the film forum library tutorial contact

Report says Breaching Needn't Hurt Shipping by John Hughes, Associated Press The Oregonian - October 2, 1999

Improved railways and roads could handle grain loads if dams are opened,
the private study finds

WASHINGTON -- Breaching the four Snake River dams would not hurt grain shipments if state governments and the federal government invested in railroads and highways, according to a study released Friday.

The study, by a former high-ranking official at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was commissioned by the environmental group American Rivers and drew prompt criticism from Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash.

The study by G. Edward Dickey found that alternatives to shipping grain on the Snake included carrying exports by rail to deep-water ports and trucking farm products to Washington state's Tri-Cities area, which would take over from Lewiston, Idaho, as the navigation head.

Farmers worry that removing the dams will make grain shipments too expensive, Dickey said. "These fears need not come to pass," he said.

State and federal governments could ease the transition by paying to improve highways and offering loans for grain elevators, railroads and shipping terminals, Dickey said.

But it is too difficult to estimate how much those investments would cost, he said. Justin Hayes of American Rivers cited Washington state studies showing that it would cost as little as $84 million to upgrade highways or as much as $214 million to improve railroads and highways.

Gorton cited the findings of a July study by the corps that found breaching the dams would increase transportation costs of all commodities by about $40 million a year. He said the change would also place more heavily polluting trucks on crowded roadways.

"This," Gorton said in a statement, "is more voodoo economics from another D.C.-based special interest group which takes great pleasure in telling the people and families of the Northwest how to live their lives."

Federal officials are studying the possibility of removing the earthen portions of Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams and allowing water to flow freely past the concrete structures as a way to help recover dwindling salmon populations.

Officials could make a recommendation as early as next year.

Related Links:
An affordable and efficient transition plan, Dr. Edward Dickey
Transportation Transition Plan Released, American Rivers
Breaching Benefits Tri-Cities, Tri-City Herald