Tick Tock, Columbia River Treaty Clock Nears Midnight

Details

Published: Wednesday, 03 July 2024 17:11

This September Columbia River Treaty (CRT) flood risk management provisions change to “called upon,” also called “real time operations” or “real time flood risk management.”  The United States and Canada have been in negotiations since 2018 to modernize the Treaty and thus avoid this situation.

Called upon means the United States will call on Canada to specify flood risk management space needs from Canada, which (following a consultation) Canada must then provide and be compensated for. Most important, the United States would need to demonstrate the use of all related storage in our reservoirs before requesting Canadian space.

This will result in changes to reservoir operations and flows that will be felt up and down the Columbia River. Click here for charts and explanation of potentially deep Lake Roosevelt drawdowns.

The U.S. State Department, which has led the American negotiating team, is noticeably silent with updates. Their Columbia River Treaty website has not been updated since an August 2023 news release regarding the 18th round of Treaty negotiations. Per the release, “As committed by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau at the conclusion of the President’s March visit to Canada, the U.S. negotiation team has further accelerated negotiation efforts towards an agreement that meets the needs of the Columbia Basin with greater certainty and improved results.”

Close to a year later, the governmental silence is deafening regarding “accelerated negotiation” or progress. Barring an administrative fix to temporarily work around Treaty provisions, communities and the environment writ large will be flowing into uncharted waters up and down the Columbia come September.

A sign of rising tensions is that Chelan, Douglas, and Grant County PUDs (the Mid-Cs) filed a July 17 lawsuit against the Bonneville Power Administration & U.S. Army Corps regarding the CRT. Part of the lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to find that “the U.S. Entity has no authority to impose conditions on the Mid-Cs’ use of the Columbia River flow after Sept. 15.”

In addition, Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers added the following report language into the State and Foreign Operations FY25 Funding Bill being considered. “The Committee encourages the Secretary of State to share with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the foreign policy implications of listing the Upper Columbia River, Washington on the National Priorities List. The Committee believes the Department of State should consult with the EPA on such listings that may have foreign policy implications.”

Stay tuned.