Proposal to breach Snake River dams prompts praise, concern
Updated Feb 08, 2021;
Posted Feb 08, 2021
Water moves through a spillway of the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Almota, Washington.AP
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A new proposal to tear down the four Lower Snake River dams has people agreeing on one thing — the dams’ value to the Northwest region.
But many of those who rely on the dams now — to produce low-cost and reliable electricity, to barge farm products for export, to provide irrigation water and for recreation — are dubious despite the plan’s attempts to make them economically whole.
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho has proposed breaching the dams and spending $33 billion to dismantle them, build new energy and transportation systems and address the economic impacts of their loss.