Salmon Solutions and Planning Act

Thirteen salmon and steelhead species in the Columbia and Snake River Basin are listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as a consequence of various factors, including the construction and operation of hydroelectric projects, harvest management practices, habitat degradation, altered in-stream flow regimes, and unsound hatchery practices.

The original range of Snake River salmon included not only their existing habitat, but also habitat in the upper Columbia River and the upper Snake River Basins, including southern Idaho, southeast Oregon, and northern Nevada.

Since the construction of 4 Federal dams on the lower Snake River in Washington, all salmon and steelhead populations in the Snake River are either already extinct or listed as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Without action, climate change and rising water temperatures will continue to have detrimental effects on many North American coldwater fish species, including salmon and steelhead populations. Due to their high-elevation spawning grounds, Snake River salmon are key to maintaining and rebuilding those salmon populations threatened by rising water temperatures throughout the Columbia River Basin.

Salmon and steelhead populations have major economic, ecological, educational, recreational, scientific, cultural, and spiritual significance to the Nation and its people. Even at their current depressed population levels, these salmon and steelhead populations generate hundreds of millions of dollars in direct and indirect benefits for communities in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California; restoring these populations is estimated to generate billions of dollars in additional revenue for these States.

The United States has signed treaties with Indian tribes in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho and with the Government of Canada, creating legally enforceable treaty obligations to restore salmon populations to sustainable and harvestable levels.

The Federal Government, the Bonneville Power Administration, and United States ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest have spent more than $11,000,000,000 on salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia and Snake River Basin to date.

A federally funded group of State, tribal, Federal, and independent scientists found that removing the 4 lower Snake River dams in Washington is the surest way to protect and recover these salmon and steelhead populations. Similar conclusions have been reached by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Commerce.

Significant sediment buildup behind the Lower Granite Dam poses a flood risk to the city of Lewiston, Idaho. A study by the Army Corps of Engineers found that nearly $2,000,000,000 worth of buildings and infrastructure face a growing threat of major damage from levee breaching. The same Corps study estimates that the costs of river-dredging and levee-raising needed to protect this area could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

A Federal court has found that all 4 lower Snake River dams violate water quality standards under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).

The removal of the 4 lower Snake River dams would open up more than 100 miles of free-flowing river ways to inland Northwest communities and provide needed resources for more effective and efficient freight transportation systems.

In the event the 4 lower Snake River dams are removed, their electricity generation, freight shipping, and water supply benefits must be replaced through other means in order to protect affected communities, farms, and the regional energy supply system; the dams' energy benefits should be replaced with cost-effective, clean renewable sources that focus on energy efficiency and conservation.

Studies have found that the Northwest has ample additional existing and potential clean renewable energy sources to replace the renewable electricity produced by the 4 lower Snake River dams in an environmentally sound and cost effective manner.

By completing the planning and evaluation required under this Act, the Northwest and the Nation will be better prepared to efficiently manage salmon recovery and ensure prompt implementation of Federal salmon recovery actions needed to protect and restore wild Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead.

to ensure the protection and recovery of wild Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead to self-sustaining, harvestable levels, while providing for reliable, reasonably priced, clean renewable energy in the Northwest, a reliable and affordable freight transportation system, an economically sustainable salmon recovery program; and

to maximize the economic benefits of removal of the 4 lower Snake River dams while mitigating for its impacts.

the impact, if any, that removal of the 4 lower Snake River dams would have on recovery of salmon and steelhead populations; and

any additional actions that may be necessary to achieve recovery of salmon and steelhead populations.

to the Secretary of the Army for consideration in developing the updated feasibility study under section 8;

to the Secretaries of Commerce, Transportation, Energy, and the Interior and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and

to Congress.

currently use barge transportation between Lewiston, Idaho, and the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers; and

would be unable to do so if the 4 lower Snake River dams were removed.

increases, if any, in shipping costs that would result if the 4 lower Snake River dams were removed; and

options for addressing any such increases so as to minimize the potential impact on shippers.

input and feedback from—

any suggestions or decisions arrived at through consensus deliberations of the same or similar participants.

to the Secretary of the Army for consideration in developing the updated feasibility study under section 8; and

to Congress.

existing, planned, and potential clean renewable energy resources; and

energy efficiency, energy conservation, and combined heat and power projects.

to the Secretary of the Army for consideration in developing the updated feasibility study under section 8; and

to Congress.

the riverfront revitalization and restoration opportunities that would exist in the event of the removal of the 4 lower Snake River dams; and

the costs that would be incurred to implement such revitalization and restoration measures.

to the Secretary of the Army for consideration in developing the updated feasibility study under section 8; and

to Congress.

take into consideration the results of the studies and analyses carried out under this Act; and

incorporate and address, at a minimum—

complete the re-evaluation and update and submit a report thereon to Congress within 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act;

include in the report a determination of engineering options and costs; and

submit the results of the re-evaluation and update (including such determination of engineering options and costs) to peer review generally in accordance with section 2034 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (33 U.S.C. 2343) to determine the accuracy of the preferred engineering options and costs.

incremental electricity produced as the result of efficiency improvements to existing hydroelectric generation projects, including in irrigation pipes and canals, where the additional generation in either case does not result in new water diversions or impoundments;

wind;

solar energy;

geothermal energy;

landfill gas;

wave, ocean, or tidal power;

gas from sewage treatment facilities;

biomass energy (as defined in section 932(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16232(a))), excluding energy derived from—

any combination of the energy resources described in this paragraph.

The Ice Harbor dam.

The Lower Monumental dam.

The Little Goose dam.

The Lower Granite dam.