Water Down the Drain - ESA the Cause

Liberty Matters News Service

3/10/06

Olympia, WA - Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-WA) wants to help shed some light on how much the Endangered Species Act costs electricity customers with HR 4857, the Endangered Species Compliance and Transparency Act of 2006. "Whether or not you agree with how the Endangered Species Act is being implemented is not the point of this legislation," said McMorris. "This bill simply gives customers the right to know how much of the federal government's ESA costs are being passed on to the electricity consumer." When electricity users learn how much they are paying in increased power bills to preserve salmon, they may wonder if the cost is worth it. "In 2004, one mandated spill (release of water over the dam) cost the federal government $77 million in lost hydropower generation in the Pacific Northwest," according to McMorris's March 2 press release. Another costly spill occurred last summer, according to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), in which between 25 and 300 adult salmon were assisted on their way to the Pacific Ocean costing rate payers between $250,000 to $3 million per fish.

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News Release
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris
Representing Washington’s 5th Congressional District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jill Strait
March 2, 2006
(202) 225-2006

McMorris Introduces Legislation to Require ESA Cost Transparency

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Cathy McMorris (WA-05) today introduced the Endangered Species Compliance and Transparency Act of 2006. The bill requires Power Marketing Administrations, including the Bonneville Power Administration, to provide each wholesale firm customer a list of direct and indirect cost estimates associated with compliance under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"Whether or not you agree with how the Endangered Species Act is being implemented is not the point of this legislation," said McMorris. "This bill simply gives customers the right to know how much of the federal government's ESA costs are being passed on to the electricity consumer, who can then decide whether or not these expenditures are being spent effectively."

ESA costs related to endangered salmon have risen considerably over the last several years due to federal court-mandates and other compliance programs. In 2004, one mandated spill cost the federal government $77 million in lost hydropower generation in the Pacific Northwest. Another spill this year helped make the Bonneville Power Administration the federal agency with the highest ESA compliance costs in the Nation. According to the BPA, last summer's spill assisted between 25 to 300 adult salmon, meaning it cost rates payers between $250,000 to $3 million per fish. By law, the agency passes on all of these costs to its wholesale customers, who in turn forward the costs on to the retail electricity consumer.

Direct costs associated with compliance include study-related costs, capital, operations, maintenance, replacement costs and staffing costs. Indirect costs include forgone generation and replacement power costs.

Co-sponsors of the bill include Doc Hastings (WA-04), Norm Dicks (WA-06), Greg Walden (OR-02), Butch Otter (ID -01), and Mike Simpson (ID-02).