salmon migrating out to the Pacific Ocean. The “legal requirements” BPA cites as another cause for its rising wholesale power price are primarily mitigation costs for the loss of fish and wildlife caused by the federal dams, including Snake River salmon and steelhead. Even though they are loosing money, BPA continues their campaign to justify the Snake River Dams. For example, according to a recent report from the Fish Passage Center, the return of the lower Snake to a more natural flow through dam breaching, combined with increased spill at the lowest four dams on the Columbia, would result in a four-fold (400%) increase in adult salmon reaching Idaho. Simpson’s assault on these problems won’t be easy. Other alternatives exist. In doing so, the Corps and BPA will avoid financial and biological losses, decrease power rates for Washington, and finally put an end to a + 25 year-long debate. . This scenario would call for stretching out the current federal court-ordered NEPA/EIS process, challenging the need for and benefits of additional spill for juvenile fish passage, and unquestionably supporting the 4 LSR dams as long as possible. Mainzer said he views the Snake River dams as an integral part of the federal hydropower system that produces carbon-free electricity. They also contribute to BPA’s constantly rising costs for fish and wildlife mitigation and hence overall BPA power production. Let’s take a closer look. By early August, river flows have fallen dramatically. 3. we can see how hydro generation peaks to meet winter power needs and again in the spring when the snowpack melts (see the blue trace in the chart). But James, the Bonneville deputy director, said BPA still needs the Lower Snake River dams in its empire of energy generation to help balance power supply and … But all remaining salmon on its largest tributary, the Snake River, are facing extinction. Final EIS Calls For Snake River Dams To Remain On Friday, the federal government released it’s Final Environmental Impact Statement regarding the four lower Snake River dams. They are economically unsustainable now. . The four Lower Snake River Dams are man-made structures with a finite lifetime. Snake River dams. This could be the sixth time federal hydropower plans for the Columbia and Snake River dams end up in court. READ ON. Four aging dams in Washington state block passage along the lower Snake River, a major migration corridor linking pristine cold water streams in central Idaho to the mighty Columbia River … Some groups fighting for the survival of the Columbia–Snake River Basin’s salmon are taking a more limited approach to dam removal, asking BPA to get rid of only a select few. It is part of an extensive system of dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s 7th Power Plan, released in 2016, acknowledged a 16% power surplus in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and concluded that any increased demand over the next 20 years will be made up entirely through conservation. A second alternative would be to let the LSR dam turbines run themselves out, bolstered by only minor repairs, and to take turbines off-line when they pose a safety risk or are simply dead. . The new blades will be more fish friendly and efficient for power generation. CREDIT: BPA . The fight over salmon and dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers could be going back to the courtroom. Brad Little publicly blasted the legislative branch Friday, accusing lawmakers of “playing politics” with his coronavirus emergency declaration and threatening the lives of Idahoans. Columbia and Snake river dams, such as The Dalles Dam shown here, spill more water than they ever have before to help young fish move downstream to the ocean. By Courtney Flatt September 29, 2020. 1,190 aMW Lower Granite Dam — capacity 810 MW, energized 1975 New breakthroughs in power production and distribution over the next few years will also undoubtedly impact this situation and may inevitably sway the direction of decision-making regarding the LSR dams. Mitigation costs in FY 2016 were $622 million, reported to be 33% of BPA’s power production costs. Federal agencies have finalized a plan that will keep the Snake River Dams in place. BPA – Bonneville Power Administration DREW – Drawdown Regional Economic Workgroup Ecosystem Services – Benefits people derive from nature, free of charge. After nearly 20 years of mitigation efforts and the expenditure of billions of ratepayer dollars, some Snake River wild fish runs were recently described in Idaho newspapers as being in a state of collapse and in serious jeopardy of extinction. But Simpson’s remarks dominated the conference. BPA funded Kintama Research is simply trying to create a debate in order to keep the Snake River dams in place. Das Kraftwerk Lower Granite (englisch Lower Granite Lock and Dam) ist ein Laufwasserkraftwerk im Bundesstaat Washington, USA.Es ist die 15. Fitch Ratings, along with Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s one of the nation’s top three bond rating agencies, notes that at the end of FY 2015, BPA had $395 million in its power business reserves, with estimates of reserves in 2017 of just $11 million. . Given the information covered in this report, we suggest the Lower Snake River dams continue to operate while BPA, Corps, and Reclamation continue to implement fish projects on the Lower Snake River dams. July 31, 2020. Specifically, the letters request clarification from the BPA on eight questions no later than June 1, 2017. BPA doesn't have that analysis for the Lower Snake River dams. If Kintama were correct that dams do not harm fish, we would not see salmon populations rebounding in many rivers where dams have been removed, such as on the Elwha River here in Washington and the Rogue River in Oregon. In the report, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and BPA called for spilling more water over the dams at strategic times to help fish migrate faster.The three agencies said they looked at balancing the needs of the environment as well as the … It must all be paid back, with interest. Controversy Far From Over. The future of salmon and steelhead runs in Idaho, both wild and hatchery, greatly depends upon the presence of a fish-friendly migratory corridor for both juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead. 1. They are part of the problematic aging U.S. infrastructure that requires more money for maintenance every year. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) loses millions of dollars each year from the Lower Snake River Dams. The fight over salmon and dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers could be going back to the courtroom. Burdened by a 33% overhead cost not experienced by its competitors, falling demand for its product, and fish recovery requirements it cannot meet, BPA faces stark challenges. Here’s why: all the energy produced by the LSRDs is surplus power—extra energy that’s not needed to sufficiently supply the PNW—and so it’s sold on the open market. BPA included in its power rate request a plan to increase its reserve account to a minimally acceptable $300 million by including an additional $20 million per year in its budget. In the report, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and BPA called for spilling more water over the dams at strategic times to help fish migrate faster. Today that rate is $35.57, an increase of 32%. “Many assets will also be forced to operate well beyond their design lives, posing a significant maintenance burden in the future in order to keep assets in service until their replacement dates.” For most of the LSR dam turbines, the end of turbine design life is already here. On Friday, the federal government released it’s Final Environmental Impact Statement regarding the four lower Snake River dams. 5. 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