Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Washington U.S. Senator Patty Murray have released details of a report they commissioned to help guide them in weighing whether to breach the four lower Snake River dams.
Jay Inslee
Patty Murray
According to the Lewiston Tribune, the draft report, released today (Thurs), says replacing services of the four lower Snake River dams would cost between $10.3 billion and $27.2 billion, and that some costs have yet to be identified.
The overall estimate to replace and mitigate for all lost services if the dams were breached is similar to the cost of Idaho Republican U.S. Representative Mike Simpson’s dam breaching concept. Simpson would spend $33.5 billion to breach the dams and mitigate affected communities and industries. The draft Inslee-Murray report included cost estimates from the concept released by Simpson in February 2021.
The two politicians commissioned the study last fall and will use it to stake out their position on Snake River salmon recovery and to determine if they support breaching Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams between Clarkston and the Tri-Cities. They reiterated that their minds remain open and they are interested in hearing from a wide range of perspectives.
Inslee and Murray are accepting public comments on the draft report through July 11. The report will be posted at lsrdoptions.org/ where comments may also be submitted. (Lewiston Tribune)
