Flathead Electric blasts proposal to remove Snake River dams
FILE - In this April 11, 2018, file photo, water moves through a spillway of the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Almota, Wash. Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing a GOP Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs. (AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios, File)
Newly leaked settlement documents revealing that the Biden Administration would consider the removal of four lower Snake River dams has drawn public scrutiny from Flathead Electric Cooperative officials who contend that the potential loss in hydropower production would lead to rate hikes for its members.
“It has the potential to impact folks in Western Montana enormously, and frankly we are gravely concerned about the outcomes of this process,” said Katie Pfennings, the community relations manager at Flathead Electric Cooperative.
The dams are within the Columbia River basin, which provides 60-70% of the electrical needs in the Pacific Northwest, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The basin is 258,000 square miles, with Hungry Horse Reservoir at the top of the system.
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