Electric Co-op Today

With the Obama administration on board, supporters of a plan to protect an endangered species of salmon in the Pacific Northwest hope a federal judge will end a long-running dispute in the region and endorse the proposal.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced Sept. 15 that the administration endorsed the plan, known as a biological opinion, though its addition of a provision that could lead to breaching of dams on the lower Snake River concerned some utility representatives.

Lawyers submitted the plan, which calls for $1 billion in annual spending on salmon recovery, to U.S. District Court Judge James Redden, who previously struck down two plans for dealing with fish in the Columbia River Basin system.

“The time has come to move out of the courtroom and get to work recovering salmon and preserving the region’s unique way of life,” Locke said.

The Obama administration had sought extra time from Redden to go over the plan, submitted in 2008 by the Bush administration.

That plan was a consensus effort that involved state governments in the Northwest, utilities, tribes and federal agencies with responsibility for salmon protection.

Redden’s review has major implications for co-ops and members’ bills, because salmon restoration in the region represents about 30 percent of the cost of hydropower that consumer-owned utilities buy from the Bonneville Power Administration.

Scott Corwin, executive director of the Portland, Ore.-based Public Power Council, which represents about two dozen co-ops and other consumer-owned utilities, praised the administration’s declaration that the plan is based on “sound science.”

“We have long supported use of the best available science to guide our efforts and our spending on salmon recovery,” he said.

Tags: Bonneville Power Administration, Energy and Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Salmon