IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 63

Expressing the sense of the Congress opposing removal of dams on the

Columbia and Snake Rivers for fishery restoration purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 18, 1999

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. WALDEN,

Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. HANSEN,

Mr. POMBO, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. SKEEN, and Mr. DOOLITTLE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress opposing removal of

dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers for fishery

restoration purposes.

Whereas approximately 75 percent of the Pacific Northwest’s

electricity used to create and maintain jobs is provided by

Columbia and Snake River system dams, which generate

renewable energy without creating any air or water pollution;

Whereas the Corps of Engineers estimates that the flood control provided by the dams on the Columbia and Snake
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River system prevented $4,600,000,000 in damages from

potential floods in 1996 and 1997;

Whereas the Columbia and Snake River system, located in

the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, is an essential transportation link for United States exports of

all types of products, including transporting 43 percent

of all United States wheat exports in 1997;

Whereas replacing the power currently generated by the dams

on the Columbia and Snake Rivers would result in significant increases in costs to consumers and could cause

significant harm to the economy of the Pacific Northwest;

Whereas water collected in the Columbia and Snake River

system irrigates half the productive farmland in Oregon,

Washington, and Idaho, despite the fact that only a net

7 percent of the total flows in that system are diverted

for all human uses;

Whereas producers who ship their products on the Columbia

and Snake River system save approximately $38,000,000

per year over land based transportation, a savings which

keeps United States exports competitive on world markets;

Whereas the Columbia and Snake River system allows large

volumes of freight to be moved with negligible impact on

air quality, and replacing this transportation capacity

would require use of 120,000 rail cars or 700,000 trucks;

Whereas recent studies by the National Marine Fisheries

Service indicate that the survival rates of salmon and

steelhead migrating down the Columbia and Snake River

system have stayed the same or increased since 1961,

even as four dams were added to the Snake River;
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Whereas the Federal interagency group known as the Plan

for Analyzing and Testing Hypotheses Group concluded

that removing four dams on the lower Snake River could

not guarantee meeting established fish recovery targets

for fishery restoration; and

Whereas improved fish hatchery processes, including fish acclimation processes, have resulted in the first successful

run of coho salmon on the Yakima River in 3 decades:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That—

3 (1) the dams on the Columbia and Snake River

4 system provide tremendous economic and environ5 mental benefits to the United States that should be

6 retained;

7 (2) plans for the recovery of federally protected

8 fish species in the Columbia and Snake River Sys9 tem should not rely on dam removal schemes;

10 (3) efforts to maintain healthy and sustainable

11 populations of resident and anadromous fish in the

12 Columbia and Snake Rivers must address all the

13 factors impacting species population and health, in14 cluding ocean conditions, harvest levels, predation,

15 and passage around and through hydroelectric

16 projects; and

17 (4) any comprehensive fish recovery plan for

18 the Columbia and Snake River system must be
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1 based on sound data and consider the economic and

2 social costs associated with changes to the manage3 ment and use of the river infrastructure.

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