The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday approved a bill by Oregon’s senators to authorize up to $32 million in federal funding for repair of the privately owned Wallowa Lake Dam and for water conservation and fish restoration in the watershed.
The bill, S. 1883, by Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., both members of the committee, is opposed by the Bush administration because the northeastern Oregon dam is owned by local irrigators.