STATEMENT OF GEORGE T. FRAMPTON, JR.
ACTING CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE AND DRINKING WATER
JUNE 23, 1999

Mr. Chairman, Senator Reid and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to appear before you today to testify about the Federal role in salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin, particularly long-term decisions regarding the Federal Columbia River Power System. I have invited senior representatives from the regional agencies which are providing the lead role in this effort.

I am pleased to be accompanied today by senior agency representatives from the region who are providing the lead role in this effort: Donna Darm, Assistant Regional Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service and Witt Anderson, Fisheries Biologist in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland of rice and by Steve Wright, Vice President, Corporate of the Bonneville Power Administration. They are key members of the Administration's northwest salmon recovery team and here to respond to your questions.

Before delving into the specifics of the Columbia Basin, let me first provide several points of context.

Many salmon and steelhead runs in the Pacific Northwest and California are in deep trouble. Several runs are, according to our fishery scientists, at serious risk of extinction. From Puget Sound to Central California, these runs need our help if we are to pass this important legacy to our children and to future generations. Extinction is not an option. This Administration, along with the people of the Northwest, is firmly committed to doing what we must to restore our precious salmon runs.

Salmon are a keystone species which serve as an important indicator of the health of our streams and river systems overall. Healthy salmon runs require clean, healthy river and stream systems, which define our Northwest landscape.

Healthy, productive landscapes and a strong economy go hand in hand. The Pacific Northwest, and the nation as a whole, is reaping the benefits of a glowing and expanding economy that is unprecedented in our time. Jobs, wages, and opportunity are bounding forward, hand in hand with a growing commitment to protecting our environment. The people insist upon both, and they are right. We reject the false choice of protecting either the economy or the environment: we have proven that we can do both.

The salmon challenge poses special opportunities upon which we should act. While the Federal Endangered Species Act has served as a call to arms in the salmon effort, the solutions lie greatly in the realm of state and local commitments. Healthy streams and rivers are the keys to salmon recovery, since it is in those streams and rivers that the salmon are born and to which they return to continue their cycle of life. State, tribal and local authorities are instrumental in managing the many activities which affect clean water and healthy streams. We are therefore committed to building partnerships with state, tribal and local governments and the private sector to enlist the full range of capabilities and experience in getting the job done. Accordingly, that is why this Administration has entered into precedent-setting efforts with California Oregon, Washington and local governments to craft solutions to the salmon challenge. And that is why this Administration has proposed a $100 million dollar Pacific Coastal Salmon Fund to assist the states and tribes in recovery efforts outside the Columbia and Snake Rivers for the coming fiscal year. We urge your support for this important effort.

You have heard much discussion of the "Four H's" which have been the principal human causes of the declines in salmon runs the last half of this century. They are: habitat, hydropower, hatcheries and harvest. Regarding the issue of harvest, I would urge you and your colleagues in the strongest possible terms to embrace the historic agreement we recently brokered with Canada under the auspices of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and the leadership of the state and tribal governments. This agreement, which is dependent upon your support and Federal dollars, is essential to solving the harvest side of the problem, which in turn is essential to salmon recovery along the coast. Please do not let this opportunity slip by. Help us seize the moment.

Next, allow me to turn to the matter of the Federal Columbia River Power System and its role in both the recovery of salmon stocks in the Columbia and Snake system, and the Four H recovery strategy.

The genesis of the so-called "99 Decision" is the requirement under the Endangered Species Act that Federal agencies avoid actions that jeopardize the continued existence of threatened and endangered species. In 1995, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) consulted with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Bureau of Reclamation on the impacts of the Federal Columbia River Power System on three runs of Snake River salmon listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. At that time, NMFS concluded it needed more information to be able to give its scientific opinion on whether the Snake River salmon runs could recover under various long-term operations and configurations of the Power System. NMFS said it would revisit that question in 1999 after it had gathered more information and pursued, with the operating agencies, an aggressive program to improve salmon survivals in the interim and generate better information about longer-term remedies.

