By Miles Johnson, Legal Director
Originally published in Columbia Riverkeeper “Currents” Issue 2, 2024
In tumultuous times, we take strength from a powerful force: the Columbia River. Pause. Reflect. Celebrate what we’ve accomplished together for the river, our neighbors, families, and those who come after us.
Protecting Salmon Habitat
Our vision for the Columbia River includes abundant, harvestable runs of salmon that help sustain communities, economies, cultures, and Tribal rights. Yet there are 14 dams on the mainstem of the Columbia River (and more than 450 dams throughout the entire watershed) that significantly affect the river’s flow, water quality, and salmon runs.
Columbia Riverkeeper’s work to protect and restore salmon focuses on removing dams, improving fish passage, and restoring water quality necessary for native fish to spawn and migrate. We prioritize these solutions because they work: Where adequate fish passage and water quality have been protected, certain wild runs of Columbia River salmon have recovered and now support sustainable fisheries.
Lower Snake River dam removal has gained unprecedented momentum in 2024, thanks to tremendous leadership from—and a binding legal agreement among—Tribal Nations, the states of Oregon and Washington, the Biden-Harris administration, and dedicated organizations like Columbia Riverkeeper. One hallmark of this momentum is a Tribal Circumstances Report, detailing the historic and ongoing harm to Tribal Nations and people from the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
“It is the first time the federal government tells the truth about how the construction of the dams on the Columbia River devastated salmon runs, inundated tribal villages, important regional gathering and trading centers, sacred sites, burial grounds, and fishing areas that tribes depended upon for subsistence and trade” said Corinne Sams, Board of Trustees Member at Large for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Other important signs of progress include the initiation of federal plans to replace irrigation infrastructure and power generation to enable Lower Snake River dam removal. But there are no guarantees or easy answers. And the Bonneville Power Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers continue to resist dam removal. Nevertheless, Columbia Riverkeeper believes that we, along with so many others, have created the best opportunity for Lower Snake River dam removal and basin-wide salmon recovery in several decades. We fully intend to see it through.
We have good news regarding Lower Snake River temperatures, too. For the last decade, Columbia Riverkeeper and many others have used science and the Clean Water Act to ratchet up pressure on the Army Corps to reduce heat pollution caused by the Lower Snake River dams, which often kills salmon. As a result of that work, and courageous leadership from the Washington Dept. of Ecology, the Army Corps recently released a one-year schedule for working with state, Tribal, and federal partners to plan for reducing the Lower Snake River dams’ heat pollution. We are especially encouraged by the Washington Dept. of Ecology’s clear statements that nothing is off the table when it comes to studying what could be done to keep the Lower Snake River cool enough for salmon—like drawing down reservoirs for part or all of the year. We still have a long road ahead, but we have renewed hope in light of the progress made.
“[This report] is the first time the federal government tells the truth about how the construction of the dams on the Columbia River devastated salmon runs, inundated tribal villages, important regional gathering and trading centers, sacred sites, burial grounds, and fishing areas that tribes depended upon for subsistence and trade.” Corinne Sams, Board of Trustees Member at Large for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Addressing Toxic Contamination
For over a century, corporations and some federal agencies treated the Columbia River like a dump. While the region has made important progress for clean water, certain areas of the Columbia still contain dangerous types and levels of toxic pollution.
Columbia Riverkeeper believes that everyone has the right to drink clean water, swim in the river, and eat locally caught fish without fear of toxic contamination. We are working to restore those rights by advocating for swift, effective cleanup of toxic sites and promoting rules that limit additional pollution.
This year, we are pleased to report continued progress on getting toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) out of the Columbia: After much pressure from Tribes and Columbia Riverkeeper, federal agencies finally signed the Bradford Island Cleanup Agreement. The Army Corps dumped industrial waste on Bradford Island and in the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam for decades. As a result, resident fish around Bonneville Dam have the highest levels of cancer-causing PCB contamination in the United States, making them unsafe to eat and harming Tribal and diverse communities who depend on these fish to sustain their livelihoods and cultures. “We’ll keep working in solidarity with Tribes and river communities until the Army Corps cleans up its toxic mess” said Kate Murphy, Senior Community Organizer.
