BRUCE WESTERMAN OF ARKANSAS RAUL M. GRLUIALVA OF ARIZONA CHAIRMAN ‘RANKING DEMOCRAT ‘STATE OREGTON US. House of Representatives ewocnare Starr RECTOR Committee on Natural Resources Washington, BC 20515 April 8, 2024 ‘The Honorable Shalanda Young Director Office of Management and Budget 725 17" Street NW Washington, DC 20503 Dear Director Youn; ‘The House Committee on Natural Resources (Committee) is deeply concerned with the Biden Administration's approach to energy affordability across the Pacific Northwest and the vulnerability and uncertainty that communities face due to the Biden administration’s actions. To ensure the use of the best available science for the effective management of water resources, fisheries, and hydropower production, the Committee seeks information from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to President Biden's Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steethead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin (Healthy and Abundant Memo).' Specifically, the Committee is interested in the forthcoming information that all agencies and departments “with applicable authorities and responsibilities” will provide OMB in support of the Biden administration’s stated policy to restore “healthy and abundant” native fish populations to the Columbia River Basin.” ‘The four Lower Snake River Dams are critical to America’s economy and the Pacific Northwest's electric grid. The Lower Snake River Dams were completed in the 1970s and provide a significant economic benefit to the nation, with 40 million tons of cargo worth over $3 billion and 40 percent of America’s wheat moving through the Snake River system yearly.’ Additionally, the Lower Snake River Dams have the ability to provide more than 3,000 megawatts of hydropower to the Bonneville Power Administration.’ Hydropower provides individuals and ° Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations inthe Columbia River Basin, THE WiTE HOUSE (Sep. 27, 2023), hiips:/www, Poriefing-roomipresieatal: 3/09/27 imemorandum-on- healthy ishe ‘populations-in-the-columbia-river- asin/#:-:text=In%20recosnition’42001%20these%420prori %620salmon%42C%420ste 2C%420and 20other [hereinafter the Healthy and Abundant Memo} 7 > Walla Walla District, Lower Snake River Dams, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, htps:/www nww.usace army,mil/Missions/Lower-Snake-River-Dams (last visited Apr. 27, 2023). +A Northwest energy solution: Regional power benefits ofthe [ower Snake River dams, COLUMBIA RIVER. BASIN FEDERAL CAUCUS, hiips://www.salmonrecovery:gow/home/lower-snake-rivet-dams-power-benefits (last visited March 5, 2024). apuieturatesoutcesiouss gov‘The Honorable Shalanda Young—OMB April 8, 2024 Page 2 of 6 families across the Pacific Northwest access to an affordable, reliable energy source that is notably carbon-free. Indeed, a reliability analysis conducted by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in 2015 indicates that replacing the Lower Snake River Dams would increase carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2.0 to 2.6 million tons annually,’ undermining President Biden’s stated goal of achieving a net zero emissions economy by 2050. Moreover, breaching the dams would have a dramatic impact on the region and local residents. Another study that BPA contracted Energy and Environmental Economics to conduct in July 2022 found that breaching the Lower Snake River Dams would cost between $415 million to $860 million annually by 2045, with consumer energy bills increasing 8-18% as a result.’ Hence, it is indisputable that a breach of the Lower Snake River Dams would lead to innumerable challenges across the Pacific Northwest. ‘The importance and viability of the Lower Snake River Dams was detailed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in a July 2020 Biological Opinion (BiOp), which supported the continued operation of the Lower Snake River Dams and concluded that dams are “managed to benefit” fish populations in the Columbia River Basin.® The BiOp also detailed how the flexible spill passage operations of the Lower Snake River Dams increase juvenile passage conditions and adult returns for fish populations while providing power system management, irrigation, water supply, navigation, and recreation benefits to the Northwest Region? On September 28, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Energy’s Bonneville Power Administration (collectively, the Agencies of Record), issued a joint Record of Decision (ROD) on the Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement (CRSO EIS). The CRSO EIS was developed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and was the product of a years-long public process aimed at reviewing and updating the management of the 14 federal dams on the Columbia River system, including the Lower Snake River Dams.'° The process cost $50 million and “involved technical experts, the input of thousands of individuals via public comment and meetings, scientific models, and detailed economic analyses.”!' The ROD stated that the U.S. Army Corps of Pid. « President Biden Sets 2030 Greenhouse Gas Polluion Reduction Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs and Securing US. Leadership on Clean Energy Technologies, THE WHITE HOUSE (Apr. 22, 2021), ‘n-clean-energy-technologies: 7 BPA Lower Snake River Dams Power Replacement Study, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS, INC. (E3) Guly 2022), hgps:/vw, xn/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/e3-bpa-lower-snake-tiverdams-power- replacement-studvpd, "Endangered Spectes Act Section 7(a)(2) Biological Opinion and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Response for the Continued Operation and Maintenance ofthe Columbia River System, NAT'L OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN, NAT'L MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE SI (July 24, 2020), |tns:/tepository library.noaa,gov/view/noaa/26460 (hereinafter BiOp}. 