Dam Breaching Decision Pt 1
I’m Bob Larson. A federal report released by the Army Corps of Engineers deep-sixes the notion of breaching dams on the Lower Snake River in Southeast Washington.
U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse says this Draft EIS was well worth the wait …
NEWHOUSE … “Well, certainly, we can look at the initial read of the draft EIS and appreciate the hard work and the efforts by many, many people over, I think, the last three and a half years of putting together, but we’ve all been saying we should wait for the science to tell us how to operate the river.”
Seeing it as a positive, Newhouse says, it confirms what we’ve been trying to say all along …
NEWHOUSE … “As far as I understand, the breaching of the dams is not the preferred solution. Certainly, there are still some things that need to be considered on how we better operate the river system, but, yeah you’re right, that’s a positive thing that we can pick from it at least at first reading.”
With regards to the invitation Newhouse sent recently to Oregon Governor Kate Brown to tour Ice Harbor Dam, he says …
NEWHOUSE … “That was in response to a letter that she made public and sent to our governor Inslee expressing her support for dam breaching in order to enhance the ability of salmon to survive.”
Newhouse says the draft EIS is the product of years of scientific collaboration and research conducted by federal agencies.
Listen tomorrow for more on Newhouse’s invitation to Governor Brown and how more decision makers could benefit from touring the dams.
