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Study says Snake River Dams Could be Replaced with Renewables by Staff KOHO 101, April 11, 2018

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed an order to spill more water over lower Columbia and Snake river dams to help protect salmon and steelhead.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon ruled last spring that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must spill more water through spillways, rather than turbines. The National Marine Fisheries Service appealed, but a three-judge Appeals Court panel rejected it last week. The new spill operations are getting underway now at some dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Conservationists say the extra water will help young salmon migrate out to sea.

Eastern Washington Republican U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse hosted a press conference in Tri-Cities last week opposing the court-mandated spill, saying it will drastically raise energy costs for residents in the region.

A study says it's possible to off-set those rising electricity prices with renewable energies, as Eric Tegethoff reports.