Letters Dec. 1

Rail meetings

Residents of Colfax, Albion and all of Whitman County have two opportunities for their opinion to be heard concerning the future of the idle rail line between Colfax and Pullman. Pullman Civic Trust and Washington State Department of Transportation are hosting a workshop in Colfax, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. in the new Center, next to the Whitman County Library. A second workshop will be held, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5:30 p.m. in the Albion Community Center.

These workshops follow three sessions held earlier in Pullman. Bob Westby, manager of the rail for WSDOT, who owns the line, explains the current operator of the line, Washington and Idaho Rail, will be filing a request to discontinue service. This must be approved by the federal Surface Transportation Board. The line has been idle since one of the 14 trestles burned in 2006.

Three options will be discussed at the meetings. WSDOT could pull the rail and keep the property. The land could be returned to adjacent landowners. The third option, the line would be rail banked, to hold the property for the future, should a need arise. An agency, such as the Pullman Civic Trust, could then take over the line and develop a trail.

There would be costs to the state, with either of the three options, the rail would be taken up to be used elsewhere, the crossings would be removed, and weeds would have to be sprayed. Westby estimates it will cost $7 million to $9 million to develop a recreational trail on the line. Lisa Carloye, president of the Pullman Civic Trust, is confident grants would be available to assist with the construction costs.

Property owners along the line have voiced their objection to rail banking. Barney Buckley opposes rail banking, “Why hold the line for future use, when there was very little use before the fire, and absolutely no use in the last 10 years? With all the trestles to maintain and one to replace, how can rail banking be justified? There is a viable line from Palouse to Fallon and Pullman with less trestles.” Buckley adds, “A fiber optic line was run along the county road, not on the rail right of way. What utility would want to fight the river and trestles?”

Larry Farr adds, “If the property were to come back to the adjacent property owners, that 200 plus acres the line occupies would then be on the tax roll and be adding to county money instead of costing the county money.”

As a member of the Leadership Team planning the meetings, I wonder where the money for a trail will come from. People say, “we can get a grant.” A grant would still come from taxpayers pockets. Where will annual maintenance money come from?

Five entities contribute to the maintenance of the Chipman Trail, at a total cost between $35,000 to $40,000 yearly. This Colfax to Pullman trail would be over twice as long, so over twice the cost.

Albion people have been very adamant Albion has no funds to put into developing or maintaining a trail. The same story has been heard from Pullman, Colfax, and Whitman County.

I encourage county residents to attend the meetings. This is not just a Colfax or Pullman issue, every person in the county that pays taxes will be paying for this trail. This is our chance to have a say in where our dollars are spent. Come prepared with a two minute speech and let your voice be heard.

Karen Hinnenkamp, Colfax

Time to support them

Following Judge Michael Simon’s recent decision to require a full review of the Columbia and Snake River systems, there has been a movement to reevaluate what our dams mean to Eastern Washington.

Here in our region, the four lower Snake River dams provide renewable, reliable, affordable energy and act as a superhighway for barges to transport goods.

As a community, we need to let our federal partners know that we want to continue to invest in and improve our dams.

Currently, the Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking a public “scoping” period through Jan. 17, 2017, providing an opportunity for Eastern Washington residents to voice their support for dams and the benefits they offer to the region.

I have long been a champion of our dams and the power they produce. I am the co-chair of the Northwest Energy Caucus and the founder of the Hydropower Caucus, which provide a platform for me to educate my colleagues in the House and Senate about the importance of dams and advocate for them. This year, I authored bipartisan legislation to streamline the dam relicensing process, which, if enacted, would lower electricity costs in Washington state. Currently, the four lower Snake River dams generate enough energy to power 1.87 million homes with clean, renewable hydropower. Nearly 70 percent of Washington’s energy comes from hydropower, and dams are the reason our energy bills are so low.

There are some who believe the Snake River dams are not allowing for adequate salmon recovery. However, thanks to collaboration between states, tribes, federal agencies, and private property owners, our salmon are returning at record levels. Since 2014, more than 2.5 million adult salmon and steelhead passed Bonneville Dam, the highest returns since they began counting in 1938. The Sockeye, Fall Chinook, and Coho were also among record and near-record runs as well.

In fact, one of the biggest threats to fish are not the dams, but invasive predators. Many coalitions in support of our dams and fish have made serious efforts to remove invasive predators. To assist in their efforts, I support Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler’s (WA-03) legislation, the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act. This legislation removes non-native California seals, which eat salmon as they enter the ocean or when they return to our rivers to spawn.

The Snake River dams also allow for the efficient, cost-effective, low-carbon transport of goods. Nearly 10 percent of all U.S. wheat exports are shipped through the four lower Snake River dams. It would have taken more than 43,000 rail cars, or more than 160,000 semi-trucks, to move the goods that went by barge in 2014. The shipping of goods throughout our system of locks and dams translates into jobs, and an estimated 40,000 port-related jobs exist in the Northwest thanks to our dams. That number is much higher when you take into account the jobs created and sustained by the entire Columbia and Snake River systems.

I am proud to be a champion of our dams and the role they play in energy production, transportation, and trade. Everyone benefits from our dams, and I encourage everyone in Eastern Washington to voice your support. If you were unable to attend one of the scoping meetings held this fall, there is still time to submit written comments to the Army Corps of Engineers before the Jan. 17 deadline. Learn more about how to voice your support at .

Everyone benefits from our dams, and I will continue to do my part in Congress to make sure they are supported.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers