Two years after the U.S. State Department first reviewed recommendations to change a vital water treaty with Canada, federal officials say they are hopeful negotiations will begin in the coming months.
The Columbia River Treaty was first signed in 1964 and governs the operations of dams and reservoirs in one of North America’s largest river systems. The treaty between the U.S. and Canada resulted in the construction of four large dams – three in British Columbia and one in the Montana, the Libby Dam – in an effort to prevent devastating floods and generate hydro-electricity. Prior to the construction of the treaty dams, spring floods frequently devastated the region, most notably a 1948 flood in Vanport, Oregon that killed more than 30 people.
The treaty has no expiration date, but either country can cancel it or suggest changes beginning in 2024, as long as they give a 10-year notice. A few years ago, water regulators and interested shareholders on both sides of the border began discussing potential changes they would like to make to the treaty and. In late 2013, those changes were submitted to the State Department, which would lead any negotiations with Canada.
Since then, the State Department has reviewed suggestions from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bonneville Power Administration, and shareholders in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Among the primary goals outlined by regulators is to continue to generate electricity and provide flood control. However, officials also hope to add additional environmental protections to the treaty.
American regulators also hope to change how Canada is paid for water storage. The 1964 treaty called for a one-time payment equal to half of the downstream power generated in the United States for 30 years. That payment of $254 million worth of electricity helped Canada build its three treaty dams. That part of the agreement expired in 2003 and since then the United States has delivered a daily allotment of power to Canada, worth $222 million to $359 million annually, known as the Canadian Entitlement. American officials believe that is too steep a price to pay moving forward.
In a statement to the Beacon, a State Department official said the agency was continuing to meet with stakeholders across the Pacific Northwest, including Indian tribes, in an effort to ensure that everyone’s concerns are taken into account.
“The State Department is now discussing how to transition those deliberations, which including the Regional Recommendation, into a process that allows us to formally engage with the Canadian government,” a State Department spokesperson said.
There is no fixed timeline for when negotiations will take place.