Washington Business Winter 2019 | Washington Business | Page 43

business backgrounder | industry
AWB President Kris Johnson testified before the committee to
share the business and economic benefits of the dams.
“The Columbia- Snake river dam system transformed
Washington state’s economy, opening new opportunities for our
“These marvels of engineering have provided
the Pacific Northwest with the nation’s most
affordable and most reliable energy.”
— U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-5
agriculture community to access markets around the world, but
to also support a sustainable future and strong economy,” Johnson
told the committee.
The two-hour hearing covered the improvements made to the
dams to support salmon and wildlife habitat and what’s ahead for
the critical energy and commerce infrastructure, including the
ongoing push by some groups to remove the dams.
the federal columbia-snake river dam system
Congress created the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
in 1937 on the heels of the Great Depression to distribute power
generated by two federally-authorized dams — Bonneville and
Grand Coulee.
In 1945, Congress authorized the construction of four more dams
along the lower Snake River that are now part of what today is
called the Federal Columbia River Power System.
The four dams alone can power nearly 2 million homes, or the city
the size of Seattle, according to U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
R-5, who joined Newhouse in the committee’s proceedings.
Today, eight dams comprise the Snake and Columbia river power
system: Four mainstem dams and four lower Snake River dams
that contain navigation locks to allow ship and barge passage from
the ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River and stretch as far as
Lewiston, Idaho.
“These marvels of engineering have provided the Pacific
Northwest with the nation’s most affordable and most reliable
energy,” said McMorris Rodgers.
dams built washington’s economy, rich legacy
The Federal Columbia River Power System is a collaborative
operation between BPA and the generating agencies, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Hydropower generated through the dam system delivers clean
energy to more than 60 percent of Pacific Northwest residents and
businesses, and accounts for 90 percent of renewable energy in the
region and helps to reliably integrate new intermittent renewables
like solar and wind into the grid, according to BPA.
“What often gets lost in the conversations inside the beltway is
the impact this federal infrastructure has on the lives of real people
and the immense power the Columbia River creates for the region,”
said U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, CO-5, chair of the House Natural
Resources Committee.
In fact, the hydroelectric dam system played a critical role
in connecting rural regions to the energy grid and is part of the
nation’s industrial age history.
“In successive generations, the value of the river has been
expressed in ways that met the challenges of the times,” said Dan
James, deputy administrator at BPA, including “bringing electricity
to rural homes and farms, powering the factories that built the
ships and planes that won World War II, developing additional
renewable energy resources and restoring the fisheries and wildlife
so prized by the people of the Northwest.”
“I have met people in my life who can say, ‘I remember when the
lights went on,’” James said.
hydropower generated through the dam system
• Delivers clean energy to more than 60 percent
of Pacific Northwest residents and businesses.
• Accounts for 90 percent of renewable energy
in the region.
“If we’re concerned about the volume
of fuel that’s used and the volume of
emissions into our air, inland barging
is certainly one of the most environ-
mentally responsible ways to go.”
— Rob Rich, vice president, marine services,
Shaver Transportation
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