Nik Blosser, former PGE Exec and Chief of Staff for Kate Brown appointed Executive Director
A Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) map of federal, non-federal, and treaty dams in the Columbia River Basin. The newly created task-force will look at dams on the Columbia Basin and potential ways to improve fish habitat, while also focusing on power generation from renewable sources.
The spillway of the John Day Dam under construction – in the early 1960s.The John Day Dam was completed in 1971, and was one of the last dams to be built on the Columbia River. A new report says that the dams have impacted the Tribes and fish populations.
Native Americans tour the Grand Coulee Dam in the 1940s. The Grand Coulee was a modern marvel at the time, using 12 million cubic yards of concrete – enough to build a highway from Seattle to Miami. It also had some of the first fish ladders for modern dams, which became functional in 1939.
The Biden Administration announced the formation of the Columbia River Task Force on June 18, following the release of a report on the river's past and future impacts on Native American Tribes.
Nik Blosser, the former Vice President of Portland General Electric and chief of staff for Gov. Kate Brown, was appointed Executive Director of the task force.
The report on the Columbia River was completed by the US Dept. of the Interior. The report is highly critical of federal dams and their impacts on Tribes.
Titled, "Historic and Ongoing Impacts of Federal Dams on the Columbia River Basin Tribes," the 70-page report identifies the historic and cumulative impacts that dams have had on Tribes in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
By acknowledging these issues, the report says, the "federal government can uphold its trust responsibilities to the Basin Tribes by ...addressing these impacts with future actions."
The report was completed in an agreement to stop ongoing litigation against the Columbia River dams.
Known as the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement – several Tribes, the states of Oregon and Washington, the U.S. government, and the National Wildlife Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding for ten years, and filed a motion to stay litigation with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in December of 2023.
Instead of resolving issues through the courts, the Interior Dept., along with the Governors of Oregon and Washington, will partner with Tribes to forge a new direction.
The report provides a short analysis of eleven federal dams on the Columbia River: the four lower Columbia dams (Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary), the two upper Columbia dams (Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee), the four lower Snake dams (Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite), and Dworshak dam, located on the North Fork Clearwater River just upstream of a tributary to the lower Snake River.
The report examines eight of the Columbia Basin's Tribal Nations most immediately affected by those dams: Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Nez Perce Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, and Spokane Tribe of Indians.
The Interior Dept. report predominately uses testimonies and histories from Native Americans. The report also looks at historical actions – such as the 308 Reports which laid out a plan to generate hydropower from the Columbia River. President Teddy Roosevelt began this effort in 1907 – and it was brought to law in 1933 by the Bonneville Project Act, which instigated a vast hydroelectric system. However, the report says that these plans didn't include tribal interests and some actions violated treaties with Tribes.
The report makes no recommendations to breach or alter dams. It does highlight several dams, such as the Chief Joseph Dam in Washington, that does not have fish ladders. The report also talks about the John Day Dam, and how its construction inundated the lower nine miles of the John Day River and destroyed salmon habitat.
But while the report does not make recommendations about altering dams, it does heavily utilize another report from 1999 - "Tribal Circumstances and Impacts of the Lower Snake River Project on the Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Shoshone Bannock Tribes."
The Biden Administration and the US Dept. of Interior believe the new report builds on the 1999 report and offers a historic agreement. While it is short on details, the hope is that the task force will bring together Tribes, states, and the federal government to restore wild salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin. The task force must do this while addressing the region's clean energy and transportation needs.
But while the Biden Administration is ready to dedicate $1 billion to the Columbia River Task Force, there will be challenges ahead. For example, there is a looming energy shortage in the Pacific Northwest. An industry report found that the Northwest will need an additional 4,000 megawatts of generation over the next five years – which is about 20% of the current output.
Data centers have significantly disrupted the power supply in the Northwest. Currently, data centers are using 3,200 megawatts across 184 facilities in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The Bonneville Power Administration believes that this will grow by 2.5 times by 2041.
This will coincide with the growth of electric vehicles and expected increases in residential electric consumption. And while more power is needed, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is at capacity at some transmission sites. BPA substations from Gilliam County are at the current limit of transmission – meaning no new wind or solar projects can move forward without significant upgrades.
Balancing the needs of consumers, Tribes, and fish is no easy task.
But the group's new Executive Director, Nik Blosser, believes that there are solutions and common interests at play. And Blosser, with over two decades of experience in salmon and energy-related fields, is excited about the opportunity.
"Establishing the Columbia River Task Force reflects the Biden-Harris Administration's deep commitment to the Columbia River Basin and the communities it sustains," said Blosser. "I am honored to lead the new Task Force, which will coordinate efforts across the federal government and partner with states and Tribal governments to restore native fish populations while ensuring communities and businesses continue to have reliable clean energy in the region."
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