I recently theorized that the EPA is doubling down on the destruction of this country, as Biden’s poll numbers are collapsing and woke bureaucrats seek to use what power that they have in the time still remaining to them.
The same is true for the rest of the administration, as evidenced by the fact that a leaked document shows an agreement for the federal government to spend $1 billion replacing four functional hydroelectric dams along Washington’s Snake River with green energy alternatives.
The U.S. government is willing to help build enough new clean energy projects in the Pacific Northwest to replace the hydropower generated by four controversial dams on the Snake River, according to a leaked Biden administration document that is giving hope to conservationists who have long sought the removal of the dams as a key to restoring depleted salmon runs.Still, Congress would have to agree before any of the Lower Snake River dams in Washington state are removed, and that’s unlikely to happen in the near future.The document is a draft agreement to uphold 168-year-old treaties with four tribes in the Pacific Northwest that preserved their right to harvest fish in the river, among other things.
As a reminder, these dams began construction in the 1960s, when the federal government actually supported the idea that Americans should have access to reasonably priced and reliable energy.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District owns and operates the four lower Snake River dams, all of which are multiple-use facilities that provide navigation, hydropower, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation benefits.Because of their locations, size and ability to help meet peak power loads, these four dams do much more than generate energy–they are key to keeping the system reliable and helping to meet its multiple uses — including supporting wind energy. The Snake River dams lie east of the other federal generators, so they provide a significant technical contribution to transmission grid reliability.
The draft agreement has not been made public, but the Washington publication, the Tri-City Herald, obtained a leaked copy.
The Biden administration negotiations have been controversial because they have not included electric ratepayers, among others, who would pay the price for changes to how the hydroelectric system is managed on both the Snake and Columbia rivers.Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., has reminded the Biden administration that Congress has the exclusive authority not only on any decision to breach the Snake dams, but also the exclusive authority to direct the study of removing them or to authorize replacement resources.He was joined by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho and Cliff Bentz, R-Ore.The proposed agreement was negotiated as part of the federal lawsuit that is paused until Dec. 15 to allow plaintiffs in the lawsuit to discuss the draft agreement and next steps on the dams with select tribes and litigation parties and to approve proposed actions and commitments.
What is the reason for the potential dam breaches? Supposedly endangered salmon.
The Snake River is the main tributary of the Columbia River, flowing from Idaho and eastern Washington into Oregon. The four dams provide irrigation and emissions-free hydropower for nearby communities, but they have also contributed to the near extinction of 13 salmon and steelhead species that return to the Columbia Basin from the Pacific Ocean to spawn, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Oregon congressman Cliff Bentz, a Republican who opposes removing the dams, joined four other state Republican congressional representatives from Idaho and Washington in writing to President Joe Biden on Wednesday, asking for clarity on some of the proposed actions – which include the possibility of removing the Snake River dams – and where replacement power would come from. Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, signed the letter.“It is imperative that our constituents, whose livelihoods depend on the Columbia River system, have a comprehensive understanding of this document’s contents,” they wrote, “so they can anticipate and prepare for the wide-ranging impacts that will inevitably be felt across the region should the commitments detailed in this document be realized.”
The dangers to the region’s agriculture, industries, and residents appear to be lacking in the considerations made by Team Biden.
Utility and business groups Northwest RiverPartners, the Public Power Council and the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association called the draft agreement the “greatest threat” for the region in a joint statement released Wednesday, saying dam breaching would hurt the region’s ports and farmers and could raise electricity prices.“This proposal turns its back on over three million electricity customers as well as the farming, transportation, navigation, and economic needs of the region,” the groups wrote….Eliminating the dams would also dramatically change the way farmers in Idaho and Washington and Oregon transport their crops, forcing them to rely on truck and rail transportation instead.The town of Lewiston, Idaho, is home to the most inland seaport on the West Coast, and farmers in the region rely on barges to ship their crops. There are no nearby railroads, and shipping trucks must traverse winding and sometimes treacherous river-side roads.Other lawmakers — including Idaho Rep. Mike Crapo and Sen. Jim Risch and Montana Rep. Steve Daines — have argued that the government should find other ways to save the fish.
Of course, if you are interested in regional destruction, weakening the nations, and spreading human misery…destroying hydroelectric dams is an excellent plan.
If the draft document does become a reality, then the good people of Washington better hope nuclear options become available. I don’t see solar or wind farms working out nearly as reliably as these dams have.
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