H-2126              _______________________________________________

                                 SUBSTITUTE HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 4017

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By House Committee on Fisheries & Wildlife (originally sponsored by Representative R. King)

Read first time 3/1/89.

TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO TOM TRULOVE, CHAIR OF THE NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, The anadromous salmon and steelhead originating in the Columbia River Basin must pass the Federal Columbia River Hydroelectric Projects on the Columbia and Snake Rivers on their migration to and from the Pacific Ocean; and

          WHEREAS, Three of the dams do not have bypass facilities to steer juvenile anadromous fish away from turbine intakes, and a fourth dam has inadequate bypass facilities; and

          WHEREAS, The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dams, has failed to provide sufficient spill to enable juvenile anadromous fish to bypass turbines on their downward migration; and

          WHEREAS, The lack of bypass facilities and insufficient spill has resulted in significant mortality to salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin; and

          WHEREAS, The following parties recently negotiated an agreement providing for spills to reduce turbine mortality of anadromous fish at the Federal Columbia River Hydroelectric Projects:  The United States Department of Energy, acting by and through the Bonneville Power Administration, the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee, on behalf of its member utilities and industries, the United States Department of Interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service, in its own capacity and as delegate for the United States Department of Commerce, the Washington Department of Fisheries and the Washington Department of Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho; and

          WHEREAS, The agreement will substantially benefit efforts to increase the populations of the salmon and steelhead originating in the Columbia River Basin; and

          WHEREAS, The Northwest Power Planning Council has amended the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program for 1989 incorporating the provisions of the spill agreement on an interim basis at four Columbia and Snake River projects, and has further endorsed the installation of mechanical bypass facilities as superior to the present method of fish migrating through the turbines at the dams; and

          WHEREAS, The Pacific Fisheries Legislative Task Force endorses the action taken by the Northwest Power Planning Council to amend the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program to include the spill agreement, and requests the Council to expedite the amendment process to incorporate the provisions of the Spill Memorandum of Agreement; and

          WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature encourages the Northwest Power Planning Council to amend the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program to include the provisions of the Spill Memorandum of Agreement;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the United States Congress direct the Army Corps of Engineers, as the operator of the Federal Columbia River Hydroelectric Projects, to implement the spill agreement and to install appropriate bypass facilities as soon as reasonably possible, and appropriate the funds necessary to finance expeditious construction of the bypass facilities.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, Tom Trulove, chair of the Northwest Power Planning Council, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.