President Trump issued a memo directing the federal government to withdraw from a deal with four tribes and two states that considered the future operation of four dams on the Lower Snake River and eventually could have led to their breach.
President Donald Trump pulled the federal government out of a deal the previous administration had signed that eventually could have led to breaching several dams on the Snake River in the Pacific Northwest operated by the Bonneville Power Administration.
Trump issued a memo June 12 withdrawing from the deal that was entered into after lengthy litigation about four tribes’ rights to fish in the river. The deal was opposed by other interests in the region including senior Republicans in Congress. (See Parties Split on Biden Administration Deal on Snake River Dams.)
The Biden administration was considering breaching four dams that produce more than 3,000 MW, but it had not made a final decision.
“The negative impacts from these reckless acts, if completed, would be devastating for the region, and there would be no viable approach to replace the low-cost, baseload energy supplied; the critical shipping channels lost; the vital water supply for local farmers reduced; or the recreational opportunities that would no longer be possible as a result of these acts,” Trump’s memo said.
The memo directs cabinet secretaries to work to withdraw from the deal and to rescind a supplemental environmental impact statement on the four dams that was published in December 2024.
The Department of Energy said the Biden-era memo of understanding (MOU) required the government to spend $1 billion to comply with commitments aimed at replacing the dams in the Lower Snake River, including possibly breaching them.
“The Snake River Dams have been tremendous assets to the Pacific Northwest for decades, providing high-value electricity to millions of American families and businesses,” DOE Secretary Chris Wright said. “American taxpayer dollars will not be spent dismantling critical infrastructure [or] reducing our energy-generating capacity.”
The Biden administration signed the deal with the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Nez Perce tribes along with the states of Oregon and Washington. The deal supported federal investments in a comprehensive plan for salmon restoration, energy development and transportation infrastructure in the Columbia Basin, said a press release from the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
The MOU from Biden also led to the stay of ongoing litigation under the Endangered Species Act over federal hydropower operations the federal government had consistently lost in, said the Yakama.
“The administration’s abrupt termination of the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement jeopardizes not only tribal treaty-reserved resources but also the stability of energy, transportation and water resources essential to the region’s businesses, farms, and families,” Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Gerald Lewis said in a statement. “This agreement was designed to foster collaborative and informed resource management and energy development in the Pacific Northwest, including significant tribal energy initiatives. The administration’s decision to terminate these commitments echoes the federal government’s historic pattern of broken promises to tribes and is contrary to President Trump’s stated commitment to domestic energy development.”
The Yakama Nation is disappointed Trump withdrew from the deal, especially without prior consultation. The way the government has managed the river historically will lead to salmon extinction, Lewis said.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also blasted the decision to withdraw from a deal two states and four tribes worked hard on only “to have it upended so casually from 3,000 miles away.”
“Donald Trump proves yet again his irrational preference for litigation and mindless destruction of actual achievements like this settlement agreement,” said Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “His approach will make life more difficult for businesses and families by upending meaningful progress to meet regional energy production, water resources and transportation needs while recovering a river and its salmon key to our part of the country.”
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association welcomed the move by Trump, which seeks to ensure the dams are not breached.
“Hydroelectric power is the reason the lights stay on in the region,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said in a statement. “And as demand for electricity surges across the nation, preserving access to always-available energy resources like hydropower is absolutely crucial.”
