[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 63 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 63

 Expressing the sense of the Congress opposing removal of dams on the 
      Columbia and Snake Rivers for fishery restoration purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 1999

 Mr. Hastings of Washington (for himself, Mr. Nethercutt, Mr. Walden, 
   Mrs. Chenoweth, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Hansen, Mr. 
  Pombo, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Skeen, and Mr. Doolittle) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress opposing removal of dams on the 
      Columbia and Snake Rivers for fishery restoration purposes.

Whereas approximately 75 percent of the Pacific Northwest's electricity used to 
        create and maintain jobs is provided by Columbia and Snake River system 
        dams, which generate renewable energy without creating any air or water 
        pollution;
Whereas the Corps of Engineers estimates that the flood control provided by the 
        dams on the Columbia and Snake River system prevented $4,600,000,000 in 
        damages from potential floods in 1996 and 1997;
Whereas the Columbia and Snake River system, located in the States of Oregon, 
        Washington, and Idaho, is an essential transportation link for United 
        States exports of all types of products, including transporting 43 
        percent of all United States wheat exports in 1997;
Whereas replacing the power currently generated by the dams on the Columbia and 
        Snake Rivers would result in significant increases in costs to consumers 
        and could cause significant harm to the economy of the Pacific 
        Northwest;
Whereas water collected in the Columbia and Snake River system irrigates half 
        the productive farmland in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, despite the 
        fact that only a net 7 percent of the total flows in that system are 
        diverted for all human uses;
Whereas producers who ship their products on the Columbia and Snake River system 
        save approximately $38,000,000 per year over land based transportation, 
        a savings which keeps United States exports competitive on world 
        markets;
Whereas the Columbia and Snake River system allows large volumes of freight to 
        be moved with negligible impact on air quality, and replacing this 
        transportation capacity would require use of 120,000 rail cars or 
        700,000 trucks;
Whereas recent studies by the National Marine Fisheries Service indicate that 
        the survival rates of salmon and steelhead migrating down the Columbia 
        and Snake River system have stayed the same or increased since 1961, 
        even as four dams were added to the Snake River;
Whereas the Federal interagency group known as the Plan for Analyzing and 
        Testing Hypotheses Group concluded that removing four dams on the lower 
        Snake River could not guarantee meeting established fish recovery 
        targets for fishery restoration; and
Whereas improved fish hatchery processes, including fish acclimation processes, 
        have resulted in the first successful run of coho salmon on the Yakima 
        River in 3 decades: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) the dams on the Columbia and Snake River system provide 
        tremendous economic and environmental benefits to the United 
        States that should be retained;
            (2) plans for the recovery of federally protected fish 
        species in the Columbia and Snake River System should not rely 
        on dam removal schemes;
            (3) efforts to maintain healthy and sustainable populations 
        of resident and anadromous fish in the Columbia and Snake 
        Rivers must address all the factors impacting species 
        population and health, including ocean conditions, harvest 
        levels, predation, and passage around and through hydroelectric 
        projects; and
            (4) any comprehensive fish recovery plan for the Columbia 
        and Snake River system must be based on sound data and consider 
        the economic and social costs associated with changes to the 
        management and use of the river infrastructure.
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