The Salmon are Back
New plan makes sense for salmon and the region

Like most utilities in the region, Benton PUD purchases the majority of our power from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).  Rate increases from BPA in the past few years have had serious consequences on ratepayers and the Northwest economy.

One large factor affecting power rates is the amount of money spent on fish and wildlife programs.  Over 20 percent of your electric bill pays for fish and wildlife funded by BPA.

Since 1978 Northwest ratepayers have spent more than $6.5 billion on fish and wildlife programs.  This is the most extensive and expensive effort to protect fish and wildlife in the world.  Some say that more money is needed from ratepayers to solve the problem.  Benton PUD wants to see a results-based approach of spending for salmon to be ensured that the money spent is better defined and cost-effective.

The federal government has released its draft proposal, called a “Biological Opinion” (Bi-Op) which outlines how the Columbia River Power System will operate to protect fish listed under the Endangered Species Act over the next 10 years.  This draft document is the first step to promote cost-effective restoration efforts for the benefit of salmon and ratepayers.  It calls for the continued investment of around $700 million each year, collected through your electric rates, on fish programs.

As record numbers of salmon and steelhead return to the Columbia River for the fourth straight year, the debate over salmon protection rages on. After a year of analysis and collaboration, NOAA Fisheries, the agency responsible for protecting threatened salmon and steelhead, has incorporated the latest scientific findings and technological innovations in the Bi-Op.  Now it will be up to U.S. District Court Judge James Redden to determine if the plan and its new protections will go forward, or if the plan will get stuck in court again.

The Bi-Op, now with four additional years of research and investigation, focuses on specific improvements that will make a real difference for fish.  There is an increased emphasis on predator control and clearer measures for habitat and hatchery operations.  The plan promotes new fish guidance technologies – called removable spillway weirs - that further ease the passage of fish through the system. Finally, the new plan includes increased emphasis on performance measures to ensure that the significant resources devoted to salmon recovery actually deliver the intended results.  Judge Redden wanted more assurance that planned measures were reasonably certain to occur. This biological opinion meets that standard. 

So great is the level of cynicism among salmon “advocates” that almost no plan devised by the federal agencies goes unchallenged, either politically or in court.  But endless law suits and doomsday pronouncements don’t save salmon. The truth is that the runs have improved to record levels, thanks to the measures already being implemented, in concert with good ocean conditions.

The outstanding salmon runs in the last four years demonstrate that the massive investments made for salmon recovery are making a difference.  An endorsement of the new biological opinion would foster greater cooperation among all parties and provide better results for salmon and for citizens of the Northwest.