Corps Reopens Bonneville Lock Ahead Of Schedule, Barges, Cruise Ships Moving Again
October 3rd, 2019
Barges loaded with grain and pushed by tugboats, as well as a river cruise liner, were again able to pass downstream through the Bonneville Dam lock beginning Friday, after the lock was closed in early September and they were stranded upstream of the dam. The opening was at least 48 hours earlier than that originally planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Bonneville Power Signs Western Energy Imbalance Market Implementation Agreement
October 3rd, 2019
The Bonneville Power Administration last week took steps that position it to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market, a move aimed at enhancing the value of the federal power and transmission systems in the Northwest.
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Memo Offers Preliminary 2019 Juvenile Salmon/Steelhead Survival Estimates Through Columbia/Snake Dams; Sockeye Show Improvement
September 26th, 2019
Survival estimates for juvenile salmon and steelhead during the 2019 spring migration through Snake and Columbia river dams – Lower Granite Dam to Bonneville Dam – varied: Snake River sockeye survival was above average, while Snake River yearling chinook survival was near average, and Snake River steelhead survival fell below average, according to a recently released NOAA Fisheries memorandum.
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Damaged Bonneville Dam Lock To Be Closed Until End Of Month; 100,000 Tons Of Product Stranded Upstream, One Cruise Vessel
September 13th, 2019
The navigation lock that allows commercial and recreational vessels to pass upstream and downstream through Bonneville Dam will be out of service for the remainder of this month. River traffic through the dam can return to normal Sept. 30, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Bonneville Power Administration CEO Responds To News Story Contending Agency ‘Going Broke’; Says Financial Condition Sound
September 11th, 2019
In a Sept. 3 article with the headline “Hydropower Giant Bonneville Power is Going Broke” the national E&E News said the Bonneville Power Administration is “careening toward a financial cliff.”
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Attorneys General Want Corps To Drop Proposed Water Rule: Say Takes Water Rights From States, Could Allow Corps To Charge For Reservoir Water
August 28th, 2019
Attorneys general from a dozen western states want the Trump administration to halt a proposal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that they say usurps states' authority over their own water.
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River Managers Have Additional Dworshak Water To Keep Clearwater, Lower Snake Cooler For Fish Through September
August 28th, 2019
The elevation of the pool level at Dworshak Dam will be more than 3 feet higher beginning the month of September than had been expected, giving river managers additional water to keep the Clearwater River and tailwater at Lower Granite on the Snake River cooler throughout the month.
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Who Sets Water Temperature Standards For Columbia/Snake Rivers? Arguments Heard In Ninth Circuit
August 27th, 2019
Opposing sides argued before a three-judge panel at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should complete regulations for temperature, known as Total Maximum Daily Load, for the Snake and Columbia rivers, or whether completing the TMDL is the responsibility of Oregon and Washington.
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A Record-Breaking Run Of Non-Native American Shad In Columbia River Dwarfs Salmon Return Numbers
August 23rd, 2019
American shad, a silvery bullet of a fish whose home waters are on the East Coast of the U.S., migrated into the Columbia River basin this year in record numbers. Nearly 7.5 million of the 18-inch, 3 to 8 pound fish crossed Bonneville Dam, more than four times the number of salmon and steelhead that have crossed the dam this year.