Co-Op Loses Salmon Ruling

The Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a dispute over protecting salmon from the effects of hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia River Basin.

The court, without comment, turned down an electric cooperative’s argument that a four-state power planning group should not have to defer to recommendations by Indian tribes and government agencies.

The Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative, a group of small rural utilities which had brought the appeal, was disappointed the high court would not consider the case, said their attorney, Dan Lindahl.

The action lets stand lower court rulings that gave utilities less of a say in what steps are taken to save Columbia Basin salmon, Lindahl said.

The Columbia River Basin - including parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana - includes more than 150 dams and plants that generate more than 40 percent of the nation’s hydroelectric power.