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White House Announces New Columbia River Task Force by Steve Ernst NW Fishletter, July 1, 2024

A regional body was created to plan for regional energy needs based on ranges of growth forecasts
that would reduce the risk of large errors and help guide the Bonneville Power Administration

Nik Blosser, former chief of staff to then-Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and a former vice president at Portland General Electric, has been named executive director of the newly created Columbia River Task Force, which will coordinate with federal agencies to fulfill the Biden administration's commitments to restore native fish populations in the Columbia Basin, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced on June 18.

The task force will be co-chaired by Laura Daniel-Davis, acting deputy secretary of Interior; Dave Turk, deputy secretary of energy; and Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

Other agencies represented on the task force include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Management and Budget.

The formation of the task force generally drew quick condemnation from around the Northwest, mostly because of its lack of regional representation.

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R), who represents central Washington, said it's "made up exclusively of Biden Administration officials" and "is a huge disappointment to those of us that are serious about improving ways for dams and salmon to coexist."

"Why are our local stakeholders and leaders not included on, or even informed of, a taskforce designed to fundamentally alter our region's economic landscape?" Newhouse said in a news release.

"This is nothing more than a disingenuous ploy for this administration to check a political box in the name of environmentalism and tribal relations. Their only 'task' is breaching our carbon free, renewable, and affordable energy base that supports the lives of the people of Central Washington."

Clark Mather, executive director of the Northwest RiverPartners, said "utilities, farmers, businesses, river transportation, and other users need to be actively included from beginning to end in all aspects of the Columbia River Task Force."

"We also urge the Biden Administration and the Columbia River Task Force to take a [holistic] view of hydropower using peer-reviewed science to drive decisions and ensure long-term confidence amongst all regional residents," Mather said in a prepared statement. "Climate change is among the greatest threats to people and salmon . . . affordable, reliable, carbon-free hydropower remains central to meeting rapidly growing energy demands while offsetting countless tons of air emissions."

Scott Simms, CEO and executive director of the Public Power Council, said Northwest public power communities have paid $685 million annually over the last decade to fund the Bonneville Power Administration's fish mitigation measures, and these efforts have yielded tangible benefits, including years with record adult salmon returns greater than before the construction of the dams.

"It's also troubling that Bonneville was not named as part of the task force," Simms told NW Fishletter. "They're instrumental in the operation and marketing of the federal hydropower system."

He also said that he's hopeful that the newly named task force will not make the same mistakes that federal mediators made by failing to include public power in the conversation.

Neil Maunu, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association and Inland Ports and Navigation Group, called out the "excessive lack of transparency and the failure to account for all interests affected by this complex issue."

In September, a federal judge approved a settlement in the three-decade fight over Columbia River System Operations that called for the creation of the Mid-Columbia Restoration Plan, along with the new Pacific Northwest Tribal Energy Program to develop between 1 and 3 GW of renewable energy as replacement power for the lower Snake River dams, should Congress authorize their removal.

The CRTF will have $1 billion to invest over the next 10 years for recovery efforts in the basin, according to a news release from the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

However, it still isn't clear how the tribal energy program will be financed or how the task force will work with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which under the Northwest Power Act has guided salmon recovery investments and mitigation efforts in the Columbia Basin for the past 40 years.

According to a memorandum of understanding that paused litigation, NOAA Fisheries would coordinate with the appropriate federal agencies/departments and the relevant regional sovereigns (including the Six Sovereigns) to develop a restoration plan with a 10-year suite of mid-Columbia actions in Oregon and Washington to be implemented starting in fiscal year 2026.

The federal government, at the time, said "that these actions will likely require at least doubling current levels of mitigation and restoration funding. To support this agreed upon suite of actions, the [U.S. government] will identify available funding across agencies and departments."

The MOU also said it would "include a thorough assessment of all available mechanisms without additional rate impacts, through a whole government approach, including direct congressional requests; increased requests in future Presidential budgets; and other avenues as they may present themselves."

Darryll Olsen, board representative of the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association, said "they clearly expect Department of Energy funding and support for the proposed actions from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council."

"The Settlement is here to stay," Olsen told NW Fishletter. "I see no value in fighting the Tribes over it. It's impossible for irrigators to look at this and not think we are in a whole new governance era and it's really clear that the Tribes are going to dominate . . .There is no other conclusion."

On June 14, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology announced the start of the Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study. CEQ said the study will address ways to modernize and improve irrigation, municipal, and industrial water withdrawal systems in the Columbia Basin that might be impacted if Congress authorizes the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. A draft study is scheduled to be completed by late 2024.

"The Columbia River Task Force will implement President Biden's vision to develop affordable, clean, and reliable energy options for the region while working to restore wild fish populations and address the grave harms the federal dams have inflicted on Tribal communities," Brenda Mallory, chair of the CEQ, said in a statement. "President Biden recognizes that to confront injustice, we must be honest about history -- even when doing so is difficult."

Blosser worked as chief of staff for Brown from 2017 to 2020. During that time Oregon stood with the tribes in support of breaching the lower Snake River dams. He left to join Biden's transition team in 2021 and worked as a special assistant and deputy cabinet secretary. From 2022 to 2023, he worked as vice president for public policy, communications and public affairs for Portland General Electric.

In May, Blosser decided against running for a seat on the Portland City Council after learning he would have to give up his ownership in his family's winery -- Sokol Blosser Winery -- located in Dayton, Oregon, as first reported by the Willamette Weekly.

"I am honored to lead the new Task Force, which will coordinate efforts across the federal government and partner with states and Tribal governments to restore native fish populations while ensuring communities and businesses continue to have reliable clean energy in the region," Blosser said in a prepared statement.