{"id":2282103,"date":"2024-06-23T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-23T14:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wa-ecology-feds-to-host-meetings-on-breaching-lower-snake-river-dams-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-23T10:52:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-23T14:52:19","slug":"wa-ecology-feds-to-host-meetings-on-breaching-lower-snake-river-dams-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wa-ecology-feds-to-host-meetings-on-breaching-lower-snake-river-dams-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"WA Ecology, Feds to host meetings on breaching Lower Snake River dams &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwa-ecology-feds-to-host-meetings-on-breaching-lower-snake-river-dams-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2282103&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new study\u2062 initiated\u2064 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the \u2064Washington State Department of Ecology is examining the potential consequences of breaching Washington\u2019s four Lower \u200bSnake River dams, a move that\u200b could significantly \u2064affect nationwide energy supply. This study, expected to be released in draft form by the end of the year, is part of a broader effort linked to the Biden administration\u2019s \u2064December agreement concerning Columbia River System Operations. The goals of this agreement include salmon population restoration, support for clean energy, and the stability of\u2064 local tribes\u200d and communities. Two\u2064 virtual public meetings are scheduled to provide more\u200c information and gather\u200b input on the study.<\/p>\n<p>The importance of this study stems \u2062from Washington&#8217;s role as \u200ca leading hydroelectric power producer\u2064 in the U.S., responsible for a \u2062significant portion of the nation&#8217;s total hydroelectric capacity. The discussions around potentially breaching the dams underline critical environmental considerations coupled with\u2064 the infrastructural impacts on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-fla-authorities-investigating-hack-on-pinellas-county-water-supply\/\" title=\"FBI, Fla. authorities investigating hack on Pinellas County water supply\">water supply<\/a>, irrigation, and industrial use\u200b in the area.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 A new study is underway, considering the potential impacts if Congress were to breach Washington\u2019s four Lower Snake River dams, a decision that could impact energy nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology are conducting the effort and plan to release a draft by the end of the year; as part of the process, the agencies will host two online meetings next week to discuss the study and answer questions.<\/p>\n<p>According to a news release with links to the events, the agencies will host the first meeting on June 25 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the second on June 27 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is to \u201cobtain a detailed understanding of current water supply and irrigation [as well as] municipal and industrial uses near the four Lower Snake River dams\u201d to \u201cevaluate impacts to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/environment-policies-are-leaving-california-farmers-within-the-dust\/\" title=\"Environment Policies Are Leaving California Farmers Within The Dust\">water delivery<\/a> in the event Congress were to authorize breach of the dams,\u201d according to the release.<\/p>\n<p>The study is just one of many that the Biden administration committed to back in December when it reached an agreement in litigation over Columbia River System Operations. The deal includes restoring salmon populations impacted by the federal dams, supporting clean energy and ensuring the general stability of the tribes and communities along the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/las-vegas-moves-to-ban-certain-types-of-grass-in-conservation-effort\/\" title=\"Las Vegas Moves To Ban Certain Types Of Grass In Conservation Effort\">river system<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement also included a commitment to invest approximately $1 billion over the next decade to support the initiative, especially if Congress grants permission to breach the dams.<\/p>\n<p>According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Washington leads the nation in producing hydroelectric power; last year, it constituted 60% of the state\u2019s generated electricity and one-fourth to one-third of all hydroelectric generation nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>In January, Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers held a hearing over Biden\u2019s agreement. Some stakeholders used it to speak out against the process, which excluded much of their input, while others noted its financial consequences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re saying it doesn\u2019t have a big impact on rates because they\u2019re not including the cost of the replacement power,\u201d said Jim Matheson, chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, during the hearing. \u201cIf you want to build replacement power when you breach these dams, which I don\u2019t think you can do and have the same comparable resource by the way, you\u2019re going to spend a lot of money and it will have a big impact on rates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, the White House announced the creation of a new Columbia River Task Force intended to help fulfill the Biden administration\u2019s commitments.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The announcement followed a report from the U.S. Department of the Interior about the ongoing impacts of federal dams on the Columbia River tribes. However, the report also included a Disclaimer noting that it only analyzed a few of the dams and tribes and did not tell the whole story. Additionally, the agencies said it was written in a manner that supported the conclusions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are our local stakeholders and leaders not included on, or even informed of, a taskforce designed to fundamentally alter our region\u2019s economic landscape,\u201d Central Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse wrote in a news release. \u201cThis is nothing more than a disingenuous ploy for this administration to check a political box in the name of environmentalism and tribal relations. Their only \u2018task\u2019 is breaching our carbon free, renewable, and affordable energy base that supports the lives of the people of Central Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study examines the potential national energy impacts of breaching Washington&#8217;s four Lower Snake River dams. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology are leading the study, with plans to publish a draft soon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2282104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23259073899305-2-1-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32239,6617,8180,32238,32076],"class_list":["post-2282103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-breaching-lower-snake-river-dams","tag-feds","tag-meetings","tag-wa-ecology","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23259073899305-2-1-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}