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Yakamas Drop Columbia Dam Challenge
The Yakama Nation
dropped a bid for control of two dams on the Columbia River
one month after PacifiCorp
pulled its support in the challenge. The fall of that partnership not only puts salmon at peril, but the interests of the people of the Northwest as well, according to Ted Strong
, a Yakama Nation consultant.
“The Northwest community has always expressed a deep desire for salmon survival and for low-cost power,” Strong explained. “The partnership between PacifiCorp and the Yakamas was the ultimate in terms of balancing energy and environmental needs. Now there is no balance.”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
licenses on the Wanapum
and Priest Rapids
dams, now managed by Grant County Public Utility District
(PUD), expire in 2005. PacifiCorp and the Yakama Nation initiated the license challenge last summer, pledging to deliver greater public benefit with increased efficiency and more effective fish and wildlife protections.
Grant subsequently presented license renewal contracts to its customers, complete with a non-compete clause and a signing deadline of December 31. PacifiCorp, Puget Sound Energy
, Seattle City Light
(SCL) and other utilities filed a lawsuit challenging Grant’s non-compete clause. PacifiCorp chose to abandon the license bid and signed its contract when a King County
court ruled the clause was legal.
Grant’s original offer also contained a clause limiting comment on fisheries management practices. Bob Royer
at SCL called it a “be good” clause. “We took it to mean we would be an ineffective player in protecting salmon, which we have a big interest in,” Royer said.
Grant responded to SCL concerns with an amended contract minus the silence clause and agreed to improve relations with the Yakama Nation. The city scheduled a February 7 briefing to continue discussing the contract, which must be approved by the Seattle City Council.
Strong said the Yakama Nation would welcome improved rapport with Grant PUD but no structure or process exists to ensure the Tribe has a voice in river management. And the fish are in trouble, he added. “Still, the best managers of salmon cannot be utility companies.”
— Corinne Hollister