WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5), held a hearing on Tuesday, Jan 30 on the agreement between the Biden Administration and the Six Sovereigns regarding the Snake River dams.
The Biden Administration and the Six Sovereigns announced a partnership addressing salmon, climate, energy and tribal justice on Dec 14 of 2023.
According to a memorandum on the hearing, the management and operations of federal dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries, as well as plans for the possible removal of the Lower Snake River dams, were examined at the hearing.
Rep. McMorris Rodgers felt that the agreement reached in December was done too quickly and that many of her constituents in the Northwest were left out of the discussions and decision making process, according to transcripts of the hearing.
“CEQ cut a secret, backroom deal to please radical environmentalists who are profiting from a campaign to tear out our dams,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers told Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
The hearing included testimony from lawmakers, representatives from the agriculture and electrical industries and members of the Six Sovereigns.
Testimony lasted for several hours and covered multiple aspects of the Columbia River System and Snake River dams, including hydropower, transportation, recreation, irrigation, as well as the possibility of breaching the dams.
“Put simply, hydropwer is the reason why the lights stay on in the Pacific Northwest,” Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, testified. ” Breaching or chipping away at the Lower Snake River dams pulls a critical, dispatchable, carbon-free renewable resource out of the mix at a time when electric demand continues to grow.”
Jeremy Takala, Chair of the Yakama Tribal Council Fish and Wildlife Committee, testified on behalf of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
“The status quo is not a realistic option, because it will lead to salmon extinction. And the courtroom simply cannot deliver the creative and comprehensive solutions that we need,” Takala testified.
“We must put aside our differences and come together to restore Columbia Basin fisheries to healthy and abundant levels. The economic and ecological health of our region requires it, and my People’s Treaty rights demand it.”
While no concrete proposals came from the hearing, it was a chance for the committee to learn more about the 10-year agreement between the Biden Administration and the Six Sovereigns on salmon, energy stability and the future of the dams from both sides of the issue.
The Six Sovereigns are the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Nez Perce Tribe, the state of Oregon and the state of Washington.
