Anti-dam activists have been gaining a lot of traction. According to activist group American Rivers, 80 dams were removed in 2023, which was up from 65 the previous year.
Among the dams removed this year were four dams along the Klamath River, a 257-mile long river in southern Oregon and northern California which saw the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. The removal created a sediment plume that extended two miles into the Pacific Ocean, reportedly killing large amounts of fish in the river, and impacting other wildlife in the area.
Siskiyou County Supervisor Ray Haupt told Just the News that such impacts continue to linger. Initial fish reports have some “pretty low numbers,” but this year’s population counts won’t be known for another month.
The Biden-Harris administration last year negotiated an agreement with plaintiffs who are suing for the removal of four dams on the Snake River. Critics say the negotiations were carried out without full public participation of stakeholders, and it seeks to provide a policy path for breaching the dams.
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Anti-dam activists have been gaining a lot of traction. According to activist group American Rivers, 80 dams were removed in 2023, which was up from 65 the previous year.
Among the dams removed this year were four dams along the Klamath River, a 257-mile long river in southern Oregon and northern California which saw the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. The removal created a sediment plume that extended two miles into the Pacific Ocean, reportedly killing large amounts of fish in the river, and impacting other wildlife in the area.
Siskiyou County Supervisor Ray Haupt told Just the News that such impacts continue to linger. Initial fish reports have some “pretty low numbers,” but this year’s population counts won’t be known for another month.
Snake River
The Biden-Harris administration last year negotiated an agreement with plaintiffs who are suing for the removal of four dams on the Snake River. Critics say the negotiations were carried out without full public participation of stakeholders, and it seeks to provide a policy path for breaching the dams.
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In September the Department of Energy announced it was launching a study to explore how “replace the power and services provided by the four Lower Snake River Dams should Congress authorize removal.”
There are more than 400 dams on the Columbia River Basin, and more than half of those generate hydroelectric power. As a result of all the hydroelectric power in the Pacific Northwest, Washington state has the lowest electricity rates in the county. The four dams on the Snake River supply 3,000 megawatts of baseload carbon-free electricity, but the Biden-Harris administration’s agreement explores how to replace all that with intermittent and expensive wind and solar.
Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, said in a statement on the study that the association “will be very aggressive in advocating for the dams.”
Read more at Justthenews.com
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