Environmental groups and the State of Oregon are seeking a court injunction to force federal dams on the Columbia River to lower reservoirs and increase the amount of water they spill downstream.
The court filing is the latest turn in the fight over the Columbia River’s endangered salmon populations. It comes after the Trump administration canceled a long-term agreement between states, tribes and the federal government to work on salmon recovery.
The Nez Perce Tribe and the State of Washington, both parties to that agreement, are expected to file briefs in support of the requested injunction, according to the law firm Earthjustice.
“When the Trump administration reneged on this carefully negotiated agreement — and offered no alternative plan to restore imperiled salmon and steelhead — we had no option but to resume our longstanding litigation to protect endangered salmon,” Earthjustice Attorney Amanda Goodin said in a press release.
The requested change in dam operations is designed to increase river flow through the dams, which makes the long ocean journey easier for young salmon.
“The stagnant, hot water reservoirs created by the dams on the lower Snake River continue to drive these fish toward extinction,” Bill Arthur of the Sierra Club said in a statement.
These steps would result in less water for generating hydropower, one of the region’s major sources of electricity.
In an emailed statement, Northwest Public Power Association executive director Kurt Miller called the court filing “an alarming threat to the livability of the Northwest.”
He decried the involvement of Oregon and Washington’s governors in the litigation, saying it would harm ratepayers.
“The potential consequences are clear: less clean energy, soaring costs for families, schools, farms, and businesses, and a genuine danger of blackouts,” Miller said. “The stakes could not be higher—every Northwest resident stands to lose.”
Spokespersons for Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Washington Governor Bob Ferguson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agreement canceled by the White House had put an end to decades of lawsuits. It included more than $1 billion in funding for states and tribes and called for a federal government-wide effort to restore salmon.
In the short term, it created more flexibility for the federal government to generate hydroelectricity.
But the long-term aim of the agreement centered on the possible removal of four dams on the Snake River in Washington that have long been a concern for salmon advocates.
Dozens of Columbia River salmon scientists say removing those four dams is a necessary step to restoring endangered populations on the Snake River. A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reached the same conclusion.
Replacing the output of four hydroelectric dams is a complicated and costly endeavor, however, at a time when the Pacific Northwest faces surging energy demand and state-driven mandates to cut carbon emissions.
The Trump administration canceled several ongoing studies of how to replace the benefits of the dams.
This story may be updated.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.