In 1999, the situation is different than it was in 1995. There are now 12 runs of salmon and steelhead stocks as well as sturgeon, bull trout, and snails in the Columbia River Basin that are listed under the Act. The operation and configuration of the Federal power system affects all of these runs -- some significantly, others less so. Federal agencies are now examining the impacts of the system not just on Snake River salmon, but on all listed species. In short, it is no longer simply a question of the Snake River stocks, it is a multispecies recovery effort.

For a number of important reasons, the NMFS and the other Federal agencies believe it is important to view the effects of the Federal dams in the context of all human activities that affect the fish. First, they will have to judge whether the fish are likely to survive and recover with the impacts from the Federal dams together with all other impacts. To make this judgment, they will need to estimate what is likely to happen to the fish in the other areas of their life cycle; in harvest, hatcheries and habitat. For the fish to survive and recover there must be firm and reliable improvements in their survival across their extraordinary lifecycle. Improvements in survival through the Federal power system are essential. So too are improvements in the productivity of the river and stream systems in which the young salmon grow and to which the adults return. Substantial reforms in harvest management and improvements in the hatchery practices throughout the Basin are essential.

Second, creating this Four-H context helps remind people that there is no silver bullet that will solve the salmon crisis. The action-by-action consultation approach of the ESA promotes the tendency of people to believe there is a single solution to a very complex problem. The Federal hydropower system is a major source of mortality for salmon, and the debate about dam operation and configuration creates an understandable opportunity for controversy and polarization. By creating a Four-H context, the Federal agencies aim to remind everyone that it is the entire range of human activity that got the fish into trouble, and it will take work in that entire range of human activity to get them out of trouble.

Are we prepared to address the issue of harvest? I am heartened to report that the answer is yes, if we implement the necessary agreements under the Salmon Treaty now before you. Are we prepared to address the issue of hatcheries? Again, my reply is yes. Are we developing a long-term plan for reducing predation by Caspian terns in the estuary? Of course. And what about the all-encompassing issue of healthy streams and tributaries, the crucial link in the salmon lifecycle? Frankly, the issue is open, and it depends in part on state, local and tribal commitments to protect and restore that habitat.

We believe a home-grown regional solution is best if it is scientifically sound. We have directed the federal agencies with disparate missions to work together and with the region to develop a solution to the salmon challenge. The Federal agencies have been meeting for several months now to do their homework on these issues, and have been working closely with the states and tribes through the Multispecies Framework Project to develop alternative solutions to the salmon challenge. These alternatives include a broad range of strategies, from improving the hydropower system with all dams in place, to removing one or more projects. We support a regional strategy, and will continue to emphasize that it must be biologically sound to stand the test of time.

We expect the results of regional analyses of the alternatives to be available in the fall. It will be especially instructive to have completed the biological analyses that gives us an indication of whether threatened and endangered fish can be expected to recover under different sets of alternatives. Both the Federal agencies and the Multispecies Framework Project are coordinating on the scientific analysis. Economic analysis is being conducted both through the Corps' EIS on Snake River drawdown and through the Multispecies Framework Project. We also hope to have information on opportunities to mitigate economic impacts on local communities. Through this regional coordination on the analytical tools, we can develop a common understanding of the biological and economic impacts of the choices.

The Federal agencies have committed to share their analyses and their ideas with the other governments of the Region through the Columbia River Basin Forum, and we stand by that commitment. Once we have the initial results of the biological and economic analyses this fall, the region can decide what alternatives it would like to explore further both in terms of biological effects and economic impacts. No final Federal decisions relating to the future operation or configuration of the Federal Power System will be made by Federal agencies until after the issues are raised and discussed with the other governments through the Forum and other mechanisms.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would urge that all of us allow the region to work through these issues. From an Administration perspective, that is our approach and preference. This fall the Framework will lay the options in front of the Region, and no doubt lively debate will ensue. The Administration will pay close attention to that debate, and will ensure that the Regional agencies are fully engaged. But we will not prejudge the outcome, nor try to steer it in a particular direction.

This Administration is proud of its record of protecting the environment and promoting a strong economy in the Pacific Northwest. We bring the same principles to this very complex issue and are committed to finding outcomes that strengthen the fabric of this region.

In closing, let me reiterate my strong request for your support for the Salmon Treaty agreement, for the Pacific Salmon Fund, and for regional decision making. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these important matters with you today. My colleagues and I are happy to answer any questions you might have.