Dept. of Ecology tells Army Corps: make a better plan to cool the Lower Snake River
By Miles Johnson, Legal Director
Four reservoirs on the Lower Snake River trap the sun’s heat, making the water too hot for salmon. For over a decade, Columbia Riverkeeper has been using science and the Clean Water Act to ratchet up pressure on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to reduce heat pollution caused by its dams. We just took another important step toward that goal!
What just happened: The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) rejected the Corps’ recent Water Quality Attainment Plan for the Lower Snake River reservoirs. Why? Because the Corps’ cynical proposal violated the Clean Water Act and included no new measures to reduce water temperature or help fish.
Columbia Riverkeeper and allies submitted technical and legal comments opposing the Corps’ bid to avoid responsibility for the Lower Snake River dams’ heat pollution. Ecology agreed with us that the Corps should go back to the drawing board and study what it would take to keep the Lower Snake River cool enough for salmon.
How did we get here? A quick timeline:
- 2014: Columbia Riverkeeper sues the Corps for discharging oil and heat pollution into the Lower Snake River without Clean Water Act Permits.
- 2015: 96% of adult endangered Snake River sockeye salmon die because of hot water in the Lower Snake and Columbia rivers. Major temperature-related fish kills occur in the summers of 2013, 2021, and 2023.
- 2016: Columbia Riverkeeper and allies sue under the Clean Water Act to require EPA to create a pollution budget (called a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, or TMDL) for heat pollution in the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers.
- 2017: Columbia Riverkeeper uses computer modeling to show that, without the dams, the Lower Snake River would be cool enough for salmon to migrate safely.
- 2019: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sides with Columbia Riverkeeper and allies, and orders EPA to write a temperature TMDL for the Lower Snake and Columbia Rivers.
- 2021: EPA releases a final temperature TMDL for the Lower Snake and Columbia rivers. The TMDL identifies the dams and reservoirs as major sources of heat pollution, and sets numeric temperature reduction targets for each dam.
- 2022: As a result of Columbia Riverkeeper’s original suit against the Corps, EPA finally issues Clean Water Act discharge permits for the Corps’ Lower Snake River dams. These permits require the Corps to make a plan (called a Water Quality Attainment Plan) to achieve the temperature reductions mandated by the TMDL.
What’s Next?
The Corps must study ways to keep the dams and reservoirs from heating up the Lower Snake River to levels that kill endangered salmon. Despite the Corps’ attempts to ignore potential solutions—like drawing down reservoir levels for part or all of the year—Ecology has made clear that nothing is off the table at this stage of the study.
The Corps has until September 1, 2024, to submit a detailed new plan or explain to Ecology the Corps’ procedure for producing a new plan in cooperation with Ecology, EPA, Tribes, and others.
Thank you!
Thank you to Ecology for continuing to stick up for abundant salmon and clean, cool water! Important decisions like this require dedication to detail, courage, and vision.
Thank you to the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, multiple Columbia River Basin Tribes, the State of Oregon, and partners including Snake River Waterkeeper, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Idaho Rivers United, and many more for supporting cold water.
Thank you to the excellent law firms and lawyers at Kampmeier and Knutsen, Advocates for the West, and Earthjustice who have provided excellent representation—and results—over the years.
Thank you to The Water Foundation and to the thousands of members and supporters who power Columbia Riverkeeper’s work!
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