On 16 June 2010, the nascent Oregon Section of the American Water Resources Association (ORAWRA) held its third quarterly dinner meeting with the topic, 2014/2024 Review of the Columbia River Treaty.
John Hyde, P.E., Technical Lead, Columbia River Treaty Review, the Bonneville Power Administration; and John Shurts, General Counsel,Northwest Power and Conservation Council, gave presentations.
Some background on their presentations:
The USA and Canada are the parties to the Columbia River Treaty (CRT), ratified in 1964 for the coordinated operation of flood control and power generation. The USA implementing entity for the CRT consists of the Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division. BC Hydro and the BC Provincial Government are the implementing entities for Canada.
The CRT has no expiration date, but either country may terminate most of the CRT's provisions after 60 years - 2024. Notice of termination is required by 2014 if either country wants to terminate at the earliest opportunity (2024). Both USA and Canadian entities have initiated a set of hydropower and flood control studies of CRT implementation, benefits, costs, and how these might be affected by Treaty termination and/or climate change.
Download Hyde_CRT_16_June_2010
Download Shurts_CRT_16_June 2010
The USACE site has some CRT documents of interest.
Keep in mind that the treaty is solely between the two federal governments; the states do not have an Columbia River agreement, or compact, among themselves. I find this incomprehensible. People tell me that one isn't needed because: the river basin is managed well by BPA, USACE,USBR, BC Hydro and others; the states all get along and to negotiate a compact would just get them all squabbling; there is no water shortage; and a compact would require 'too many people' at the table; blah, blah.
The above might (??) be true in 2010, but what about 2020? 2030? 2050? Will the states get along then? Will there be enough water then? You need a compact for the bad times more than for the good times, and you need to negotiate when times are good, not when a gun is being held to your head.
"Boundaries don't protect rivers, people do." -- Aristotle
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