Anti-dam advocates should clean up their own mess | Guest Opinion

Enviro-extremists in both Idaho and Seattle wish for the lower Snake River dams to disappear in the name of salmon, steelhead and killer whale survival. While these extremists may be few in number, they are plenty mouthy. They out-shout the rational masses that live around them. These whiners are audacious hypocrites.

Case in point starting with Idaho: The Idaho Power Company completed construction of three Hells Canyon dams between 1958 and 1967. These three dams — Hells Canyon, Oxbow and Brownlee are named the “Hells Canyon Complex.” None of these dams were built with fish passage ladders. Their 50-year operating license expired in 2005.

They have operated since then with annually-issued licenses. The state of Oregon and the combined Shoshone-Bannock Native American tribes challenged Idaho Power Company’s ability to re-license these three dams. Oregon wants salmon and steelhead to once again have access to four Oregon tributaries that feed into the Hells Canyon Complex. Who can blame Oregon?

Compared to Idaho Power Company, the four federally-managed, lower Columbia River and four lower Snake River dams all have fish ladders. While this fish passage system isn’t perfect, it is continually improving with constant research, technology and vast sums of electricity ratepayer funding.

Sadly, successful, ongoing improvements to fish passage is somewhat negated by the federal government’s burgeoning populations of fish predators, like great white pelicans, Caspian terns, black cormorant and seagulls. Some steps are being made to manage fish-gorging sea lions, but they are still a major problem.

Now, about the Puget Sound enviro-extremists: Clean up your own mess! Two-thirds of Washington State’s population live on the one-third of our state’s landmass — mostly situated around Puget Sound and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Effectively, about three million residents use Puget Sound as their personal cesspool.

In addition, stormwater runoff from thousands of acres of freeways, city streets, commercial and industrial development end up in the Sound. Victoria, British Columbia has been the most blatant abuser. It has dumped untreated municipal human waste directly into the Strait of Juan de Fuca for decades, but is now finally constructing a waste treatment facility to remedy that.

Our dam-provided power and river navigation system is core to the continued success of our inland desert oasis. Let’s not let a group of radical outsiders chart our future.

In defense of our lower Snake River dams, please join me in attending the rally at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco. Then, please stay for the public workshop that will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Let’s let Gov. Jay Inslee’s dam removal study group hear us loud and clear that we do not want our Snake River dams breached.