At long last, the Washington Dept. of Ecology has proposed new water quality standards to protect people who often eat locally caught fish from toxic contamination. Tribes and other organizations, including Columbia Riverkeeper, have advocated for these rules for over a decade, using science, litigation, and grassroots organizing. Sadly, powerful polluting industries in Washington (like Boeing) have blocked progress until now. The proposed rules set water quality standards to protect all Washington residents from toxic and cancer-causing chemicals like mercury, arsenic, PCBs, and lead that accumulate in fish tissue.
Supporting River Communities
Just as the Columbia River is a collection of interconnected watersheds, Columbia Riverkeeper is one of many organizations and communities striving for a more just, healthy, and livable region. We have been the recipient of incredible support and partnership from countless members, foundations, and allies over the years. In turn, we look for ways to support those around us—especially those who have been or remain vulnerable, marginalized, or without access to resources or power. We embrace a mindset of abundance, and we believe that an important part of protecting and restoring the Columbia River is supporting others who also do that work.
Case in point: We closely partner with the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation’s Environmental Restoration/Waste Management (ERWM) program, helping to fund and conduct outreach at local schools and at community and Tribal events on and near the Yakama Nation reservation in Toppenish, WA. “It is critical to inspire the next generation of people who advocate for Hanford cleanup, since it will require many generations to protect the Columbia and everyone who relies on it,” said Esteban Ortiz, Program Coordinator for Columbia Riverkeeper. This year, we teamed up with ERWM to reach more than 150 students, and hundreds more at the Central Washington state fair in Yakima, with the hope of inspiring the next generation of Hanford Nuclear Site cleanup advocates.
Later this year, Seeding Justice will award over $2.5 million in grants to Tribes and nonprofits to protect and restore the Columbia. When Columbia Riverkeeper sues polluters, we hold them accountable in part by requiring that they pay a penalty, often to Seeding Justice’s Columbia River Restoration Fund. Seeding Justice’s role is to facilitate the community-led grantmaking process, and recruit, train, and support a grantmaking committee composed of environmental justice activists and organizers.
Fighting Fossil Fuels and False Climate Solutions
Columbia Riverkeeper continues to make progress in the fight to reduce our region’s climate pollution and reliance on fossil energy. In 2024, we used smart, creative legal arguments to challenge proposals that would manufacture and consume harmful fuels.
Columbia Riverkeeper recently began two different legal challenges to an unconventional diesel refinery proposed in the Columbia River Estuary. We are suing the Army Corps of Engineers for allowing the developer to haul heavy construction and refinery equipment along an aging levee—even though local farmers have expressed serious safety concerns and the Army Corps’ own inspections show that the levee is inadequate. In the words of Audrey Leonard, Columbia Riverkeeper’s Staff Attorney, “this is a very straightforward case. We’re asking the Army Corps to follow its own rules and keep local farmland above water.” We are also appealing Columbia County’s approval of a rail yard in agricultural land to serve the refinery. These lawsuits, if successful, could significantly reduce the potential harm caused by the refinery or lead to the cancellation of this misguided proposal. Terrific attorneys from Advocates for the West and Crag Law Center are representing us in these legal challenges.
Elsewhere, Columbia Riverkeeper worked alongside Tribes, nonprofits, and community members to convince the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) to limit fracked gas use. Together, we convinced the PUC to reject proposals by Oregon’s three gas utility companies that would have led to increased fracked gas consumption—and higher prices for Oregonians. We also won important victories at the PUC preventing NW Natural, Oregon’s largest natural gas utility, from gouging low-income families with high energy bills and passing on the costs of pro-fossil fuel lobbying efforts to Oregonians. Columbia Riverkeeper was represented by Earthjustice and the Green Energy Institute at Lewis & Clark Law School in this proceeding.
We are proud of our progress in 2024 and humbled by the support and partnerships that make these victories possible.
