Dam Removal Rejection Pt 2
I’m Bob Larson. The proposed removal of four dams on the lower Snake River is a bad idea. At least, as far as U.S.
Representative Dan Newhouse is concerned. He says while Idaho Republican Mike Simpson, who proposed the removal, is a valued colleague, this is just not the answer for saving salmon …
NEWHOUSE … “I agree with the concern that this jeopardizes not only the agricultural industry in the Pacific Northwest, but so many other things that have been made possible because many of the benefits the dams provide, not the least of which is clean, carbon free, renewable hydroelectric energy.”
The proposal calls for making dam removal part of the President’s infrastructure plan, which Newhouse says is backwards thinking …
NEWHOUSE … “Trying to put something in an infrastructure package that is actually going to destroy infrastructure is not only ironic but to me it’s just not a good idea at all. And, we need to work together to make sure that the dams and the fish coexist.”
And that, Newhouse says will take cooperation …
NEWHOUSE … “We still have a lot of work to do, I’ve no question about that, but I think that should be the focus of our energy and not breaching the dams on the Snake or Columbia rivers.”
On Friday, Governor Jay Inslee and Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray also rejected Simpson’s plan.
