House Republicans unveil effort to block Biden admin from tearing down key hydro dams

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans are introducing legislation that would prohibit the federal government from breaching, or tearing down, four hydroelectric dams in Washington state.

The five lawmakers, led by Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., unveiled the so-called Defending Against Manipulative Negotiators (DAMN) Act on Wednesday morning. The legislation would prohibit federal funds from allowing or studying the breach or alteration of the Lower Snake River dams which environmentalists have targeted, arguing they have led to declining salmon populations in the region.

GOP Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee; Cliff Bentz, R-Ore.; Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore.; and Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, joined Newhouse in introducing the legislation. The action comes a month after the White House entered into a legal settlement with environmental groups and tribes to study breaching, potentially paving the way for future breaching.

“The Biden Administration has crossed the line with its blatant, hypocritical assault on the Lower Snake River Dams,” Newhouse told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “This Administration, since its campaign, claims to advocate for green energy solutions, yet disregards that notion when told to by manipulative environmental activists who do not understand how critical the dams are to the Pacific Northwest and a clean energy future.”

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Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who introduced the legislation Wednesday, said the Biden administration had “crossed the line with its blatant, hypocritical assault on the Lower Snake River Dams.”  (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“The Defending Against Manipulative Negotiators Act is the first of many pieces of legislation coming that combats this Administration’s radical, unfair, and unsubstantiated effort to destroy our dams and the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on them,” the Washington Republican added.

Under last month’s agreement, the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced the tribes and environmental groups which had sued the federal government in an effort to forcibly breach the dams agreed to stay their litigation through 2028. The agreement further includes $1 billion for wild fish restoration and a plan to develop new clean energy power operated by tribes.

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The White House said the investments agreed to would ensure continued energy reliability, transportation and other services currently guaranteed by the continued operation of the four dams “in the event” that the dams are breached. Officials stopped short of committing to a breach plan as demanded by plaintiffs in the case and said that decision would require congressional approval.

Still, industry groups that represent companies reliant on the dams, have expressed deep concern with the Biden administration’s legal settlement which was negotiated behind closed doors. 

President Biden previously pledged to work with proponents of breaching the four lower Snake River dams to “bring healthy and abundant salmon runs back.” (Getty Images)

“The four lower Snake River dams are critically important to the economy of the Tri-Cities and the entire Pacific Northwest region,” Karl Dye, the president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council, said Wednesday. “Their importance was underscored earlier this month when the Bonneville Power Administration reported record high electricity demand, which could not have been met without the power produced by these dams.”

“Congressman Newhouse has always been a champion of the Snake River dams, and we sincerely thank him for his continued support.”

The dams were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers primarily to ensure the Snake River — which winds through Idaho and Washington before feeding into the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean — was passable for barge transportation. 

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However, since then, the main benefit has been their reliable clean energy output. They still provide about 8% of the state’s electricity, enough to serve millions of residents, and have a large total capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

Removing the dams would likely chip away at U.S. climate goals since their energy production would likely need to be replaced by fossil fuel alternatives. According to federal data, replacing hydropower generated by the dams with natural gas generation would increase carbon emissions by up to 2.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of 421,000 passenger cars.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam is shown in the Columbia River system in Washington state. (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

In addition to the impacts on energy and climate ambitions, removing the four Snake River dams would harm agriculture exports. Aided by the dams, barges traveling along the Columbia River system carry about 60% of Washington’s annual wheat exports and a staggering 40% of the nation’s total wheat production.

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“The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) applauds the introduction of the Defending Against Manipulative Negotiators Act by Rep. Dan Newhouse,” WAWG said in a statement. “The Lower Snake River Dams are vital to the livelihood of Washington’s wheat farmers.”

“Any alteration or breaching of these dams would negatively impact our ability to transport wheat, thus causing adverse impacts to local businesses, including family-owned farms, and the broader regional economy,” the group added.

Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory said the agreement last month represented the first time the federal government had put “all hands on deck to support regional and Tribal efforts to restore wild salmon in the region.” (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network)

The Washington State Potato Commission, Washington State Dairy Federation and National Grain and Feed Association also added statements of support for the DAMN Act on Wednesday.

“The stakes are concernedly high, as the economic harm of breaching the dams would ripple throughout the U.S. agricultural value chain by effectively shutting down a critical export corridor for grains and oilseeds,” the National Grain and Feed Association said. 

“Removal of the LSR locks could bankrupt thousands of producers as they attempt to change their freight distribution network from efficient river barges to far more costly – and environmentally damaging – long-haul truck or rail service.”

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The legislation introduced Wednesday would also prevent the federal government from implementing the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, a proposal from tribes, environmental groups and the states of Oregon and Washington, which calls for a more explicit plan to remove the dams.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.