News Release - November 5, 2009

River advocates notify Sec. Salazar, Bureau of Reclamation

they will sue over salmon

U.S. fails to protect Columbia River salmon

in expanding nation's largest federal irrigation project

Spokane – Today the Center for Environmental Law & Policy (CELP) and Columbia Riverkeeper announced their plans to hold the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Interior Secretary Salazar accountable for failing to protect endangered Columbia River salmon and steelhead by expanding the nation’s largest federal irrigation project—the Columbia Basin Project, located in eastern Washington.   The impending lawsuit is intended to stop the Bureau from building a new pipeline that is capable of delivering over 202,000 acre-feet of Columbia River water each year, which is equivalent to over 65 million Olympic size pools.

“We are taking action to prevent a major and illegal withdrawal of water from the Columbia River," said Rachael Osborn, director of CELP.  “We have notified the Bureau of Reclamation that it is violating the Endangered Species Act by pushing ahead with expansion of the Columbia Basin Project.  The Bureau's lawless 'Cadillac Desert' mindset must end here.  The water frontier is over."

The organizations, whose members include both fisherman and farmers, are asking the Bureau of Reclamation to think twice before it pulls more water out of an over-stressed system.  The Bureau’s plans will significantly expand the water delivery capacity of  the sprawling irrigation project by adding a second, $50 million pipe under Interstate 90 near Moses Lake.  Called the "Weber Siphon," the new pipe would facilitate diversion of an additional 2,000 cubic feet per second of water from the Columbia River, doubling the capacity of the East Low Canal.  Construction of the Weber Siphon Project is being paid for with taxpayer dollars under the Stimulus Bill funding.  The Bureau is currently in the process of awarding a contract to commence construction of the Weber Siphon.

Hydroelectric dams and water withdrawals for agriculture have caused devastating declines in Columbia River salmon.  The operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System affects 13 species of Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Scientists are now warning that climate change and declining river flows will push Columbia River salmon and steelhead closer to extinction.

"The latest climate change studies in the Columbia River Basin show that the Columbia River is already too warm for fish like salmon and steelhead and water availability is a major limiting factor." said Brett VandenHeuvel, director of Columbia Riverkeeper.  "Given the Northwest’s investment in recovering salmon and steelhead, the Bureau's de facto decision to expand the Columbia Basin Project makes no sense.”

The Bureau’s ESA violations relating to the Weber Siphon Project arise from its failure to comply with its duty to consult with the expert science agencies—NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—before it takes an action that may harm salmon.

"Congress was clear.  Stimulus funds do not exempt the Weber Siphon Project from federal environmental review," noted Osborn.  "We are disappointed that the Bureau of Reclamation continues to evade its duties to ensure that federal tax dollars are not spent in a manner that causes more harm than good."   

CELP and Columbia Riverkeeper are currently challenging the Bureau's failure to conduct environmental analysis on its "Lake Roosevelt Drawdown" proposal, which would withdraw water from the Columbia River at Grand Coulee Dam.  That suit, pending in federal court in Spokane, also questions the Bureau's failure to comply with the stimulus fund requirements.  In the latest action, the federal government will have 60 days to respond before a lawsuit can be filed in federal court.

CELP and Columbia Riverkeeper are represented by Chris Winter of the Crag Law Center.

Links:

    * Notice of intent to sue the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for violating the Endangered Species Act

    * Letter to Interior Sec. Salazar

Additional background links

    * Comments on Scoping, Odessa Subarea Special Study

    * Complaint filed in federal court regarding Bureau's failure to conduct NEPA

    * Comments on Bureau's Environmental Analysis for the Lake FDR drawdown

    * Resource Economists Norman Whittlesey and Walter Butcher:  comments on Bureau's EA for Lake FDR drawdown

    * National Academies of Science:  Managing the Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals, and Salmon Survival

    * Rachael Paschal Osborn:  Odessa Aquifers:  Crisis in Sustainability