Agricultural and electrical utility stakeholders continue to voice their concerns over an agreement forged between the federal government and plaintiffs in a lawsuit over Snake River dam operations.

The results of mediation between the federal government and plaintiffs were made public Nov. 29 by several members of the Northwest congressional delegation. The government and plaintiffs have a Dec. 15 deadline to present their final agreement in court.   

Various stakeholders addressed lawmakers Dec. 12 during a House Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee hearing. 

“We could actually get behind a lot of what is in this document, but the rest, the parts that were negotiated in secret, without proper stakeholder input … are showstoppers,” said Neil Maunu, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association.

None of the information that the association’s Inland Ports and Navigation Group provided as an intervenor defendant appears to have had any impact on the federal mediation process or its outcome, Maunu said.

“‘Healthy and abundant salmon populations’ is a vague and undefined policy objective that is not required by the Endangered Species Act,” he said. “The U.S. government commitments lack specificity, rely on flawed science and completely overlook the vital transportation, supply chain and resiliency concerns of our membership.” 

“We anticipate that under the best-case scenario, the impact to rates would be 5% and in the worst case, it would be 50%,” said Scott Simms, CEO and executive director of the Public Power Council, which represents nonprofit consumer-owned electrical utilities. “This U.S. government agreement shows a path towards dam breaching was always (the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s) master plan for the process.”

Under the agreement, there would be no limit to the Bonneville Power Administration and public power’s cost exposure, Simms said. The deal is “riddled with unacceptable risks and a range of potential extra costs for Northwest ratepayers.”

The agreement does not provide operational certainty for the hydro system, or protections or standards for power system impacts, he said.

“This agreement does not limit litigation risk or get us out of the courtroom,” Simms said. “Parties not bound to the agreement can bring lawsuits not barred by the agreement … Parties also not in this agreement might bring forth separate agreements outlining new costs and operational constraints in a compounding effect.

“… It’s the single greatest threat to Northwest hydro in decades,” Simms said.

“The lights in the Northwest are not going to go out when the four lower Snake River dams are removed,” said Lindsay Slater, vice president of governmental affairs for Trout Unlimited.

Slater is a former staff member for Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who first proposed a $33.5 billion plan in 2021 that called for preserving endangered salmon, halting environmental litigation and replacing the electrical services the dams provide.

He cited assertions made by Simpson, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, that benefits of the dams must be replaced before removal.

“We believed a win for each party and stakeholders was preferable to the existing status quo of lawsuits, appeals and uncertainty,” Slater said. “It is unacceptable for any administration to continue prioritizing the competitive position of BPA at the expense of tribal interests and salmon.”

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., chairman of the subcommittee, said he wanted to spotlight the “incredible damage” the proposed provisions would do to agricultural stakeholders and electrical utility ratepayers, and that it represents a “litigation clusterbomb.”

“I expect today’s discussion will also attempt to create a narrative that this administration is somehow hiding its actions from the public by not being here today,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Mo., ranking member on the subcommittee. “I would like to remind everyone that it is standard practice to have confidential mediations in these things called lawsuits. It’s overseen by the courts and there’s nothing nefarious about it.”

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