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Breaching Snake Dams Could Cost $27+ Billion, But Fish and Tribes Would Benefit, Report Says by Annette Cary Tri-City Herald, June 10, 2022

Breaching the four dams could increase salmon, steelhead and lamprey harvest by tribes by 29% annually

"We continue to approach the question of breaching with open minds and without a predetermined decision," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in a joint statement, as the draft was released Thursday.

They commissioned the report to determine if there are reasonable means of replacing the benefits provided by the dams from Ice Harbor Dam near the Tri-Cities upriver to Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston, Idaho, to allow their removal to be part of a comprehensive strategy to rebuild salmon populations.

Replacing the services and benefits of the dams would cost $10.3 billion to $27.2 billion, not including anticipated costs that could not be calculated, according to the draft "Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Draft Report."

The higher estimate is in line with a proposal by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, in early 2021 to spend $33.5 billion to replace or mitigate lost benefits of removing the lower Snake River dams.

"Every community in the Pacific Northwest knows the value and importance of our iconic salmon runs, and every community recognizes the importance of salmon to our economy and cultural heritage," Murray and Inslee said.

While they remain committed to saving salmon, they also recognize the benefits the dams provide to the region’s economy and communities, they said.

They will consider public comments on the draft report before a final version is issued and then make a recommendation on whether to remove the earthen portions the dams.

SALMON, TRIBES COULD BENEFIT

The report said that breaching the four dams could increase salmon, steelhead and lamprey harvest by tribes by 29% annually and would have the highest likelihood of removing salmon from Endangered Species Act listing and maintain treaty obligations, compared with other proposals.

It relied on scientific models by federal, state and tribal agencies to show that breaching would significantly improve fish passage at the four dams.

The dams also create slack water conditions that favor other species, many of which prey on salmon.

But the report also acknowledged that other factors than the dams have contributed to salmon declines.

Breaching the dams would allow tribes to care for grave sites where their ancestors are buried and return to about 700 locations where they have lived, fish, hunted, gathered plants and held cultural and religious studies, the report said.

"... the modern Northwest with its massive irrigation, hydropower and storage systems was built on the backs of tribal peoples from the 1930s on, through the use and destruction of the lands, rivers and fisheries we have lived with for thousands of years and tribal cultures and lifeways are rooted in place and tied to their homelands," the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians said in the report.

SNAKE RIVER HYDROPOWER

But benefits lost for the Pacific Northwest if dams are breached would be substantial.

The dams provide low-cost clean energy and help stabilize the electric grid.

Some studies have found that replacing the energy generated by the dams with solar and wind generation, energy storage, energy efficiency and demand response systems is possible.

However, energy storage systems are not yet fully developed for the long-term storage that would help replace the dams’ capabilities, the report noted.

It also pointed out the Tri-Cities is particularly dependent on Ice Harbor Dam for reliable electric service.

"Replacing the energy production of the LSRD would take time, funding, planning and collaboration across all stakeholders to ensure the region’s future clean energy goals are met, the region maintains a reliable system, and customers, especially the most vulnerable, are not overly burdened by increase electricity rates," the report said.

It concluded that replacement services would need to be supplying electricity to the regional grid before dams are breached to avoid disruption to electric services.

The report said that replacing the dams’ electrical generation, including changes to the electric grid, could cost $18 billion, as cited in the Simpson dam breaching proposal.

Even without breaching, changes to the Lower Snake River and Columbia River hydropower systems are inevitable, the report said.

Recent reduced summer and fall flows on the Snake River due to drought and reduced snowpack already have but constraints on power production, it said.

DAMS AND AGRICULTURE

Farmers and exporters depend on the lower Snake River dams for barging agriculture products, primarily wheat, at low cost.

Barge rates average 30 to 45 cents per bushel, compared to 50 to 75 cents for truck or rail transportation, the report said.

If barging on the lower Snake River is no longer possible, significant improvements would be needed to rural rail networks plus local and state roads.

Compensation for increased transportation costs, maintaining new and more heavily used infrastructure and loss of jobs also should be considered, the report said.

The Simpson plan put the costs and suggested compensation related to loss of river navigation at $4.5 billion.

The dams also allow irrigators to draw water from reservoirs and elevated groundwater, with the production value of irrigated land along the Snake River in 2021 estimated at $328 million.

Mitigation if the dams are breached could include deepening wells, modifications to pumping infrastructure for the lower water table and modifying infrastructure used to withdraw water from the river.

A 2002 Army Corps environmental study put the cost of mitigation at $1 billion, and the Simpson proposal put it at $750 million.

Other costs would include the work to breach the dam and remove sediment, and possibly for changes to recreation, such as relocating marinas.

However, restoring salmon runs in the Columbia Basin has the potential to expand recreational fishing and generate up to $1 billion annually in personal income in rural communities, the report said.

HOW TO COMMENT

Online comments can be submitted through the project website: lsrdoptions.org. Emailed comments can be sent to info@lsrdoptions.org with the email subject line "Draft LSRD Benefit Replacement Study."

Comments also may be mailed to Draft LSRD Benefit Replacement Study c/o Ross Strategic, 1325 Fourth Ave., Suite 1600,Seattle, WA 98101. Comments are due by July 11.