ACTION ALERT: Public Comment Period Open for Draft Report
In June Washington State Democrats voted 534-75 at the bi-annual convention to call for the removal of the Lower Snake River dams (LSRDs) as part of their campaign platform for 2022 elections and beyond. This follows the release of a draft Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement Report, which is now open for public comment.
In October 2021 Governor Jay Inslee and Senator Patty Murray announced a joint federal-state process to assess the LSRD removal along with the cost, benefits, and replacement services that would be required for the removal. As part of the process, the Governor's office hired a consulting team (Kramer Consulting and Ross Strategic) to review existing studies and gather input from experts, stakeholders, tribal sovereigns, and advisors across the region. The input will also include public comments received through the June and July public comment period.
Once the process completes in summer 2022 a final version of the report will be released and will be used by the Governor and Senator to recommend a path forward.
Click here to read the Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement Study Report
What's the Draft and Why is it Important?
The draft analyzes six key benefits provided by the LSRDs: navigation and transportation, agriculture and irrigation, energy, tourism and recreation, community resilience and economic health, salmon recovery, and habitat restoration. It also takes into account the costs associated with the removal of the LSDRs.
The draft report does not take a position on whether or not the dams should be removed but instead will serve as a compilation of input and data that will be used to form recommendations on a path forward by the governor and senator. While this draft does not guarantee the removal of the dams, the joint efforts and consideration at both state and federal levels is a momentous step forward, and one that has not yet been taken.
It is important to keep the momentum going and keep the pressure on local and federal representatives to take action.
How will it help whales?
The critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs) depend on chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, which makes up roughly 80% of their diet. The Snake/Columbia Basin is one of the largest salmon-producing river systems, producing an estimated 50% of the SRKW diet. The dams block juvenile salmon from migrating out to the ocean, and also adult salmon from migrating back to their spawning grounds in the Snake River.
Since the erection of the dams, the salmon and steelhead population have declined more than 90%. Breaching the dams is a top priority for rebuilding the chinook salmon population and offers the best opportunity to recover wild salmon in the Snake River, which makes up a large percentage of the SRKW diet.
How will it benefit the community dependent on the dams?
The biggest concerns for the removal of the LSRDs are the loss of one of the largest sources of renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest, the financial cost of removing and replacing infrastructures, as well as the loss to the community members and farmers who depend on the dams. These issues need to be addressed in order to breach or remove the dams to ensure that vital agriculture and transport are supported, as well as the local communities.
A 2019 study conducted by ECONorthwest found that the benefits of breaching the LSRDs outweigh the cost of maintaining them. The study revealed that in addition to rising energy costs the dams are also at risk of creating more carbon pollution and found that the amount the federal government spends on subsidizing the lock system to allow barging far exceeds the public usage. ECONorthwest calculated the net benefit of breaching the dams at more than $8 billion between 2025 to 2045.
By removing dams and restoring free-flowing rivers, there will be multiple long-term benefits for local communities. Free-flowing rivers provide more access to natural features such as floodplains, wetlands, side channels, and marshes. This ultimately can help improve water quality, support biodiversity, enhance critical habitats for fish and wildlife, create or enhance recreational activities, recharge important aquifers, and in some cases reduce flood risks for local communities. Additionally, according to the draft report, restoring salmon fisheries in the Columbia Basin would generate up to 25,000 new jobs and add $1 billion a year to the economy.
How and Where to Submit a Comment:
The draft will be available for review and public comment through 5pm PST on July 11th, 2022. Comments can be submitted via email, mail, or through the online form on the project website.
Online comments can be submitted through the project website submission form here
Comments can be emailed to info@lsrdoptions.org with the email subject line "Draft LSDR Benefit Replacement Report".
Tips for how to submit a public comment:
Be respectful and polite in your comment.
Get personal, share your experiences and why you care. Personal messages carry more sentiment and weight which are more meaningful and can have a bigger impact on policymakers.
Avoid pre-written copy and paste templates. New practices have passed that make it so pre-written templates only get counted once. Meaning if multiple people submit the same exact comment, it will only be recorded once. Make it personal and unique to make sure it is counted.
Cite relevant data that supports your comment
Suggested talking points:
Breaching or removing the dams offers the best opportunity to recover Snake River salmon that orcas and hundreds of other species depend on.
Breaching or removing dams will reduce hundreds of millions of dollars annually in fish recovery efforts in the Snake River Basin, which can help to offset the cost of removal
Restoring salmon fisheries in the Columbia Basin will generate jobs and benefit the local economy
There are alternatives to the current benefits of transport, and agriculture offered by the LSRDs.
The economic impacts of removing the dams outweigh the long-term cost of maintaining them
The dams make rivers too hot, which contributes to the ongoing threat of climate change which can and will have long-term effects on the ecosystem and communities that depend on these ecosystems
Alternative clean energy sources such as new wind, solar, battery storage, smart grid technologies and more can help provide the energetic needs of the Pacific Northwest as well as create new jobs
Restoring free-flowing rivers will replenish vital ecosystems and support biodiversity
Restoring the river to aid in salmon recovery will help meet federal responsibilities to treaty tribes that forfeited their lands to the U.S. government in exchange that they would be guaranteed access to fish in their traditional territories.
The critically endangered killer whales will go extinct if bold action is not taken to restore salmon and their critical habitat.