Trump upends Biden-era effort to demolish hydroelectric dams in Columbia River

President Donald Trump has revoked a $1 billion Biden-era agreement to protect salmon in Washington state, with Trump framing the move as a rollback of the Green New Deal championed by his predecessor.

The Biden deal committed to restoring the fish population and paved the way for the destruction of four hydroelectric dams on the Snake River.

“President Trump continues to deliver on his promise to end the previous administration’s misplaced priorities and protect the livelihoods of the American people,” an announcement detailing the move explained.

Trump protects dams

While Biden did not explicitly take a position on demolishing the dams, tribal and environmental groups hailed the agreement —  which called for alternative “clean” energy sources — as a clear step towards breaching the dams.

The Trump administration warned that breaching the dams would negatively impact the economy.

“Dam breaching would have resulted in reduced water supply to farmers, eliminated several shipping channels, had devastating impacts to agriculture, increased energy costs, and eliminated recreational opportunities throughout the region,” Trump’s memo says.

Local tribes dismayed

The Biden administration’s agreement capped years of legal battles between the federal government and local tribes who have sought to breach the dams, citing the dwindling salmon population.

“We reserved the right to actually catch fish, not merely the right to dip our nets into barren waters,” Yakama council member Jeremy Takala said in response to Trump’s move.

But those who defend the dams say the threat of extinction is exaggerated, and not great enough to justify disruptions to commerce and the energy grid.

In a statement, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) said Trump’s memo “reverses the efforts by the Biden administration and extreme environmental activists to remove the dams, which would have threatened the reliability of our power grid, raised energy prices, and decimated our ability to export grain to foreign markets.”

“Onerous” burdens

The Trump administration framed Biden’s move as a misguided action that saddles the government with “onerous” burdens based on speculative concerns.

The memo also subtly highlighted the woke tone of Biden’s agreement, quoting language that calls for the “equitable treatment for fish.”‘

The Biden plan would “have eliminated over 3,000 megawatts of secure and reliable hydroelectric generating capacity—which is enough generation to power 2.5 million American homes,” the White House says.

The dam’s opponents are dismayed, but they say they will keep fighting.

“Unfortunately, this short-sighted decision to renege on this important agreement is just the latest in a series of anti-government and anti-science actions coming from the Trump administration,” said EarthJustice senior attorney Amanda Goodin. “This administration may be giving up on our salmon, but we will keep fighting to prevent extinction and realize win-win solutions for the region.”