Biden admin creates pathway with eco groups to shutter energy source serving millions of Americans
Legal agreement 'marks a new direction for the Pacific Northwest,' Biden's clean energy czar John Podesta said
By Thomas Catenacci Fox News
Published December 14, 2023 5:09pm EST
The White House, in coordination with Native American tribes and environmental groups, announced actions Thursday that provide a pathway for breaching, or removing, four hydroelectric dams in Washington state to protect salmon.
As part of the announcement, the federal government entered into a legal agreement with the Pacific Northwest tribes and environmental organizations filed earlier in the day in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Under that agreement, the tribes and eco groups — which had sued the federal government in an effort to forcibly breach the dams — agreed to stay the litigation through 2028.
"President Biden understands that the Columbia River System is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, and for the first time under his direction, federal agencies are putting all hands on deck to support regional and Tribal efforts to restore wild salmon in the region," White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory said in a statement.
Mallory said the agreement charts a new path to restore the river. Environmental activists, Democrats and tribes have argued that the four federally-managed dams, which are located on the lower Snake River winding through Idaho and Washington before feeding into the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean, have decimated salmon and steelhead populations by blocking natural migratory patterns.
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