County seeking recognition in Feds Columbia Basin plan

POLSON – As environmental groups grapple with federal agencies over the future of endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, Lake County officials are pressing the importance of local water supplies.

“This is about flushing fish for Oregon and Washington,” Lake County Civil Attorney Walter Congdon said during a Nov. 22 meeting with Mark Stermitz, a lawyer representing the Montana Attorney General’s Office in the long-running legal over future operations of the Columbia River hydroelectric system.

Congdon and Lake County Commissioners were requesting Stermitz and the state lend some legal muscle to their case for maintaining “a seat at the table” as federal agencies attempt to draft new methods of operation.

In May, a U.S. District Court judge in Portland ruled that the government’s plan did not adequately address future threats posed to endangered fish species.

With conservation measures often mandating increased flows during spawning and other critical periods for fish, Lake County officials worry that water crucial for agriculture and other local uses may be flushed downstream.

During a recent public scoping meeting in Missoula, Congdon said representatives with the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal agency that manages electricity from the numerous dams along the Columbia River, were less than receptive to the county’s concerns.

“Their map cuts us off,” he said.

Despite containing portions of the Columbia’s headwaters, Stermitz agreed that the federal government often overlooks Montana when considering the basin on a grand scale.

“It doesn’t surprise me the government didn’t have you in mind,” Stermitz. “They didn’t when we started.”

Stermitz, the lone private attorney working with Montana on the issue, said it required years of political maneuvering for the state to gain recognition.

BPA officials did not respond to requests for comment on this story, however the agency, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, held a series of scoping meetings around western Montana in early November seeking public comment on future operation plans.

In addition to serving as an economic driver for local communities, Congdon said area water sources are also particularly valuable to downstream stakeholders.

He said water from the Hungry Horse Reservoir flows through more hydroelectric dams than any other source on the river system.

“One gallons makes 19 individual batches of electricity,” he said.

While the Flathead basin only contributes a small portion of the river system’s overall volume, Congdon said the water it does provide is highly cost effective.

The May ruling requires the implicated federal agencies to submit a revised biological and environmental assessment by early 2018.

As the process continues, Congdon said he will explore the options to ensure local officials participate in the decision making process.

“It does affect the county,” he said.