East Idaho Times

U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) has issued a statement in response to the launch of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest Regional Energy Planning Project.

“The last thing Idahoans need is the Biden-Harris administration forcing its extreme mandates on our energy planning, transmission, and infrastructure decisions. This is another thinly veiled attempt to push for breaching the lower Snake River dams. We need more reliable, baseload power, not less. Fortunately, this administration has absolutely no authority to remove these dams. That power rests with Congress alone. These dams aren’t going anywhere,” Risch stated.

Senator Risch has consistently defended the lower Snake River dams and introduced the Northwest Energy Security Act to safeguard the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System.

In 2022, a draft report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), released by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), advocated for breaching at least one of the Lower Snake River dams to enhance salmon populations. Additionally, a study commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) outlined scenarios for replacing power generated by these dams.

After four years of comprehensive scientific study of Columbia River System Operations, a record of decision was released in September 2020 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration affirming the critical importance of these four dams to the region.