Restore the Snake River with Native-led Clean Energy Initiatives

Salmon in the Columbia-Snake River basin are on the brink of extinction in large part due to four dams on the lower Snake in eastern Washington. Restoring salmon runs and honoring treaties and responsibilities with Tribal Nations across the region requires removal of these four dams. Momentum and support for this river restoration effort is growing, but it is critical that the hydropower, transportation, and irrigation services of the dams are replaced before dam removal can begin.

Nimiipuu Energy, a project led by the Nez Perce Tribe, is leading the way in developing alternative energy resources to replace the power generated by the lower four Snake River dams. Nimiipuu Energy is a Tribe-to-Tribe Utility Cooperative built with a singular focus; to collaborate with regional tribes utilizing advancements in alternative energy technologies and software in order to generate the required energy necessary to render the four Lower Snake River dams obsolete.

To accommodate these and other new sources of alternative energy, we need the Bonneville Power Administration and the Department of Energy to invest in grid infrastructure and battery storage technologies that will carry the Pacific Northwest into the next century. The old way of dams and coal-fired powerplants is no longer working for a region that takes great pride and economic benefit from abundant fish and wildlife, clean water and air, and natural beauty. We must replace the power generation provided by the Snake River dams before they can be removed.

Please join us in urging Secretary of Energy Granholm, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Mallory, and Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to prioritize investments in grid modernization and battery storage technologies so that we can soon remove the lower four Snake River dams.

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Secretary

Deb

Haaland

Department of the Interior

CEQ

Salmon

Recovery

Council on Environmental Quality

Secretary

Jennifer

Granholm

Department of Energy

Dear {contact_data~title}{contact_data~lastName},

Salmon in the Columbia-Snake River basin are on the brink of extinction in large part due to four dams on the lower Snake in eastern Washington. Restoring salmon runs and honoring treaties and responsibilities with Tribal Nations across the region requires removal of these four dams. Momentum and support for this river restoration effort is growing, but it is critical that the hydropower, transportation, and irrigation services of the dams are replaced before dam removal can begin. The region’s congressional delegation and the Biden administration must act with urgency to invest in infrastructure so that the dams can be removed, setting the Northwest on a course to climate resilience, economic strength, abundant salmon, and cultural revitalization.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Senator Patty Murray issued a report in late 2022 that showed that the services the dams provide can be replaced with new infrastructure, and that these investments must be made before the dams can be removed. Even the important, though modest, contributions of power to the Northwest electrical grid can be replaced with a variety of new clean energy resources. Nimiipuu Energy, a project led by the Nez Perce Tribe, is leading the way in developing alternative energy resources, with the ultimate goal of producing 5,311MW of solar power- the amount BPA has stated is required to replace the power generated by the lower four Snake River dams.

We need an action plan that identifies the additional strategies and development needed to replace the services provided by the dams - irrigation, transportation, and energy, with other forms of infrastructure that allow for local economies and salmon to thrive in harmony, rather than in conflict. With Northwest Tribes leading the way on renewable energy, Federal and Northwest State governments and agencies should follow this lead in procuring new clean energy resources and prioritize investments in grid modernization and energy storage to set in motion this transition.

Thank you for your consideration of these issues.

Sincerely,

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