In his proposed “Salmon Solutions and Planning Act,” McDermott would also give the Army Corps of Engineers the authority to breach the four Lower Snake River dams, reports TheSpokesman.
According to the news report, McDermott, a Democrat for Washington, introduced the legislation Friday with 24 co-sponsors. He’s authored similar legislation in the past, but nothing quite as far-reaching on dam removal.
Mike DeCesare, McDermott’s press secretary, said the legislation aims for a dispassionate, science-based review of the cost and benefits of breaching the dams, which can produce enough electricity to power a city the size of Seattle but are blamed for sharp declines in Snake River salmon and steelhead runs. Many environmental groups, and some scientific studies, support their removal, says TheSpokesman.
“We’re trying to get out of the rhetoric and into the science,” DeCesare said.
Failing $8 billion Salmon Recovery Reviewed
US - US Representative Jim McDermott has called for a scientific analysis of the federal governments Northwest salmon recovery effort, saying that most wild stocks remain at dangerously low levels despite the $8 billion spent on their recovery.
