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Idaho House of Representatives House Joint Memorial No. 11 by Sixty-third Legislature of Idaho Idaho Ways and Means Committee, March 31, 2015

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-third Legislature First Regular Session - 2015

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 11 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE A JOINT MEMORIAL
TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED,
AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.

We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Sixty-third Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the Columbia-Snake River System as part of the United States Marine Highway network; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the Columbia-Snake River System and its tributaries, collectively and in its entirety, as a multiuse system providing navigation, transportation, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, hydropower generation, flood control and irrigation to the citizens and industry of the Pacific Northwest; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the vital contribution the Columbia-Snake River System and its tributaries, functioning collectively and in its entirety, make to the state's economic well-being and to the quality of life of our citizens; and

WHEREAS, the State of Idaho asserts sovereign control over all water resources within the state; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes that the anadromous fish decline is due to many factors, including increased predation, unfavorable ocean conditions and harvest; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the efforts by Northwest families, farmers, ranchers, organizations and businesses investing billions in fish passage and habitat improvements resulting in 97.5 percent average survival for juvenile Chinook and 99.5 percent for juvenile steelhead migrating downstream through the Lower Snake River dams; and

(bluefish: These juvenile survival estimates are completely unsupportable. See Adult Salmon Survival Past Dams is 99 Percent by John McKern, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 3/25/15. If these were true, salmon returns would be about 25% higher than we are currently seeing [97.5% / squareroot(60%)] = 25%)

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the legal priority that agriculture irrigation and industrial applications of water have within the state; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the Port of Lewiston, Idaho's only seaport, is part of the collective Columbia-Snake River System and is an asset of the State of Idaho and to the Inland Northwest region, providing global competitiveness and connectivity for regional products, economic development investment and multimodal transportation; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes the Columbia-Snake River System as the top wheat export gateway in the United States, with approximately 16 percent of all U.S. wheat exports barged through at least one of the Snake River dams; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes barging as the most fuel efficient mode of transportation; and

(bluefish notes: According to the US Department of Energy Center for Transportation Analysis barge transportation has NOT been more fuel efficient than Railroad since 1995.)

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho recognizes hydropower as the most efficient, environmentally favorable form of electrical generation, combatting global warming by offsetting at least 3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year through use of the Lower Snake River dams while producing 1,000 megawatts of carbon-free, renewable energy annually, and 3,000 megawatts for peak power emergencies; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Idaho believes that any actions to degrade the functionality, in whole or in part, to remove or breach dams on the Columbia-Snake River System or its tributaries, or take water from the state for anadromous fish enhancement efforts, would inflict on the citizenry of the state a loss in economic and trade opportunities, a loss of recharge waters for the state's aquifers, a loss of navigation and transportation, an increased risk for floods, an increase in electrical rates, a shortfall in power generation, a loss of recreational opportunities and a threatened quality of life for Idaho citizens.

(bluefish notes: All of the dams on the Columbia-Snake River System are downstream of the State of Idaho so it is difficult to imagine how they might protect the state's citizenry from flooding.)

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session of the Sixty-third Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that Idaho opposes the removal or breaching of the dams on the Columbia-Snake River System and its tributaries, has sovereignty of its water resources, prohibits contributions of water from Idaho's reservoirs for flow augmentation except those expressly authorized by state law, that efforts for further recovery of anadromous fish must be undertaken in a manner based on sound science, and supports maintenance and multiple use benefits of the Columbia-Snake River System. Additionally, the Idaho Legislature recognizes and supports the international competitiveness, multimodal transportation and economic development benefits provided by the Port of Lewiston.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.

Related Pages
Adult Salmon Survival Past Dams is 99 Percent by John McKern, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 3/25/15
Fish Survival Rate is Disputed by Borg Hendrickson, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 3/21/15
Idaho Needs and Can Maintain Both Its Dams and Fish by David Doeringsfeld, Lewiston Tribune, 3/15/15
Hydropower Not Been Replaced by Wind Power by John McKern, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 3/6/15