9 Id, at S4-SS. "° Record of Decision; Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement, DEP’T OF ENERG* BONNEVILLE POWER ADMIN, 85 Fed. Reg. 196 (Oct. 8, 2020), hups//www.govinfe govicomtenvpks/FR-2020-10- )-22143 [hereinafter ROD]. '" Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Final Report, GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE, SENATOR PATTY MURRAY (Aug, 2022), hipsd/govemor.wa,gov/sites/defaulfiles/2022- LU/LSRD®%20Beneft le Final¥420Repor_ Ausus1¥20202:‘The Honorable Shalanda Young—OMB April 8, 2024 Page 3 of 6 Engineers “determined, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) CRS Biological Opinions demonstrate, based on the best available commercial and scientific information, that the Corps’ implementation of the Selected Alternative will not jeopardize listed species or adversely modify or destroy critical habitat.”"? Ultimately, the Agencies of Record selected a preferred course of action in the ROD that continued the operation of the Lower Snake River Dams and supported the recovery and “harvest” of salmon and steelhead fisheries in the Columbia River Basin.'? In December 2020, a variety of parties interested in breaching the Lower Snake River Dams filed suit challenging the BiOp and ROD."* In October 2021, the Biden administration and various parties to the litigation filed a motion to stay the litigation to work towards a long-term agreement, on the fate of the Lower Snake River Dams.'* The motion to stay included a short-term agreement to operate the Lower Snake River Dams at a reduced capacity.'¢ During the mediation, the Biden administration, while supposedly defending the BiOp and ROD as a defendant in the litigation, contradicted the ROD in a March 28, 2022, blog post from NOAA, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Department of the Interior (DOD), and others (Blog Post)” The Blog Post undermined the BiOp and ROD, asserting that the Lower Snake River Dams “cannot continue business as usual” and announcing that the Biden administration would chart a “new path forward” on the fate of the dams.'* In doing so, the Biden administration referenced calls to support “abundant” Salmon populations, a position it would later adopt, and efforts to breach the Lower Snake River Dams." Nonetheless, the Blog Post acknowledged that breaching the Lower Snake River Dams would require an act of Congress.” A month later, in May 2022, CEQ announced that the Biden administration engaged the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to “mediate and facilitate” with a group of select parties involved in the litigation.2! The mediation was subsequently widely criticized for excluding ® ROD, supra note 10 at 63834-35. © ROD, supra note 10 at 63866. See Memorandum of Understanding, National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Case No. 3:01-cv-640-SI (Dec. 14, 2023), htps:/earthjustie.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snake-river-ltigation-mou, (providing a brief history of the litigation) 'S Press Release, U.S. DEP'T OF THE INTERIOR, Biden-Harris Administration Announces Steps to Improve Conditions for Salmon in the Columbia River Basin, (Oct. 21, 2021), htips:/vww.doi.gov/pressteleas 5 harris: m improve-conditions-salmon-columbia-river. id. Council on Environmental Quality et al, Columbia River Basin Fisheries: Working Together to Develop a Path Forward, THE WaITE HOUSE (Mar. 28, 2022), hrips:/vww.shitehouse.gov/ceq/news-updates/2022/03/28/columbiax river-basin-fisheries-working-together-to-develop-a-path-forward/. "Ta. Ia. 1d. 21 Columbia River Salmon and Other Native Fish Request for Information, COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL, QUALITY, 88 Fed, Reg. 28532 (May 4, 2023), https:/avww federalresister.govidocuments/2023/08/ y‘The Honorable Shalanda Young—-OMB April 8, 2024 Page 4 of 6 key stakeholders, with the process described as a “smoke-filled room” replete with backroom deals.” Later that year, in September 2022, NOAA released a report stating that breaching the Lower Snake River Dams was the “centerpiece” of achieving “abundant” stocks of salmon, steelhead, and other fish species (Rebuilding Report)? Thus, with a sleight of hand, the Rebuilding Report moved closer to shifting the Federal govemment’s goal for native fisheries populations in the Columbia River Basin—from harvestable to abundant—without using the best available science. Like the Blog Post, the Rebuilding Report raises the question of whether the Biden administration made a good-faith effort to defend the BiOp and ROD during the litigation or if the Biden administration was effectively on the side of the plaintiffs suing the Federal government to breach the Lower Snake River Dams. Following an extension of the litigation stay and the ongoing secretive mediation process, on September 27, 2023, President Biden issued the Healthy and Abundant Memo, explicitly committing the Federal government to deliver “healthy and abundant” salmon, steelhead, and native fish populations to the Columbia River Basin.”* Additionally, the Healthy and Abundant ‘memo directed “All executive departments and agencies (agencies) with applicable authorities and responsibilities” to “provide the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director) an assessment of the agency’s programs that can advance the policy established in section 1"?