President Donald Trump has rescinded a memorandum issued by his predecessor to safeguard salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin.
The memo, signed by Joe Biden September 2023, “placed concerns about climate change above the Nation’s interests in reliable energy resources”, the White House said in an online statement.
“The MOU required the Federal government to spend millions of dollars and comply with 36 pages of onerous commitments to dam operations on the Lower Snake River”, the presidential office said.
“Dam breaching would have resulted in reduced water supply to farmers, eliminated several shipping channels, had devastating impacts to agriculture, increased energy costs, and eliminated recreational opportunities throughout the region.
“The dam breaches would have eliminated over 3,000 megawatts of secure and reliable hydroelectric generating capacity – which is enough generation to power 2.5 million American homes”.
Biden’s memo, meant to honor U.S. “trust and treaty responsibilities” to tribal nations and enforce safeguards under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, directed all agencies with applicable authority to review their programs affecting native fish in the basin.
The memo also called for the formation of an intergovernmental partnership involving tribal nations and the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
In December 2023 the Biden administration signed an agreement establishing a 10-year partnership with tribes, conservation groups, Oregon and Washington to restore wild fish populations, including a federal investment of over $1 billion. The agreement also enabled a 10-year break from decades-long litigation against the federal government’s operation of dams in the Pacific Northwest.
Trump, through a presidential memorandum, has now directed the secretaries of energy, interior and commerce, as well as the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, “to withdraw from agreements stemming from Biden’s misguided executive action, including the December 14, 2023 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) filed in connection with related litigation”, the White House said.
“The specified agencies will coordinate with the Council on Environmental Quality to review and revise environmental review processes related to the matters in the MOU, save Federal funds, and withdraw from the MOU”.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement, “The Snake River Dams have been tremendous assets to the Pacific Northwest for decades, providing high-value electricity to millions of American families and businesses”.
Sierra Club Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign Director Bill Arthur said in a statement, “Withdrawing from this agreement that set the Northwest on a path to restore the Columbia Basin’s once fabled salmon and steelhead is wrongheaded and counterproductive. Commitments were made by the federal government in December 2023 to restore these salmon and honor tribal treaty rights. This decision sets all of that back, but the good news is that Northwest tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington will continue to lead these basin restoration efforts – and we will rally to support them”.
“The Northwest power system is in transition and the Columbia Basin Agreement created a unique opportunity to lead the nation in coordinating clean energy development and salmon recovery efforts”, said NW Energy Coalition Executive Director Nancy Hirsh. “Withdrawing from this collaborative effort is short-sighted and harmful to the reliability of our grid. This agreement was always broader than dam removal – it offered a comprehensive, strategic and positive approach to not only restore salmon and the basin, but to also ensure abundant, affordable and reliable clean energy across the region”.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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