Montana to joinlawsuit over dams

Montana has filed for intervenor status in a lawsuit that seeks to manage dams in the Northwest for salmon survival.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced the state's engagement in the controversial litigation Wednesday.

"Montana has always been hesitant to jump head-first into a lawsuit," Schweitzer said. "However, the time has come to make sure that the interests of the people of Montana are heard. Montana intends to present a moderate voice in this otherwise contentious area."

Schweitzer said it's important to get involved now because the lawsuit "is at a critical juncture" and the state must "do everything in its power to make that Montana's resources are protected."

At issue for the state is a lawsuit filed by conservation groups and salmon advocates who are challenging a 2004 biological opinion that prescribes operations for the federal hydroelectric system in the Northwest and other measures to recover threatened salmon stocks. The plaintiffs say the biological opinion

and a previous opinion developed by federal agencies in 2000 don't do enough for salmon.

Montana, meanwhile, contends that that the biological opinion is detrimental to threatened bull trout and other fish species above and below Hungry Horse and Libby dams. For the past couple of years, the state has pushed federal agencies to embrace a series of operational changes called the Main Stem Amendments, which were adopted last year by the four-state Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

The amendments would stabilize river flows, prolonging them into September, instead of having erratic "flow augmentation" during the summer for migrating salmon in the lower Columbia River system. The state has long resisted fluctuating releases that have been shown to be harmful to fish above and below the dams. The state has also maintained that the benefits of flow augmentation to salmon cannot be measured.

"For years, Montana has been concerned about releases of large volumes of water in an erratic manner from Libby and Hungry Horse reservoirs during the critical summer months for the alleged benefits to migrating salmon in the lower Columbia River," the governor's press release states.

Bruce Measure, one of Montana's two representatives on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, said recent developments have triggered the state's interest in becoming a intervenor with "defendant status" in the lawsuit.

For starters, the presiding judge in the case will hold a conference Sept. 14 with all involved parties.

"That's what we felt was compelling us to get in," Measure said. "At that conference, we want to be present and involved. That's where the judge wants the parties to collaborate for the solution to this extremely complex litigation. We want to be involved with that to make sure that our interests our recognized by the court and the other parties."

Measure said potential exists that the court's final ruling on the issue could give salmon interests much more power in calls for water from the Montana reservoirs.

"That could mean that any time of the year they could be asking for drafts from Libby and Hungry Horse beyond the drafts they are getting now," Measure said. "That's the potential. That's the concern."

There are other reasons for Schweitzer's intervention.

In July, Montana requested dam operations that would be consistent with the Main Stem Amendments, but that request was rejected by a panel that guides operations at federal hydro projects across the Northwest. Instead, the Technical Management Team adopted an alternative proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Measure said the Montana proposal was replete with scientific justification, while the Fish and Wildlife Service proposal was not.

"We got shut off. We got the cold shoulder," Measure said. "That was the final straw … when we found that we couldn't get any relief whatsoever through the available process."

Montana officials wanted river flows below Hungry Horse and Libby dams to be gradually reduced through September to avoid a rapid decline in the biological productivity.

Instead, Montana's reservoirs were drawn down 20 feet through August, and river flows below the dams are set to drop off steeply after Sept. 1.

Schweitzer and Measure are also concerned about recreationists being affected by fluctuating flows and drops in reservoir levels, and effects to Montanans who use hydroelectric power through the Bonneville Power Administration.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council estimates water spilled over dams at the request of the lawsuit plaintiffs this summer will cost BPA more than $70 million in foregone power sale revenue.

In his press release, Schweitzer said he sincerely wants to see salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin, but it "makes no sense to harm other endangered species in the process."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.