Talks begin to revise Columbia River Treaty
Deal governs flood control and hydro generation along the B.C., U.S. border
SPOKANE, Washington — Talks are scheduled to begin this week in Washington, D.C., to modernize the document that co-ordinates flood control and hydropower generation in the United States and Canada along the 1,930-kilometre Columbia River.
Northwest politicians in the United States have been pushing for years to renegotiate the Columbia River Treaty between the two countries. The lawmakers are particularly keen to eliminate a so-called “Canadian Entitlement” they contend is too favourable to Canada.
The U.S. State Department announced last week that talks to revise the 1964 treaty would be held today and Wednesday.
“The Columbia River Treaty is integral to so much of the Pacific Northwest way of life — from our economy, to our environment, to our culture and heritage — so it’s hard to overstate the importance of updating this treaty to meet modern-day issues,” Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said last week.
In a statement also issued last week, the B.C. government said it will be at the negotiating table with the Canadian government.
“The fundamental principle of the Columbia River Treaty must continue to be maximizing benefits for Canada and the U.S., and sharing them equitably,” said Katrine Conroy, the minister responsible for the treaty.
“We want to continue our engagement with Columbia Basin First Nations in B.C., and ensure that local communities are kept informed, as negotiations progress.”
In addition to hydropower and flood control, the existing treaty provides benefits such as irrigation, municipal and industrial water, navigation and recreation.
But environmental groups in the United States and native Americans contend it doesn’t do enough to help endangered salmon runs.
Washington state’s congressional delegation in 2014 began urging the U.S. federal government to renegotiate the treaty, which expires in 2024.
“These vital negotiations have been long overdue,” said Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, who represents central Washington.
The Columbia River begins in Canada but flows mostly in the United States. It forms much of the border between Washington and Oregon before it plunges into the Pacific Ocean.
There are about 150 hydroelectric projects on the Columbia and its tributaries. That includes 18 so-called main stem dams on the Columbia and its main tributary, the Snake River, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
Those dams are blamed for decimating what were once some of the world’s greatest salmon runs.
The U.S. government has said the new talks should include environmental goals, such as increasing stream flows to benefit salmon.
The U.S. also wants reconsideration of the “Canadian Entitlement,” which provides Canada with $250 million to $350 million US a year worth of electrical power in exchange for storing water in huge reservoirs that can be released to boost U.S. hydropower generation.
The cost is higher than anticipated by the United States when the treaty was signed.
“It is estimated that our constituents overpay this entitlement by 10 times the reciprocal benefit,” Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington has said.
Those payments affect the monthly bills of 6.4 million U.S. electric customers from 80 utilities in the Pacific Northwest.
British Columbia officials have said they need a better accounting of the benefits Americans get from the vast amounts of water stored north of the border.
“It is imperative that we ensure that any updated treaty is beneficial for both the United States and Canada,” said Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.
Environmental groups want to ensure conservation measures are given greater weight in these talks. First Nations in both countries would like the heavily dammed Columbia to flow more like a natural river, with additional water releases in dry years to aid struggling salmon and steelhead runs.