Hydroelectric Dams: Interior Favors Removing Elwha River Dams, but Who Should Pay is Undecided.
Abstract
The Department of the Interior's position is that in order to restore fisheries in the Elwha River, the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams need to be removed from the Elwha River. This position was developed within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior with input from the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. In a June 12, 1991, letter to FERC about pending applications for relicensing the Glines Canyon Dam and initial licensing of the Elwha Dam, Interior stated its position and justified it on the basis of inherent obligations to (1) ensure restoration of all species of anadromous fish to their former habitat within the Elwha River basin; (2) ensure restoration of the ecosystem in the Elwha River basin, including the Olympic National Park, which encompasses one of the two dams; and (3) facilitate access of resident Indian tribes to their usual and accustomed fishing places, as required under U.S. treaty obligations with the tribes. Although Interior's position is that removal of the dams is needed to satisfy the above obligations, Interior had not, as of May 1, 1992, resolved with FERC and the Office of Management and Budget (0MB) the questions of whether the two dams would be removed and, in that event, who should be responsible for paying the costs of removing them. Interior officials said that a successful project to remove the dams would require unified administration positions on removing the dams and on who should pay the costs-the owner or the government and, if the government, which federal agency. (MM)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA298674
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office