Franklin PUD: Lower Snake River dams vital to state economy

Franklin PUD has always strongly supported robust salmon recovery efforts, including improvements to hydro, habitat, harvest and hatchery programs, all of which also benefit Southern Resident killer whales.

Recently, some organizations have advocated for the removal of four federal dams on the lower Snake River to promote recovery of the orcas.

Investments in salmon restoration have included a complete overhaul of the federal dams to make them more fish friendly. For example, every federal dam on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Washington has been retrofitted with state-of-the-art downstream fish passage technologies. These “fish slides” and other technologies are helping young fish migrate safely and swiftly, with survival rates averaging 96 percent past the four lower Snake River dams.

Franklin PUD and 16 other organizations sent a letter to the governor regarding his budget request for the Southern Resident Orca Task Force. Included is a $750,000 proposal to fund a study on the associated economic and social impacts as well as mitigation costs of Snake River dam removal. The task force would essentially be duplicating the same information-gathering effort that already is under way by the federal agencies in the Columbia River Systems Operations (CRSO) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS is a regional, comprehensive effort to evaluate a range of operations alternatives for the 14 federal hydropower facilities that exist along the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

All Northwest states and tribes are already cooperating in this EIS process, which includes an evaluation of the four lower Snake River dams, along with an economic impact analysis. A state-level effort would not be as comprehensive as the current federal effort.

While salmon are important to long-term Southern Resident orca recovery, to help these pods in the immediate term, we should focus on boat traffic and noise restrictions in Puget Sound, reducing and preventing urban pollution contaminating the Puget Sound and increasing and expanding current habitat restoration efforts on the rivers that contribute directly to the Puget Sound. In addition, the latest research concludes that sea lions, harbor seals and West Coast marine predators are eating more Chinook salmon than ever, competing directly with orcas for this food supply.

The federal hydro system provides 60 percent of the Pacific Northwest’s clean power. The system of federal dams protects rural communities from devastating floods, creates a river highway that links the Northwest to the rest of the nation and provides recreational opportunities and irrigation for over 7 million acres of farmland. Barging on the inland Columbia-Snake River System moves, on average, approximately 9 million tons of cargo. In fact, in most years, nearly 10 percent of the nation’s wheat exports travel through our lower Snake River dams. There is no question that the federal hydro system is the backbone of the region’s carbon-free energy supply and the lifeblood of its economy.

Because of their location, size and ability to help meet peak power loads, the four lower Snake River dams are key to keeping the system reliable and help support wind energy. There are 31 federal dams, but only 10, which include the four lower Snake River dams, have the flexibility to help keep the federal power system operating smoothly. When the electricity being used differs from what is being generated, signals go to these few dams to help maintain a balance of generation and loads, which is necessary for power system reliability, and critical to keeping your lights on, every minute, every day.

The four lower Snake River dams are renewable, carbon-free energy assets and maintaining them is an important component of a clean energy future.