Bill backs disclosure of salmon-saving costs

WASHINGTON – Customers of many Northwest utilities would know how much of their electric bill goes to save endangered salmon under a proposal discussed Thursday by a House panel.

The Bonneville Power Administration and other federal power agencies would be required to disclose the cost of complying with the Endangered Species Act under H.R. 1719, which is sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.

“BPA does know what the costs are,” she said. “It’s a matter of them sharing that information.”

Inland Power and Light Co. estimates the cost of complying with the ESA is $150 a year for a residential customer, but McMorris Rodgers’ bill would give them a more accurate figure, said Frederic Rettenmund, the public utility’s power resources and communications manager.

BPA estimates it has spent about $12 billion on all fish and wildlife related expenditures since 1980. Those costs are passed on to consumers, but the exact cost to individuals has not been calculated, an agency spokesman said.

“The thought behind it is just making people aware of where their money is going,” McMorris Rodgers said. “I think it just helps us make smarter decisions when there’s accountability as to how money is spent.”

Opponents of the bill argued that all expenses, not just fish and wildlife related expenses, should be listed on monthly statements mailed to consumers. That would include costs for the bailout of the failed Washington Public Power Supply System nuclear plants, cost of irrigation and cost of transmission.

The costs of complying with the Endangered Species Act should also include its benefits, they said.

“Only by looking at the whole picture can any particular cost category be put into perspective,” said Sara Patton, executive director of the Northwest Energy Coalition. “H.R. 1719 looks at only at a small part of how the Columbia River system is shared and paid for.”

McMorris Rodgers said she believes the other information should be included, too: “I think more disclosure is good. I think it helps make people aware, so I’m not opposed to other costs also being disclosed.”

She has introduced the bill every year since 2006. It passed out of committee the first year but never received a vote in the full House. McMorris Rodgers said she thinks the bill has a chance of passing this year because it has the support of Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, a fellow Washington Republican.