U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines rejected the draft report commissioned by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Governor Jay Inslee to study the impact of breaching four hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River, dams that are critical to supplying Northwestern Montana with clean, renewable energy.
Daines said:“We shouldn’t be breaching dams, we should be increasing clean and reliable baseload hydropower. When a multi-year, comprehensive and science-based federal study concluded unequivocally that the costs of breaching the lower Snake River dams far outweigh any potential benefits, Democrats set out to complete a one-sided report to justify their radical agenda, instead of seeking out a true collaborative process to improve fisheries.”
“This is a one-sided, predetermined review that overstates the benefits of removing the dams and understates the costs to Montana households, ranchers, farmers, and regional clean energy goals. Breaching dams will raise energy and food costs even higher,” Daines continued.
The Senator joins many voices of concern, including the Northwest River Partners, who said the plan to breach the dam “fails to set reasonable legitimacy standards.”
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Contact: Blake Kernen, Rachel Dumke