I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1615 

To ensure that proper planning is undertaken to secure the preservation 

and recovery of the salmon and steelhead of the Columbia River basin 

and the maintenance of reasonably priced, reliable power, to direct the 

Secretary of Commerce to seek scientific analysis of Federal efforts 

to restore salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2005 

Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself, Mr. PETRI, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 

Texas, Mr. LEACH, Mr. FARR, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. RAMSTAD, 

Mr. KILDEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. WALSH, Mrs. 

TAUSCHER, Mr. BOEHLERT, and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) introduced the following bill; 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 

A BILL 

To ensure that proper planning is undertaken to secure 

the preservation and recovery of the salmon and 

steelhead of the Columbia River basin and the maintenance of reasonably priced, reliable power, to direct the 

Secretary of Commerce to seek scientific analysis of Federal efforts to restore salmon and steelhead listed under 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and for other purposes. 
2 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Salmon Planning Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares that— 

7 (1) certain species of salmon and steelhead in 

8 the Columbia and Snake River basin are on the 

9 brink of extinction as a consequence of various fac10 tors, including hydroelectric projects, harvest man11 agement practices, habitat degradation, altered in12 stream flow, and unsound hatchery practices; 

13 (2) these salmon and steelhead have major eco14 nomic, ecological, educational, recreational, sci15 entific, cultural, and spiritual significance to the Na16 tion and its people; 

17 (3) salmon and steelhead are a symbol of the 

18 Northwest, support thousands of jobs in coastal and 

19 inland communities, and serve as an indicator of the 

20 health of Northwest river ecosystems; 

21 (4) the United States Government has signed 

22 treaties with Indian tribes of Oregon, Washington, 

23 and Idaho and with the Government of Canada cre24 ating a legally enforceable trust responsibility to re-
3 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 store salmon populations to sustainable, harvestable 

2 levels; 

3 (5) since the construction of 4 Federal dams on 

4 the lower Snake River in Washington, salmon and 

5 steelhead populations in the Snake River have plum6 meted, and all salmon and steelhead in the Snake 

7 River are extinct or listed under the Endangered 

8 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

9 (6) recent studies indicate that the time to pro10 tect remaining Snake River salmon and steelhead is 

11 short, with scientists estimating that, if changes do 

12 not occur, remaining Snake River salmon will be ex13 tinct in our lifetime; 

14 (7) salmon and steelhead extinction could cost 

15 taxpayers billions of dollars; 

16 (8) a federally funded group of State, tribal, 

17 Federal, and independent scientists found that par18 tially removing the 4 lower Snake River dams in 

19 Washington is the surest way to protect and recover 

20 Snake River salmon and steelhead; 

21 (9) several communities that rely on the 4 lower 

22 Snake River dams would be affected by partial dam 

23 removal; 

24 (10) a Federal court has found that the 4 lower 

25 Snake River dams violate water quality standards 
4 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

2 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and 

3 (11) energy production in the Northwest is 

4 heavily dependent upon hydropower and thus, the 

5 prospects for salmon recovery and Northwest energy 

6 production are inextricably linked. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to ensure the protection of Columbia and 

9 Snake River salmon and steelhead while providing 

10 for reliable, reasonably priced energy in the North11 west, an economically sustainable salmon recovery 

12 program, and effective mitigation of potential eco13 nomic impacts to communities from potential dam 

14 removal; and 

15 (2) to ensure that the Northwest and the Na16 tion have completed the necessary planning and eval17 uation to respond rapidly if major new actions are 

18 necessary to protect and recover salmon and 

19 steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River basin. 

20 SEC. 3. SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF FEDERAL SALMON RE21 COVERY EFFORTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

24 shall enter into an arrangement with the National Acad25 emy of Sciences providing for scientific analysis of Federal 
5 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 salmon recovery efforts and submission of a report on the 

2 results of the analysis in accordance with subsection (c). 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—For purposes of this section, sci4 entific analysis shall include, at a minimum, review of the 

5 effectiveness of Federal salmon recovery actions, antici6 pated Federal salmon recovery actions, and the timelines 

7 for, and feasibility of, implementing these actions. These 

8 actions and anticipated actions shall be evaluated in terms 

9 of whether they are likely to achieve recovery of salmon 

10 and steelhead populations listed under section 4(c) of the 

11 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533). 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the National Academy of 

14 Sciences shall submit to the Secretary of Commerce, the 

15 Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Interior, and 

16 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen17 cy a report on the results of the scientific analysis con18 ducted under this section. 

