11 May
2001
Media Contact:
Charles Hudson, CRITFC,
(503) 731-1257
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Tribes appeal to BPA for
life-saving spill as migration peak nears
Portland, Oregon
- Dismayed by the
inadequate response of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) during
its self-declared crisis, the Columbia River Treaty Tribes told BPA
Administrator Steve Wright to reconsider a tribal proposal for spill
at federal dams. In a letter to Wright today, Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission (CRITFC) Executive Director Donald Sampson challenged
the Administrator to make use of operational and financial tools to
give "some equity back to salmon."
"The salmon are now in the river and are in critical need of spill
and flow protection. Will history show that Bush Administration's
federal agencies wasted a decade of salmon recovery investment by
condemning all of the fish to turbines and lethal dam bypass systems,"
asked Sampson in the bluntly worded letter. Today's letter outlines
several operational and financial actions the commission believes
"responsible, balanced and equitable while maintaining electrical
reliability for the Northwest." Those actions include:
- Ensure that spill be the priority use of BPA-purchased irrigation
water (91 kaf);
- Increase draft from Brownlee in May; refill Brownlee from Upper
Snake River releases during June;
- Reduce pumping into Banks Lake by 50% for May and June;
- Reduce the number of commercial lockages in the Columbia and
the Snake River by 50%;
- Place a surcharge on transmission as a loan to its power business
line;
- Collect approximately $80 million owed it by California for
power created from fish water released during the winter months.
"President Bush campaigned against dam breaching while favoring an
aggressive non-breach recovery plan," said Sampson. "This is a time
to get aggressive. These agencies have spent millions of dollars on
projects trying to achieve one- to two-percent in-river survival increases.
Spill comes comparatively cheap. If this is really about money, then
he should order BPA to get creative and aggressive to keep its own
river system healthy. BPA has been demonstrating some remarkable legal
and financial gymnastics to satisfy irrigators, aluminum and shipping,
it's appropriate that they break a sweat to help fish this small bit,"
said Sampson today.
"This is a solid proposal in the spirit of the Northwest Power Planning
and Conservation Act of 1980," said N. Kathryn Brigham, member of
the Board of Trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla.
"It gives the salmon some protection and the lights stay on...precisely
what the Act intended."
Legally mandated spill at federal dams in the Columbia and Snake rivers
has been abandoned during the ongoing BPA-declared emergency plunging
already weakened salmon runs through the most lethal routes in the
river system. Without spill, the salmon resource is left to turbine
passage, mechanical bypass and transportation with all of their uncertainties.
The 800 megawatt months of spill in the tribal plan provide a more
biologically sound, "spread the risk" approach for migrants reaching
the lower Columbia. The tribal proposal calls for a fraction of the
spill Ð approximately 8 days versus 62 days- required in the 2000
federal Biological Opinion.
The tribal 'spread the risk' strategy would provide salmon several
passage routes in the face of the uncertainties surrounding this year's
river conditions. The tribes cite a 1977 study that showed a 25% upriver
to downriver survival rate compared to a 3% rate without spill and
flows (1977 was a similar drought year).
Specifically, the proposal recommends:
- Bonneville Dam-50 kcfs/24hrs
- The Dalles Dam-30% of riverflow/24 hours
- John Day Dam-30% of riverflow/Night only
- McNary Dam-30 kcfs/every other night
Spill Ð literally spilling water through dam spillways Ð has proven
to be the superior method of passing juvenile fish through hydroelectric
projects while reducing mortality. The Independent Scientific Advisory
Board among other prominent fisheries biologists are urging that spill
begin as soon as possible as the spring migration is underway and
will peak in May. A failure to dedicate water to spill programs at
federal dams could risk a wholesale slaughter of juvenile fish.
The Commission reiterated its rejection of an earlier BPA proposal
to swap summer spill at Grant PUD for spring spill in the lower river
- an inappropriate and irresponsible trading of risk from one stock
to another. The BPA proposal would also force parties "to walk away
from a historical spill settlement agreement that took a decade to
negotiate and finalize" according to today's correspondence.
Representatives of the tribes have been meeting with White House officials
in recent weeks to discuss salmon and energy related issues. Additionally,
the tribes have called on President Bush to review their proposal
and act quickly to aid migrating juvenile salmon
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is the technical coordinating
agency of the treaty tribes of the Columbia River Basin (Umatilla,
Warm Springs, Nez Perce and Yakama).
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About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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