The cost of breaching is affordable and the funds are available – Congress not needed. The infrastructure can be decommissioned and secured by creating a channel bypass, washing away the earthen berms around the concrete structures. This will allow salmon the cooler water and free-flowing access they need.
Under the NW Power Act, the cost can be paid via the Bonneville Fund and Columbia River Fish Mitigation Program, which offers a 22% credit against the BPA treasury debt. After deliberately wasting decades and billions, BPA and its ratepayers would end up saving money by breaching now.