06/14/05 Renewed debate on the Lower Snake,Pt.2

If recent rulings are any indication, the management of the Lower Snake River, and perhaps the entire Columbia  Lower Snake River system, belongs in the hands of one man for now. U.S. District Court Judge James Redden, based out of Southern Oregon, set the stage two weeks ago, when, for the second time in a three year period, he rejected the federal government's management plans of the Columbia-Lower Snake hydroelectric system in regards to protections of endangered and threatened fish species &the so-called "biological opinion". Then came Friday's ruling of an injunctive relief request made by a coalition of environmental and fishing groups for an increase of summer spill over the four Lower Snake River dams and McNary Dam on the Columbia. Redden stopped short of giving the plaintiffs a ten per cent increase in flows out of the Lower Snake and Upper Columbia, but still there will be impacts as a result of the ruling. What those impacts will be will first be known in less than two weeks when the first spills are scheduled to begin as a way to aid the fall Chinook runs. Some transportation entities barging cargo from the ports of the Lower Snake say impacts to them will be minimal. On the energy side of the equation, Bonneville Power Administration says the order for increased summer spill would create a four to five per cent increase in the bills of commercial rate payers, and a two per cent increase in residential rate payer's bills. Then there are the other aspects from available irrigation water in a low water year to increased commercial fishing. But regardless what the outcomes might be, the sticking point for some in this debate is "What is a federal judge, or any federal entity, doing having so much authority to decide region wide issues that will impact so many?" That is one reason why several members of the Northwest delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives have publicly sided against Redden, including Representative Cathy McMorris of Washington State. MCMORRIS: I've joined in in asking the Administration to appeal Judge Redden's decision and so it's going to take some time to work through that process for the Administration to make that determination. Expected to be on a faster track is a federal appeal of Redden's summer spill ruling before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals some time in the next two weeks. But could there be other ways, besides legal means, to find a solution to how best to manage the Lower Snake and Columbia system? Some are implementing potential out of the box solutions, especially in the realm of restoring fish runs. More on that, as well as the continued debate, in our next program.