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Issue 256�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������
�November 28, 2006
In this issue:
Introducing Heather Kenneson
Dam breaching is not the answer
Remaining appropriations bills postponed indefinitely
Introducing Heather Kenneson
PNWA is pleased to introduce Heather Kenneson. Heather is very excited
to have joined the PNWA team.� As
Communications Manager, Heather will be responsible for planning all PNWA
events and meetings, including our Mission to Washington, and maintaining the
website, collateral, and the Nor�wester newsletter.
Prior to joining PNWA, Heather planned and managed events for numerous
establishments in Portland, Oregon and most recently worked in television
programming, promotions, and website maintenance in Portland, Maine.� Heather graduated from the University of
Connecticut in 2000 with a Bachelor�s degree in Applied Mathematics.
Heather returned to the Northwest in September 2006 to enjoy all that the
area has to offer and is looking forward to joining Glenn and Kristin in
achieving the goals of our membership and region.� Heather may be reached at heather.kenneson@pnwa.net
or 503-234-8553 (direct).
Dam breaching is not the answer
�Revenue Stream�, a report by Save our Wild Salmon (SOWS) and others
on the costs and benefits of removing the four Snake River dams, was released
November 15. The report claims that taking out the dams will �save American
taxpayers and Northwest ratepayers between $2 billion and $5 billion over 20
years, and will also generate at least $9 billion in new revenue.�
The report stimulated newspapers in Eugene, OR and Idaho Falls, ID to
editorialize in favor of breaching the dams. The Tri-City Herald was highly
critical of the report. The Seattle P-I did not endorse the report. Instead,
they urged more dialogue between environmental groups and upriver economic
interests.
PNWA rejects the conclusions of the report. The report recycles information
from previous studies on the replacement cost of power, the cost to shift
from barging to truck or rail, and the benefits from increased recreational
activities after the dams are breached. The power and recreational studies
cited were discredited by independent economic review teams. The author of
the transportation study criticized the report�s authors for inaccurately
reporting the results of his study.
On November 15, NOAA Fisheries' Northwest regional administrator Bob Lohn
told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council that the SOWS report
"glosses over the underlying facts". He said that much of the
historic habitat for Snake River fall chinook would remain inaccessible even
with the breaching of the four dams. He also disputed the report�s
characterization of salmon recovery cost savings. Lohn said the $600 million
per year in fish program savings cited in the report is not being used just
for the four Snake River runs, but to improve all 13 ESA-listed stocks, and runs
in the Columbia Basin. Lohn also warned that drastically changing the
existing system has risks for the fish.
Dam breaching is not the silver bullet that some would have the public
believe. Juvenile survival through the system is higher than before the Snake
River dams were built. Adult returns have been higher in four of the last
five years than at any time since the first dam was built in 1938.
Dam breaching is bad for the environment. Clean hydropower would have to be
replaced with natural gas, coal or nuclear plants. Barging would have to be
replaced by trucks, which would consume more fossil fuel, put more pollution
into the air, and add congestion through the sensitive Columbia River Gorge
airshed and the Portland/Vancouver metro area.
And, dam breaching is bad for the economy. The hydropower system cannot be
replaced in an economically justifiable way with wind and conservation. The
dams provide peaking power necessary to meet demand in critical periods. The
four Snake River dams have the capacity to produce nearly 3,500 MW of power,
on demand, when needed. Shifting from barging to rail and truck would require
a $1 billion investment, and still would not meet regional transportation
needs.� And it would remove barging as
a modal competitor to rail.
For more information, please visit www.pnwa.net, and click on �Issues�.
Remaining appropriations bills
postponed indefinitely
The 2007 fiscal year began on
October 1st, but unfortunately, Congress has not finished work on most
appropriations bills for FY2007.� Most
federal agencies have been operating under a continuing resolution (CR),
which is set to expire next Friday, December 8.� This CR only allows the Corps and most other
agencies to spend at the lowest of three possible levels:� 1) FY2006 appropriations as signed into
law, 2) FY2007 House bill, or 3) the FY2007 Senate bill.� This makes an already difficult job even
tougher, especially when dealing with projects that have limited fall or
winter in-water work windows.
Many had held out hope that Congress would complete work on the remaining
appropriations bills, and roll them into a large omnibus spending bill during
the lame duck session scheduled for next week.� However, it is now reported that certain Members
of Congress have been successful in holding up this remaining appropriations
work, and another lengthy CR is very likely to be adopted next week.� Some Hill watchers have even forecasted
that these appropriations bills won�t be finished when the new Congress is
seated in January, and that the agencies will be forced to operate under a CR
for the entire 2007 fiscal year.� The
President�s FY2008 budget is expected to be released the first week of
February, and it would be difficult to have two appropriations processes
occurring at the same time.
PNWA joins with other groups around the nation to ask Congress to complete
work on the FY2007 Energy & Water appropriations bill as soon as
possible.� For a complete list of
PNWA�s supported appropriations projects in the House and Senate appropriations
bills, please visit our website at www.pnwa.net.
Pacific Northwest Waterways Association������������������������������� www.pnwa.net
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