Your power bill, flood control ride on treaty with Canada. Sides haven’t talked in a year

Talks between the United States and Canada over the future management of the Columbia River must resume as soon as possible.

Our region’s economy depends on it.

Progress finally was being made between the two countries before COVID sidetracked the world last year. There hasn’t been a meeting since June 2020, and it’s time to get the negotiations back on track.

The status quo is not acceptable and comes at “significant economic” harm to our region, according to a letter from a bipartisan group of 21 Northwest lawmakers to President Joe Biden.

In addition, our congressional delegation members believe they are being kept in the dark and want an update from White House officials.

The letter sent to Biden said lawmakers “reject the argument that providing adequate information to the delegation puts our negotiating position at risk.”

They rightly want to be kept in the loop as the U.S. hammers out a new agreement with Canada that will affect everything from power bills, flood control, fishing and irrigation in our region.

The Columbia River Treaty is a massive, historic document that was ratified in 1964 that is absolutely critical to the Pacific Northwest. It provides the framework for hydropower production and flood control on the Columbia River.

Portions of the treaty expire in 2024, and either country can unilaterally terminate the agreement after that date provided they give l0 years notice.

The clock started ticking in 2014, and that’s why a new pact must be negotiated soon.

The river’s headwaters are in Canada, and officials there determine how much water is released and when. The 1,200-mile Columbia is among the most tightly controlled rivers in the world with a massive watershed that includes parts of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and British Columbia.

A flood that wiped out the town of Vanport, Ore., in 1948 was a motivating factor behind drafting the treaty. It required Canada to build three dams and flood valleys, forcing thousands of people to relocate. Farms and forests and rural communities were lost, and First Nations — the indigenous people of Canada — were displaced.

The treaty also allowed the U.S. to build a fourth dam — the Libby Dam in Montana — that flooded into Canada.

In return for helping produce hydropower in our region, as well as providing flood control, Northwest electricity users pay a “Canadian Entitlement,” which provides an estimated $335 million a year that is sent to our northern neighbor.

This payment is a sticking point.

Officials in the U.S. want to renegotiate and reduce the amount paid to Canada.

A group of U.S. utilities agreed to give $254 million to Canada for half the electricity produced downstream during the first 30 years of the treaty. Then in 1994, the U.S. began paying a yearly amount that fluctuates with market prices, so the payment has increased significantly.

Utility managers and lawmakers in Washington and Oregon have argued the payments are too high and want to cut the amount.

But the amount of land Canada sacrificed for the treaty was significant and the loss is still a source of pain for many people.

Working out these differences is going to take compromise and many, many meetings. In addition to power supply and flood control, we now have to factor in clean energy requirements, salmon runs, tribal rights and environmental issues that need to be addressed in a revised treaty.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., were among the 21 Northwest lawmakers urging Biden to make the treaty a priority.

The issues are complicated and time is needed for thoughtful discussion and compromise. Negotiations with Canada over the Columbia River Treaty must not be put off any longer.

We hope Biden gets the message.

This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.