Contact: Brian Gorman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(206) 526-6613 (O) 1/25/95
(206) 441-1250 (H)
The National Marine Fisheries Service today released a draft biological opinion requiring major changes in the way the Columbia River hydropower system is operated after concluding that current operations jeopardize the continued existence of endangered Columbia Basin salmon.
The biological opinion, issued pursuant to a federal court ruling, will require more water for moving salmon through the river system and a change in dam operations to increase survival of fish moving through the facilities.
The draft opinion is part of an ongoing settlement negotiation in the case of Idaho Department of Fish and Game vs. NMFS. In that case, a federal judge said a previous opinion did not meet appropriate legal standards.
NMFS' draft opinion, subject to a 10-day review by the states, tribes and other parties that are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, follows by a little more than a month approval of a salmon recovery plan by the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC), which also called for major changes in the hydropower system.
"The opinion is a biologically sound and financially affordable blueprint for restoring the health of the Columbia and Snake basin," said William Stelle, director of NMFS' Northwest regional office in Seattle. "These actions will not only recover species listed as endangered but will also help restore dozens of salmon stocks that are at historically low levels.
"The opinion incorporates the best science available. It is based on the recommendations of the Snake River Recovery Team, and it builds on the work of the Northwest Power Planning Council."
The estimated costs of the proposal average approximately $160 million a year -- similar to the costs of the plan adopted by the Northwest Power Planning Council.
The parties to the litigation, including affected Indian tribes and the states of Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho, will have until Feb. 6 to review and comment on today's opinion.
Stelle said the goals of the plan are the restoration of the Columbia Basin itself and of the many runs of salmon that have played such a central role in shaping the identity, the economy and the environment of the Pacific Northwest.
The preliminary opinion also establishes a goal of project- specific improvements that will increase fish survival at the dams 60 percent above current levels. These improvements include better collection devices to guide fish safely past the electricity-generating turbines.
It calls for continued improvements in the system for transportation of fish around the dams when river conditions are poor for alternate routes.
During their journey, which can be as long as 900 miles, the young fish are subjected to a number of hazards, ranging from gauntlets of predators in slack water in the reservoirs behind the dams to the churning electricity-generating turbines within the dams.
The opinion addresses all sources of mortality in the hydropower system by recommending improved flow of water in the rivers, better transportation of young fish by barge around the system's dams, safer passage for young fish through the dams themselves and modifications to a number of hydropower operations and facilities.
The draft biological opinion assures that there is as much water as possible in storage by each April 20, the start of the spring/summer fish-passage season, to provide the maximum benefit to fish. The improved flow will help fish move through the system safely and the additional stored water will result in flow targets being met in most years, according to the draft biological opinion.
In addition, the draft sets limits to how much water can be drafted from each of four reservoirs in the hydropower system. By limiting how much water can be withdrawn from the storage in the reservoirs, resident fish and wildlife at the reservoirs can be protected.
Specifically, the draft opinion also calls for:
ø Spilling water over the dams -- and thus bypassing the
turbines -- to increase passage of juvenile salmon via
non-turbine routes to at least 80 percent.
ø Improving the program to transport juveniles by barge
around the dams. The barges will be modified and more
barges purchased. The amount of transportation will be
determined by river conditions, with more fish left in
the river when conditions are good.
ø Developing surface collector technology that helps
guide young salmon away from the turbine intakes and
into the bypass system.