Wednesday July 13, 2022
E & E News —
The White House today touted a new analysis from federal scientists that found breaching a series of four dams in Washington state is “paramount” to efforts to restore salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest but stopped short of endorsing the action.
Another report also highlighted by the Biden administration underscored the steep costs associated with removing the dams, including higher consumer energy bills and the need to replace as much as 2,700 megawatts of power.
For more than 30 years, governments have poured billions of dollars into species mitigation efforts for salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River basin, but the fish remain on the verge of extinction due to warming waters and predators.
In its draft report, NOAA recommended the breaching of the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams.