Tuesday July 16, 2024
KATU —
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and environmental groups are calling for the release of an overdue Army Corps of Engineers report ordered by Congress in 2022.
The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 called on the Corps to release a disposition study on the cost/benefits of de-authorizing hydroelectric power along eight dams on the Willamette River.
The Tribes and conservation groups have a vested interest in this report because they have been pushing for the corps to manage the Willamette Dams only for flood control (their original purpose) and not for hydropower production. This would allow more drawdowns of water from reservoirs into the Willamette River creating passage for Willamette Chinook Salmon and Steelhead to reach the Pacific Ocean. Blocking regular passage through dams has diminished much of the fish’s spawning and rearing habitat.