[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-100. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of Montana expressing support of hydropower and the 
     Federal Columbia River Power System and opposing the breach 
     of the lower Snake River dams; to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 10

       Whereas, organizations throughout the Northwest have made 
     proposals to breach the lower Snake River dams; and
       Whereas, hydropower is a premier renewable resource that 
     provides reliable, cost-effective, carbon-free electricity; 
     and
       Whereas, hydropower plays a critical role as our nation 
     works to maintain an affordable, reliable, and resilient 
     grid, which is an important cornerstone of our domestic 
     energy system; and
       Whereas, hydropower has become increasingly important to 
     the grid as policies are adopted to increase electrification 
     of other sectors of the economy, such as transportation and 
     heating; and
       Whereas, hydroelectric generation is unique in its ability 
     to instantly increase or decrease generation to balance 
     generation and electric demand; and
       Whereas, hydropower provides a foundation for reliability 
     that is necessary with decreasing levels of baseload power 
     and firm dispatchable power and with increasing levels of 
     variable nondispatchable renewable resources, such as wind 
     and solar; and
       Whereas, the recently concluded Columbia River System 
     Operation environmental impact statement studied the 
     environmental, biological, power supply, and socioeconomic 
     impacts of the entire Federal Columbia River Power System, 
     which is marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration. 
     This multiyear, $50.4 million analysis concluded the lower 
     Snake River dams play a critical role in the Northwest power 
     system and economy and their impact on salmon populations has 
     been mitigated successfully through extensive fish and 
     wildlife programs funded by regional ratepayers; and
       Whereas, on an annual basis, the dams on the lower Snake 
     River provide an average of 1,000 megawatts of electricity, 
     enough to serve over 800,000 Northwest businesses, 
     industries, and households, including in western Montana; and
       Whereas the continued operation of the lower Snake River 
     dams is central to reliably meeting the reglon's clean energy 
     goals, providing dispatchable capacity to prevent blackouts, 
     and ramping capability to integrate other renewable 
     resources; and
       Whereas the lower Snake River dams can provide over 2,600 
     megawatts of sustained peaking capacity that represents a 
     quarter of the Federal Columbia River Power System's reserves 
     holding capacity; and
       Whereas, with weather events like ice storms and extreme 
     cold and heat waves, the lower Snake River dams have also 
     proved to be critical to maintaining electric grid 
     reliability and public safety; and
       Whereas, breaching the lower Snake River dams and replacing 
     them with other non-emitting resources could raise Bonneville 
     Power Agency's power supply rates by up to 50%. For most 
     utilities relying on the agency, that translates to a 25% 
     rate increase for their customers; and
       Whereas, the lower Snake River dams contribute to the 
     region's economy by providing irrigation, recreation, 
     employment, and inland waterway transportation; and
       Whereas, if successful in breaching the lower Snake River 
     dams, Montana's federally owned dams and others in the 
     Northwest that produce carbon-free, affordable power could be 
     targeted for breaching; and
       Whereas, breaching the lower Snake River dams or Montana's 
     federally owned hydropower-producing dams, including Hungry 
     Horse Dam, Libby Dam, Yellowtail Dam, Canyon Ferry Dam, and 
     Fort Peck Dam, would greatly increase the risk of blackouts 
     and raise power costs for electric cooperative members in 
     Montana and public power across the Northwest. Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of 
     the State of Montana:
       That the Montana Legislature hereby stands opposed to the 
     breaching of any of the federally owned hydropower-producing 
     dams, especially those on the lower Snake River, in the 
     Northwest, and in the State of Montana; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Secretary of State send copies of this 
     resolution to the governors of all states served by the 
     Bonneville Power Administration, including California, Idaho, 
     Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and 
     to each member of the United States House of Representatives 
     and the United States Senate.

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