19 SEC. 4. GAO STUDY OF PARTIAL REMOVAL OF LOWER 

20 SNAKE RIVER DAMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall conduct a study of the potential effects 

23 of partially removing the 4 lower Snake River dams. 
6 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include examination 

2 of and recommendation for addressing, at a minimum, the 

3 following: 

4 (1) The economic effects of partial dam removal 

5 for communities near the dams, upstream from the 

6 dams, and for downstream and coastal communities, 

7 including downstream and coastal communities lo8 cated within the boundaries of Alaska and Canada, 

9 including employment gains or losses that would re10 sult from dam removal. 

11 (2) The effects of partial dam removal on trans12 portation by water, including— 

13 (A) the feasibility, costs, and sufficiency of 

14 alternative transportation by railroad, highway, 

15 and other means; 

16 (B) the economic benefits and costs of 

17 such alternatives; 

18 (C) the environmental impact of shifting to 

19 such alternatives; 

20 (D) the means for mitigating any environ21 mental harm that might be caused by the use 

22 of such alternatives; and 

23 (E) any development or expansion of such 

24 alternatives that would be required to continue 
7 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 moving the same amount of cargo that is cur2 rently transported by water. 

3 (3) The effects of partial dam removal on irri4 gation, including the availability of or need for alter5 natives to replace irrigation water or to extend irri6 gation pumps. 

7 (4) The effects of partial dam removal on en8 ergy production, including the regional effects of any 

9 changes in energy production, identification of re10 newable energy sources or energy efficiency meas11 ures that could replace any loss in energy produc12 tion, and the benefits and costs of such alternatives. 

13 (5) The effects, including economic effects, of 

14 the extinction of salmon and steelhead populations 

15 in the Snake River. 

16 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

18 shall submit to each of the Secretary of the Army, the 

19 Secretary of Commerce, and the Administrator of the En20 vironmental Protection Agency a report on the results of 

21 the study conducted under this section. 

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION AND PLANNING OF SALMON RE23 COVERY. 

24 (a) PARTIAL DAM REMOVAL AUTHORIZATION.—The 

25 Secretary of the Army, acting through the Corps of Engi-
8 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 neers, is authorized to partially remove the 4 lower Snake 

2 River dams if— 

3 (1) the Secretary of Commerce finds that such 

4 action is necessary to restore Snake River salmon 

5 and steelhead populations to meet obligations under 

6 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (33 U.S.C. 

7 1531 et seq.); 

8 (2) the Secretary of the Interior finds that such 

9 action is necessary to meet treaty obligations to In10 dian tribes or other sovereign nations; or 

11 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

12 Protection Agency finds that such action is nec13 essary to meet requirements of the Federal Water 

14 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

15 (b) PRELIMINARY PLANNING WORK.—The Secretary 

16 of the Army shall undertake such preliminary engineering, 

17 design, construction, and other activities as may be nec18 essary to remove the 4 lower Snake River dams pursuant 

19 to subsection (a). This work shall be completed within 12 

20 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (c) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro22 priated to the Secretary of the Army $4,000,000 to carry 

23 out subsection (b). Such sums shall remain available until 

24 expended. 
9 

•HR 1615 IH 

1 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) FEDERAL SALMON RECOVERY ACTIONS.— 

4 The term ‘‘Federal salmon recovery actions’’ means 

5 Federal actions required to protect and restore salm6 on and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River 

7 basin that are listed under section 4(c) of the En8 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)). 

9 (2) LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS.—The term ‘‘4 

10 lower Snake River dams’’ means the following dams 

11 on the Snake River, Washington: 

12 (A) The Ice Harbor dam. 

13 (B) The Lower Monumental dam. 

14 (C) The Little Goose dam. 

15 (D) The Lower Granite dam. 

16 (3) POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘populations’’ 

17 means the 12 evolutionarily significant units of 

18 salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake 

19 River basin that are listed under section 4(c) of the 

20 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

21 1533(c)). 

Æ