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Snake River Dam Removal Transportation Transition Plan Released Justin Hayes and Rob Masonis - October 1, 1999

(Washington, DC)- Investing in highway and rail infrastructure would keep grain transportation rates affordable if the four lower Snake River dams are removed, according to a former high-ranking Corps of Engineers official.

Dr. G. Edward Dickey, author of the report, Grain Transportation After Partial Removal of the Four Lower Snake River Dams: an affordable and efficient transition plan, concludes that prudent, timely investments in rail and highway infrastructure could provide an affordable transportation alternative to the lower Snake River waterway.

"The agricultural community fears that removing the dams will make transporting grain too expensive. But this fear need not come to pass," said Dickey.

Dickey served as the Chief of the Planning Division for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) during the Bush Administration.

Dickey's report recommends federal and state funding to upgrade highway and rail infrastructure, and loans and grants to the private sector for grain elevators, terminals, and rail cars. Specific investments would be identified by the states in collaboration with local governments and stakeholders, and would be approved by the Secretary of the Army.

Eliminating barge traffic on the Snake River would move the head of navigation from Lewiston, Idaho to the Tri-Cities, Washington, near the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers. If the waterway is closed, grain would be shipped to deepwater ports or Columbia River terminals.

"The public and private infrastructure upgrades required for a transition plan are affordable," said Dickey.

The number of salmon returning to spawn in the Snake River and its tributaries has plunged since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the four dams between 1962 and 1975. The dams kill salmon by delaying the migration of young salmon to the sea - exposing them to predators and disease - and creating obstacles to adult salmon returning to spawn. All runs of Snake River salmon and steelhead trout have been listed as threatened or endangered by the federal government.

Removing the earthen portions of the four dams to restore the natural river is one option being considered by federal scientists and policymakers. More than 200 scientists and nearly 450 businesses and organizations have endorsed dam removal.

"Dickey's report shows that we can maintain a strong agricultural economy in the region and restore healthy salmon and steelhead runs in the Snake River," said Rob Masonis, Northwest director of hydropower programs for American Rivers.

Another study, looking at the full economic impacts of removing the four dams from the Snake River, will be released in late October. That analysis, sponsored by Trout Unlimited and Earthjustice, with assistance from American Rivers and other groups, weighs the economic gains and losses of dam removal including impacts on irrigated agriculture, power and water users, tribes, recreation, transportation, and construction, and places those changes in the context of evolving local and regional economies. The study was conducted by ECONorthwest of Eugene, Oregon, a prominent and respected economic analysis firm.

Related Links:
An Affordable and Efficient Transition Plan, Dr. Edward Dickey
Breaching Needn't Hurt Shipping, The Oregonian
Breaching Benefits Tri-Cities, Tri-City Herald