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Newhouse 'Outraged' by White House Dam Breaching Draft Reports by Matthew Weaver Capital Press, July 22, 2022

The science says the lower Snake River dams and salmon and co-exist

Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse says he is "outraged" by the White House's recent draft reports studying breaching of dams on the lower Snake River, and that agriculture was "completely ignored."

Environmentalists have long argued that the four dams must be removed to promote salmon recovery, but agricultural stakeholders say those arguments don't consider the larger environmental threats to the fish, or the broader impacts to the environment and economy.

"The Biden administration has shoved science to the wayside, ignoring the multiple, multi-year, multi-million-dollar federal studies that have all come to the conclusion that breaching our dams is not the answer," Newhouse told the Capital Press.

"Even worse," he continued, "it appears that the Biden administration's (Council on Environmental Quality) has been working behind closed doors with plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit over the (Columbia River system operation) environmental impact statement, all while promoting a supposedly open and transparent stakeholder listening process meant to develop a regional solution for salmon and the river system."

Newhouse charged that "it seems pretty clear" that the Biden administration is "working hand-in-hand" with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray's "politically motivated" efforts to breach the dams, "and Central Washington communities are going to pay the price."

Breaching the dams requires congressional authorization, Newhouse noted.

"This decision is before Congress and no one else," he said.

Newhouse said he will continue to educate his colleagues, and that the science says not only do the lower Snake River dams and salmon and co-exist, but "dams are not the biggest problem that salmon face."

"There is much more to this argument than the dam-breaching advocates would like to include, and I will continue to educate on all sides of this issue," Newhouse said.

Newhouse said he has extended an invitation to lawmakers to tour the dams before, and he will continue to invite any member of Congress, Inslee or President Joe Biden to visit the dams and hear directly from the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dams every day.

"I would also encourage them to come and meet with the farmers, irrigators, transportation industry, shipping industry, and ratepayers throughout our region who rely on the Lower Snake River Dams," he said. "After analyzing the science, understanding the impacts, and witnessing the benefits that the dams provide, they would have a very difficult time justifying the actions that they have taken and the position they continue to uphold."

Inslee toured the Snake River in Asotin County in 2014, said Mike Faulk, press secretary for the governor's office.

Newhouse noted that the report is not an environmental impact statement.

"In fact, it is merely an opinion from the White House, and at this point, we don't even know if this opinion was written by scientists at all," he said.

Congress will continue oversight on the issue, and will be asking questions of the White House and CEQ moving forward, Newhouse said.

Related Pages:
Politicians, Environmentalists Ignoring the Facts on Snake River Dams, Salmon by John McKern, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 7/24/22
Central Washington Ignored in Snake River Dams Reports by Rep. Dan Newhouse, Grand Coulee Star, 7/12/22