The Board of Commissioners of Clallam County PUD #1, on April 10, became the first public utility district in the region to come out in favor of restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River. The utility serves citizen-owners on Washington State’s North Olympic Peninsula. The commissioners unanimously approved a resolution that minced no words. The resolution makes these key points:
- The scientific case for the breach of the lower Snake River dams is “conclusive”
- “…the Board supports breaching the lower Snake River dams”
- “…the Board supports a comprehensive solution that restores a free-flowing lower Snake River, replaces the services the lower Snake dams now provide, and works to bring communities across the region forward together”
The PUD joins the City of Port Angeles, with its own municipal electric utility, in supporting breaching the lower snake dams and replacing their services. Last summer, the Port Angeles city council unanimously approved a letter to Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee. That letter told Murray and Inslee that:
- “There is broad agreement among salmon scientists that restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River is one essential component of a larger regional recovery strategy”
- “Replacement of the services these four dams now provide is feasible and affordable”
- “The status quo is unsustainable. It has proven costly, illegal, and inadequate, and it has perpetuated an atmosphere of uncertainty for all involved”
Marc Sullivan, Western Washington Coordinator for Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, applauded the stand taken by Clallam PUD and the City of Port Angeles, stating, “The combination of realism and vision shown by these utilities is heartening and helpful. Other public utilities across the region should take notice and follow their example.”
Olympic Climate Action 