The Ice Harbor Dam near Burbank, Washington, is one of four dams on the Lower Snake River. Environmental groups in July 2023 filed notice that they intend to sue to have the dams removed, claiming the dams cause hot water conditions that kill and injure salmon.

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Conservation and fishing groups have given 60-day notice of their intent to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, seeking removal of the Snake River dams.

Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League and the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association claim the dams cause “hot water conditions that kill and injure Snake River sockeye salmon in violation of the Endangered Species Act,” according to the letter.

“If the Biden administration breaks its promise to deliver a ‘durable solution’ for salmon recovery, this letter provides 60 days notice of our intent to sue the Corps for violations of the Endangered Species Act and seek relief up to and including the removal of four dams on the Lower Snake River,” the groups wrote.

They sent the letter Friday, July 21, to Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, commanding general and chief of engineers for the Corps, and Lt. Col. ShaiLin KingSlack, district commander and engineer for the Corps’ Walla Walla district.

In the letter, the groups claim that:

• Hot water, “caused primarily by dams,” kill and injure “significant” numbers of sockeye salmon each year.

“Without the four dams, the Lower Snake River would remain cool enough to allow most sockeye salmon to migrate safely, even in very hot years,” the letter states.

• The Corps’ “killing” of sockeye salmon violates the Endangered Species Act.

“The Corps is culpable for all take of Snake River sockeye caused by the existence, as well as the operation, of the Lower Snake River dams,” the letter states.

• A court has the authority to order Lower Snake River dam removal.

Who has authority?

The Corps and agricultural stakeholders have long argued that only Congress can authorize removal of the dams.

The groups in their letter cite the 1973 Supreme Court case Tennessee Valley Authority vs. Hill, which found that congressional authorizations and appropriations for federal dams do not create exceptions to the Endangered Species Act or prevent injunctions prohibiting such dams.

“We will seek, and a court may order, all necessary relief up to and including removal of the Lower Snake River dams to prevent the illegal killing and likely extinction of endangered Snake River sockeye,” the letter states.

“Warmer air temperatures cause warmer river temperatures,” Northwest RiverPartners, the nonprofit organization representing farmers, ports and not-for-profit utilities, said in a press release responding to the notice. “There have been heat-related salmon die-offs in Canada’s undammed Fraser River and undammed rivers as far north as Alaska.”

Northwest RiverPartners also said that this year’s Snake River sockeye returns are some of the best in recent memory.

“For a quarter of a century, anti-hydro interests have ignored the facts and the science on climate change and the important role our region’s hydroelectric dams play in helping meet the challenge of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels,” Northwest RiverPartners’ executive director, Kurt Miller, said in the release. “By doing so, they hurt our efforts to reduce emissions and help salmon that are dying because of climate change.”

Michelle Hennings, executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, agreed: “We strongly believe that dams and salmon can and do co-exist. … While we appreciate efforts to ensure the long-term health of sockeye salmon, we firmly believe that recovery does not have to come at the cost of destroying the integrity of the Columbia Snake River System. We support science-based solutions to climate challenges as well as salmon population recovery.”

The conservation and fishing groups say they continue to support ongoing efforts to replace the Lower Snake River dams’ transportation, irrigation and energy services.

“Un-damming the Lower Snake in order to cool the river and allow salmon to survive is a natural complement to those broader efforts,” the organizations said in a press release.