Reports & Documents

Ecological Harm

Transportation Methods, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and the Lower Snake River Reservoirs

January 2017 By John Twa, Mechanical Engineer The four lower Snake River locks and dams were completed in the 1960’s and 1970’s after congressional authorization to provide river navigation to eastern Washington and Lewiston, Idaho. Each of the four, 100 foot high dams created flatwater reservoirs with sufficient depth to

Estimate of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Lower Snake River Dams and Reservoirs using the All-Res Modeling Tool

By Tell The Dam Truth, Inc. The four Lower Snake River dams, reservoirs, and their hydropower systems (“LSR dams”) – Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, and Ice Harbor – in the state of Washington have been at the center of national controversy in recent months. Because the dams block

Evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower complexes on large rivers in Eastern Washington

March 2013 By EV Arntzen • S Niehus • BL Miller • M Richmond • AC O’Toole Inland water bodies, such as freshwater lakes, are known to be net emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). In recent years, significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from tropical, boreal, and mid-latitude

Lower Snake River Dam Alternative Power Costs

June 2015 Prepared by Rocky Mountain Econometrics, Anthony Jones In early 2015 Idaho Rivers United asked Rocky Mountain Econometrics (RME) to bring its expertise to the subject and revisit the FREIS for the purpose of calculating the cost of replacing the energy produced by the LSRD in current (2015) dollars.

The Costs of Keeping the Four Lower Snake River Dams: A Reevaluation of the Lower Snake River Feasibility Report

July 2015 Prepared by Jim Waddell and Linwood Laughy In its 2002 Lower SnakeRiver Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report, the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vastly understated the costs of maintaining and operating four dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington State. The

Regional Economic Analysis of the Four Lower Snake River Dams

February 2016 By Johnny Mojica, Research Analyst, Earth Economics Ken Cousins, PhD, Ecological Economist, Earth Economics Tania Briceno, PhD, Ecological Economist, Earth Economics This report estimates the number of jobs that will be provided by outdoor recreation spending in the six southeast Washington counties along the LSR as a result

Policy & Factual Points for Breaching the Four Lower Snake River Dams

Printable PDF The four Lower Snake River dams with their warm slack water reservoirs are killing what is left of the salmon and the river. By 1999 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) had determined that to recover ESA-listed Snake River spring/summer Chinook, the most risk averse action would include

Fourteen Fatal Flaws of the Columbia River Systems Operations Draft Environmental Impact Statement

By Nina Sarmiento & Jim Waddell for Dam Sense Peaking, Ramping, Balancing, & Reserve hydropower benefits of the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs). – Claimed over 2,000 MW with a value of $966 million for replacement cost. – Inconsistent with claimed 15 MW in 2002 EIS, Waddell et al. 2020

Salmon Surrogate Study: Inflated survival rate of Chinook

Appendix 1.2 – Snake River Endangered Salmon White Paper The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires both survival and recovery of Snake River listed wild salmon stocks.1 A plethora of National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS,” aka NOAA Fisheries Service) and independent research clearly establishes that hatchery produced displacement of wild fish

Five Means for Breaching 4 Lower Snake River Dams

September 2017 Prepared by Jim Waddell This paper lays out five existing essential components or means that the US Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) can utilize immediately to avoid further financial and biological losses created by the four Lower Snake River Dams (4 LSRDs).

The US President and Army Corps’ Discretion and Authority with Regard to Executive Action in Furtherance of Breaching the Lower Snake River Dams

Spring 2022 Prepared by Elizabeth Dunne This article takes an in depth look at the legal landscape applicable to the exercise of executive branch authority in the context of breaching the four dams on the lower Snake River. It demonstrates how executive authority can play an important role when it

Breaching the Snake River Dams without new Congressional Appropriations

August 2024 It is a common misconception that the four lower Snake River dams cannot be breached without new Congressional appropriations. To the contrary, the Bonneville Power Administration can use the Northwest Power Act, 16 U.S.C. §839–839h, to fund breaching of the lower Snake River dams. Learn how by reading