Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A federal judge's ruling has re-opened the question of environmental impact of Columbia and Snake River dams. As a result, a series of meetings will be conducted around the northwest this fall to gather public input on the matter.
Judge Michael Simon, United States District Judge for Oregon, ruled in May that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation had violated the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 “by failing to prepare an environmental impact statement in connection with their records of decision adopting the reasonable and prudent alternatives described in the biological opinion issued by NOAA Fisheries in 2014.”
NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
Following the judge's ruling, 15 meetings and two webinars have been announced as part of the Corps of Engineers' effort to draft an environmental impact statement by March 2020.
The meetings will help Corps' decide what is best for the system regarding potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts on flood risk management, irrigation, power generation, navigation, fish and wildlife, cultural resources and recreation.
“The intention is to talk about the operations on the systems,” said Amy Gaskill, Chief of Public Affairs, Army Corps of Engineers, Northwest Division. “Nothing's off the table. Dams will be part of the discussion as well.”
The Columbia River system includes 14 dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
The first of the meetings will be in Wenatchee Oct. 24 at Wenatchee Community Center from 4-7 p.m. Another meeting will be the next day at Coulee Dam. Other dates include Spokane Nov. 14 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Davenport Hotel, and Walla Walla Nov. 17 from 4 to 7 p.m in the Blues Room at the Courtyard.
For more information, call Columbia River Systems Operations at 1-800-290-5033.
Written comments may be submitted at any of the public meetings or mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CRSO EIS, P.O. Box 2870, Portland, Oregon 97208-2870. Emailed comments should be sent to [email protected]. When submitting comments, be aware that your entire comment including your name, address and email will become part of the public record.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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