Washington Business Spring 2017 | Washington Business | Page 11

advertisement Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association Policy Memorandum March 01, 2017 TO: Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior FROM: Ron Reimann, President, CSRIA Darryll Olsen, Ph.D., Board Representative, CSRIA cc: Mr. David Ponganis, SES, Director Programs, Federal Columbia River Operations EIS ([email protected]) Br. Gen. Scott Spellmon, Division Commander, USACE Mr. Elliot Mainzer, BPA Administrator Ms. Lorri Lee, Regional Director, USBR U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, WA U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse SUBJECT: CSRIA Response to the Federal Agencies’ Columbia River System Operations (CRSO), Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The very justification for the current Federal Agencies’ Columbia River Operations EIS is flawed natural resources policy, and it should be corrected by invoking an Action Agencies’ (Biological Opinion) “re-consultation,” with the new Administration’s Secretary of Interior convening the Endangered Species Act Committee (“God Squad” Committee). This renewed EIS process emanates from Oregon Federal Judge Michael Simon’s incomprehensible decision ignoring two decades of federal agency work to improve Columbia-Snake River fish runs, about $15 billion of rate payer funding, actual fish run survival through the hydro system, and factors outside the Columbia-Snake River System that overshadow fish production. Further disregarded are extensive technical analyses, and the tens-of-millio