*—i.e, “efforts to restore healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin.”” Section 2(c) of the Health and Abundant Memo directed agencies to submit the information by May 4, 20248 Then, on December 14, 2023, CEQ announced a five-year stay on litigation with a settlement agreement between the Biden Administration and the states of Oregon and Washington, several tribes, and various nonprofit litigants in favor of breaching the Lower Snake River Dams (Settlement Agreement).”° The Settlement Agreement included a $300 million commitment from the Federal government to “restore native fish and their habitats” and deliver “healthy and abundant” levels of salmon, steelhead, and other native fish in the Columbia River Basin.” Like 2 Matthew Weaver, Ag stakeholders say they're shut out of federal Snake River dam mediation, CAPITAL PRESS (Aug. 17, 2023, updated Aug. 21, 2023), hups:/wwow.apitalpress.com/as_sectors/water/ag-stakeholders-say-theyre shut-out-of-federal-snake-river-dam-mediation/article_63507128-3cS7- lee-ad3f-dF434fe4258. him] ® Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steethead, NAT°L OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN., [NAT'L MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (Sep. 30, 2022) hups:/media fisheries.noga.gov/2022-09/rebuildin columbia-basin-salmon-steelhead.pdf. id. 2 Healthy and Abundant Memo, supra note | Id Md mid ® Biden-Harris Administration Announces Ten-Year Partnership with Tribes & States to Restore Wild Salmon, Expand Clean Energy Production, Increase Resilience, and Provide Energy Stability in the Columbia River Basin, THE WHITE HOUSE (Dec. 14, 2023), https:/www. whitehouse gov/esq/news-updates!2023/12/14/biden-harris- estore-wild-salmon-expand-cle interior.‘The Honorable Shalanda Young OMB April 8, 2024 Page 5 of 6 the Biden administration’s Blog Post, Rebuilding Report, and Healthy and Abundant Memo, the Settlement Agreement does not define what an “abundant” native fish population means. In response to the Settlement Agreement, on February 8, 2024, the U.S, District Court for the District, of Oregon issued a five-year stay of the litigation.*! The Committee is deeply concemed that the ultimate goal of the Biden administration is to make the Lower Snake River Dams inoperable. Indeed, the Biden administration’s Blog Post, Rebuilding Report, Healthy and Abundant Memo, and Settlement Agreement, are all geared towards reducing the economic viability of the Lower Snake River Dams while laying the foundation for their eventual removal. Recent remarks from Biden administration officials suggest the Committee’s fears are well founded. On February 23, 2024, CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory (Mallory) joined other Biden administration officials—including John Podesta, the president’s chief clean energy advisor, and the Department of the Interior's Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis (Daniel-Davis)— for a ceremony signing the settlement agreement over the Lower Snake River Dams. At the ceremony, Mallory stated that “I’m confident that with that we will secure ... a restored Columbia River Basin” and that she “want{s] to be there to witness that moment when we see it all come together.” At the same ceremony, Daniel-Davis took a bolder position on the fate of the Lower Snake River Dams, declaring that “Our work is far from finished. ..But this agreement is a tuning point and our collective efforts to restore this ecosystem for our shared and abundant future.” ‘The Biden administration publishing a variety of scientifically dubious blog posts, memos, and reports while undermining the continued operation of the Lower Snake River Dams during a secretive mediation process favoring radical pro-breaching litigants confirms the imperative role that Congress and the Committee must play regarding the fate of the Lower Snake River Dams. Indeed, as CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory begrudgingly admitted at a recent hearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commeree, it is the role of Congress—the duly elected representatives of the American people—to decide the fate of the Lower Snake River Dams, not the President or unelected bureaucrats in executive agencies.** To help inform Congress on the continued operation of the Lower Snake River Dams and assist the Committee with the effective management of water resources, fisheries, and hydropower production, the Committee seeks information from OMB regarding the forthcoming information provided by agencies and departments responsible for executing the Healthy and Abundant Memo. Specifically, please provide the following information by May 24, 2024 ® Matthew Weaver, Judge grants Snake River dam tigation stay through 2028, CaPtra. PRESS (Feb, 9, 2024, 2028/article 4091 cfc8-c6d4- | lee-a765- TSSTSB884T chim. ® Jennifer Yachnin, White House celebrates $1B deal to save Columbia River Basin salmon, E&E NEWS (Feb. 23, 2024, htps:/vw. genes neV/arlicles/white-house-celebrates-Ib-deal-to-save-columbisrver-basn-slmon Pia maa + Jacob Fischler, Allegations of ‘secret’ deal to remove four Snake River dams aired by U.S, House GOP at hearing, toatio Capra Su lan, 30, 2024), hups:/idahoeapasun.com/20240 | 30/aleeatons-o sexe deal o-emover four-snake-river-dams-aired.‘The Honorable Shalanda Young—OMB April 8, 2024 Page 6 of 6 1, All documents and communications that agencies and departments provide OMB in response to the directives in Section 2(c) of the Healthy and Abundant Memo. An attachment to this letter provides additional instructions for responding to the requests from the Committee on Natural Resources. Please contact the Majority staff for the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee at (202) 225-2761 or HNRR,Oversight@mail.house.gov with any questions. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. Cliff Bentz Chairman Chairman Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries