Update: 5 Means for Breaching the Lower Snake River Dams
Posted /Real SolutionsOctober 2018
Prepared by Jim Waddell
This paper outlines five existing, essential components or “means” which the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) can utilize to immediately breach the four Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs). In doing so, the Corps and BPA will avoid financial and biological losses, decrease power rates for Washington, and finally put an end to a +25 year-long debate. While this paper describes some of the economic, financial, and biological reasons for breaching the LSRDs, its primary purpose is to show how (not why) the dams can be breached very quickly without undo fiscal hardship on any one group, such as BPA rate payers. This discussion covers multiple areas which are interconnected. A “further discussion” section follows the five-means and explores details on why we should breach the LSRDS.