Leaked document says US is willing to build replacement energy projects in case dams are breached

By HALLIE GOLDEN and REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — In a strong sign that the U.S. will consider breaching four controversial dams on the Snake River, a leaked Biden administration document says the government is prepared to help build clean energy projects to replace the power generated by the dams. Still, Congress would have to agree before any of the Lower Snake River dams are removed, and that’s unlikely to happen in the near future. The confidential document is a draft agreement to uphold 168-year-old treaties with four Pacific Northwest tribes. The Columbia River Basin was once the greatest salmon-producing river system in the world. But salmon runs are threatened, and conservationists say the dams are a main culprit.