Fish ladders won’t be required by feds on Hells Canyon dams

The federal agency overseeing Columbia River and Snake River salmon recovery has decided against requiring the Idaho Power Co. to add fish ladders on its Hells Canyon dams, angering environmentalists but addressing utility complaints that such requirements would be too costly and ineffective.

As recently as Oct. 28, the National Marine Fisheries Service was considering requiring fish-passage facilities on Idaho Power’s 1,167-megawatt, three-dam system on the Snake River as a condition of the company’s license renewal. Cost of the fish ladders has been estimated by the Fisheries Service at more than $100 million.

More recently, the agency has indicated it is consideringrecommending Idaho Power designate money to clean up the river above the dams so the waterway can provide good habitat for salmon and steelhead protected under the federal Endangered Species Act yet unable to reach the upper river because of the dams.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering the Boise-based utility’s application to operate the half-century-old Brownlee, Oxbow and Hells Canyon dams for another 30 years.

The utility’s relicensing application already calls for setting aside $324 million to offset environmental impacts.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are still asking for FERC to require fish passage to be installed, saying that’s the best way for some runs of salmon and steelhead to reach healthy spawning tributaries.

The conservation group American Rivers said not adding fish-passage facilities threatens Snake River salmon recovery.

“It’s troublesome to have this sudden reversal,” said Connie Kelleher, associate director of the group’s Seattle office. “The dams block off 80 percent of historic habitat for fall chinook. At a time when (the Fisheries Service) is responsible for developing recovery plans for fish, they’re taking actions that are inconsistent with recovery.”