The Trump administration canceled an environmental review Monday into how dams on the Columbia River system could be operated to benefit endangered salmon and steelhead populations, ending the Biden-era effort.
The Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly announced their decision to halt work on a supplemental environmental impact statement on the 14 dams in the Columbia River system in a statement in the Federal Register.
“The Co-Lead Agencies continue to operate and maintain the 14 projects that make up the Columbia River System consistent with the selected alternative from the 2020 Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision, the current Biological Opinions, and relevant operating documents,” wrote Brig. Gen. William Hannan and Roland Springer, acting regional director of Reclamation’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to operate the Lower Snake River dams as authorized by Congress,” the duo added of the four dams at the heart of the conflict between hydropower and fish populations.
