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Replacing barges a low-cost option
Report: Transferring Snake River cargo to rail cheaper than operating dams
A new report on the economic repercussions of removing the lower Snake River dams to save salmon gives both farmers and salmon advocates some real numbers to argue about, with costs and potential benefits put in clearer perspective.
The BST Associates report provides the most detailed cost estimates to date for shifting shipments of grain, paper and other goods from lower Snake River barges to trucks and rails. Barges – which move crops from Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana to West Coast ports – could not navigate the Snake to reach the Columbia River if the four hydroelectric dams were removed. Farmers have argued that the costs of rail shipping would be prohibitive.
The "Lower Snake River Transportation Study," commissioned by a handful of conservation groups, says replacing barges with rail transportation could cost as little as $44 million and as much as $420 million. That range is far lower than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 2002 estimate of $206 million to $541 million.
The BST study looked at all transportation expenses, including highway maintenance, rail upgrades and expansion of grain unloading facilities, necessary to make cargo flow as efficiently as it currently does on barges. The report focused on infrastructure in eastern Washington, western Idaho, and northern Oregon.
'Modest' millions
American Rivers regional director Rob Masonis called the new study's numbers "modest." Even at the high end, BST's cost estimate is dwarfed by the amount of money federal agencies spend to maintain the dams and operate salmon recovery programs, he noted.
Salmon-recovery groups, tribes and other environmentalists say dam removal is necessary and, in the long run, the cheapest route to bringing healthy salmon runs back to the Snake. And in the larger context, BST's numbers support that contention.
The federal government spends $36.5 million annually to operate and maintain the four lower Snake River dams, and the Corps plans to spend an additional $390 million over the next 10 years to keep them operational. American Rivers says those figures don't include the estimated $45 million per dam the Corps plans to spend on fish spillway devices.
Federal salmon recovery measures in the Columbia River basin, which includes the Snake River, rack up another $500 million annually, much of which is spent barging fish around dams. That cost would go much higher if a so-called "aggressive non-breach" salmon plan were eventually implemented.
Meanwhile, the four lower Snake dams generate relatively little electricity – about 5 percent of the region's power. During winter months, when the region's electricity needs are highest but Snake River flows are low, the dams produce only 2 percent of the region's needs.
Will farmers bear the costs?
But wheat growers don't find the big picture so inspiring. Citing the 3 to 7 cents per bushel fee for shipping grain in rail cars, they say they'll unfairly bear the costs of transition.
The report addresses that concern ... to a degree. It notes that even without dam removal the rail lines that currently carry more than half the wheat and barley that arrives at the lower Columbia for export will be overloaded in 10 to 20 years.
Short-haul systems in eastern Washington – which carry grain from outlying elevators to ports on the upper Columbia and Snake – are deteriorating because rail companies cannot charge enough to pay for upgrades or maintenance.
Dam removal would merely hasten expenditures that, while costly, are clearly inevitable, the report indicates.
The BNSF Railway, a major freight carrier connecting eastern Washington to lower Columbia ports, said last year that rail could absorb barge shipments without charging farmers significantly higher rates.
BST's report references a state study showing investments in rail lines would bring significant economic returns. Improved infrastructure would preserve $11 million in annual wages and benefits from rail-dependent businesses, and better rails could attract new employers to the region.
Washington's legislature has already agreed to spend $33.5 million improving the short-line system – so some appropriation for replacing Snake River barges is already in place, American Rivers notes.
Finding the low-cost road
American Rivers analyst Michael Garrity said his group believes the cost of the upgrades included in the BST Associates report will swing closer to the low end of the range. For example, he said, the cost BST lists for grain elevator expansions seems unnecessarily high compared to estimates given by a Washington State University economist.
Working with data from the BST report, American Rivers has come up with its own preliminary estimate, setting the cost range for transferring barge traffic to rail at $17 million to $225 million. Any impact on farmers could be reduced if even a portion of the half billion dollars now spent annually on salmon recovery were rerouted into agriculture assistance, Garrity said.
The BST report is "very helpful for providing a clear framework for what areas of infrastructure need to be addressed, but they tended to go all out with the high-end scenario.
"Considering the investments already made by the state of Washington, and alternatives analyzed by the mainline railroads, we're probably talking about tens of millions in additional investments, not hundreds of millions," Garrity said.
To read the entire "Lower Snake River Transportation Study," go to: http://www.americanrivers.org/docs/LSR_Transportation_Study_Final_Report.pdf .