DESCRIPTION

Following twenty years of negotiations, the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada took effect in 1964, as a mechanism for the cooperative development of portions of the Columbia River Basin for flood control and electricity generation.  The Treaty provided for the construction and operation of new dams and electricity generation as well as defined and coordinated hydro operations, and provisions for sharing the benefits of hydropower.  While the Treaty has no expiration date, the flood control operation provisions were set to end in 2024, and would have automatically been replaced by less-defined flood control operations termed “called-upon” unless replaced through a revised Treaty.  On July 11, 2024, the U.S. and Canada announced an Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) regarding key elements of a modernized Treaty.  This agreement provides for interim flood control operations while the parties negotiate final Treaty terms.

This session is for everyone with an interest in the Columbia River Basin.  Join a discussion on the provisions revealed in the AIP for flood risk management, power coordination and compensation, benefit sharing, and, for the first time, community and cultural values, ecosystem functions and specifically salmon reintroduction. What will a Modernized Columbia River Treaty mean to you?

This panel is within the Hot Topics at the conference. 
This is a general interest topic relevant to anyone working in the Northwest.  

Moderator:
Catrin Bryan, McMillen

Panelists:

• Peter Graf, Grant County PUD
• Kristian Mickelson, US Army Corps of Engineers

Speaker Bios:

• Coming Soon