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'Path to Breaching' Snake River Dams Rattles Northwest by Steve Ernst and K.C. Mehaffey Clearing Up, November 22, 2023

"We wanted to send the strongest possible signal to U.S government officials to
back off and immediately stop messing with the people of the Pacific Northwest"
-- Scott Simms, CEO and Executive Director of Public Power Council

Northwest public power utilities are threatening to pause discussions with the Bonneville Power Administration over post-2028 contracts because of "commitments the U.S. Government has made" in a confidential draft settlement agreement in the ongoing Columbia River System Operations litigation.

The Public Power Council, which represents over 100 consumer-owned utilities in the Northwest, told BPA in a Nov. 17 letter the draft settlement shows that "potential costs to Northwest ratepayers resulting from the Government's extensive proposed funding commitments, operational impacts, and future resource assurances create intolerable uncertainty for our utilities and collectively pose one of the greatest-ever threats to the [Federal Columbia River Power System]."

PPC said "the massive uncertainty regarding the future of the FCRPS" makes it difficult for Northwest public power utilities to commit to long-term contracts.

"Therefore, we believe BPA should now turn its attention to developing a five-year post-2028 option for our consideration, whether in the form of a new contract or an extension of the current contract. The uncertainty and exposure to unknown costs, operations and potential reliability impacts give us no other choice," PPC said.

The letter says that "any further degradation of FCRPS output, including energy and flexibility, is a serious threat to regional reliability that stretches even beyond BPA's own territory, given the well-documented resource adequacy needs of the greater West."

The lawsuit is over the impacts federal dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers have on listed salmon and steelhead -- National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service et al. [01-640]. It's been on hold for more than two years, which includes two extensions of the stay while parties worked to develop a "long-term comprehensive solution" for restoring healthy and harvestable salmon runs in the Columbia Basin. Throughout the stay, parties continued to file status reports, and the issue over breaching the four lower Snake River dams was the main sticking point.

The government commitment is part of a "package of actions and commitments" developed by representatives from federal agencies, environmental and fishing group plaintiffs, the states of Oregon and Washington, and four tribes -- the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

Plaintiffs and defendants notified the court of a potential agreement and multiyear stay when the most recent stay expired on Oct. 31 (Clearing Up No. 2131).

Groups representing public power complained that they were shut out of discussions and before seeing the proposal began to worry that ratepayers would be exposed to additional costs without having any input into the process.

Scott Simms, CEO and executive director of PPC, said his members are considering pausing the post-2028 contract talks because the "totality of the U.S. government's commitments and actions are going to cost the region" and "it was abundantly clear from all corners of Northwest public power that we are serious in our level of concern about where BPA goes from here."

"We wanted to send the strongest possible signal to U.S government officials in the Nation's capital that are involved in this process to back off and immediately stop messing with the people of the Pacific Northwest and our clean, reliable hydro system," Simms told Clearing Up. He declined to discuss any specific concerns in the agreement, citing confidentiality rules in negotiations over the CRSO.

The draft memorandum of understanding does not include breaching or depowering any of the four lower Snake River dams, but it puts the region on a "path to breaching," according to multiple sources who agreed to speak with Clearing Up on the condition that they remain anonymous over fear of retribution from the White House.

The MOU includes a multibillion-dollar infusion of capital to four Pacific Northwest tribes to develop enough renewable energy to someday replace generation from LSRD, allowing for the four dams to eventually be removed, multiple sources confirmed to Clearing Up. But dam breaching would also require authorization from Congress, some sources said, and federal agencies are not committing to breaching or removing the dams.

The tribes that would receive funding to develop clean-energy projects include the Yakama Nation, CTUIR, the Warm Springs Tribe and the Nez Perce Tribe, according to sources. Those are the same tribes that were involved in settlement negotiations, according to an Oct. 31 court filing.

Several sources said the tribes could form a collective tribal energy organization that sells power back to BPA. Northwest public power is concerned that BPA may be forced buy the power, although it's unclear if that would be allowed under the Northwest Power Act.

Several sources said the U.S. Department of Energy could not force BPA to buy from the tribes, citing Section 6 of the Northwest Power Act, which directs how BPA acquires additional generating resources.

"We don't think that's legally enforceable, but it could push BPA into a political situation where the tribes say, 'We had a deal, you set up this plan for the tribes, and once again you're breaking a treaty,'" a source said.

Sources said the agreement also includes a $2 billion Columbia Basin restoration plan that would be paid out over a 10-year period. However, it's not clear if that would be funded by BPA and its ratepayers.

But "all signs point to BPA," several sources said.

The MOU also includes "operational changes" that would benefit BPA during certain times, but would be similar to this year's operations. Sources pointed to BPA's flexible-spill agreement that allows for spill to be curtailed at times of the year when power prices are typically high.

"The spill operations would be a little more generous, but only a little more," a source with direct knowledge of the plan told Clearing Up.

In an Oct. 31 filing with the court, plaintiffs and federal defendants said they intended to either present a joint motion to end litigation or a joint schedule for further proceedings by Dec. 15.