Lower Snake River Dams ©EcoFlight
By Jennifer Yachnin
02/07/2025 01:51 PM
The Trump administration is pushing back a review into how dams on the Columbia River system could be operated to benefit endangered salmon and steelhead population, extending a deadline set under the previous White House by nearly two months.
In a joint statement Thursday night, both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation announced a new May 9 deadline for a supplemental environmental impact statement focused on 14 dams on the waterway. Related public meetings are also being rescheduled to take place in April, instead of next week.
"This extension will allow additional time to receive vital public input and engagement on this important topic," the agencies said in the statement. The deadline had been in March. "USACE and Reclamation are committed to transparency and meaningful public participation, and both agencies are still available to discuss the SEIS and provide information related to this process."
The review, which began in late December under the Biden administration, was triggered by the "Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement," the name of the $1 billion settlement agreement reached in 2023 between the federal government and plaintiffs in a lawsuit centered on hydropower operations on the waterway.
The settlement paused the lawsuit for up to 10 years, while federal agencies and the Nez Perce, Yakama, Warm Springs and Umatilla tribal nations, as well as the states of Oregon and Washington, study the impacts of breaching four of the dams and how to replace services like marine transportation, hydropower and irrigation services.
Although the settlement does not explicitly call for removing any dams, proponents have not shied away from admitting that their goal is to see four structures — the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite hydropower dams — breached.
That action, however, would require Congress' authorization, and GOP lawmakers who currently control both chambers and the White House have expressed opposition.
The Trump administration also opposed breaching those dams in the previous review of the Columbia River system, which was completed in 2020. That review found that the dams could spill more water to support endangered fish populations, instead of being removed.
E&E News: Trump admin extends environmental review of Columbia River dams
