July 17, 2020

Contact: Amy Kober, 503-708-1145

The “Hydropower Clean Energy Future Act” introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) would roll back critical river and clean water protections, cut the public out of decision-making and put rivers nationwide at risk, American Rivers warned today.

“This legislation is a misguided attack on healthy rivers and the environment under the guise of ‘regulatory reform.’ By slashing safeguards for rivers, clean water and wildlife this bill would let energy companies off the hook for the damage their dams cause,” said Bob Irvin, President and CEO of American Rivers.

Key concerns with the legislation include:

• Takes authority from the agencies charged with managing natural resources and gives that authority to a different agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has a different mandate. 
• Tightly limits agency 4(e) and Sect. 18 authority to address only direct project impacts instead of cumulative impacts. Currently, agencies have the authority to not just mitigate impacts but to require enhancement of the resource. That would end under this bill.
• Limits participation of Native American tribes, states and the public in hydropower licensing proceedings by shortening timelines, eliminating meetings and reducing opportunities for effective mitigation measures that address project impacts. 
• Limits scientific studies and places the burden of demonstrating the need and value of necessary studies on agencies (freeing the project applicant from that responsibility). 

“There is a role for hydropower in the fight against climate change, and we must maximize low-carbon sources of energy,” said Irvin. “But it is imperative that we not destroy the environment we are trying to save by ignoring the serious environmental harm caused by hydropower dams, and the resulting economic and societal costs. We can have, and must demand, energy that avoids carbon emissions, does not consume finite natural resources, and does not irreparably harm the environment.”

Irvin added, “Hydropower dams constructed over the past century have decimated fish and wildlife, dried up rivers, inundated riverside lands and destroyed cultural sites sacred to Native American tribes. This legislation ignores these harmful impacts and creates loopholes for powerful energy companies to avoid addressing them.”

“In addition to our decades of successful work removing dams and restoring rivers, American Rivers has also long supported efforts to advance responsible hydropower development that doesn’t cause new harm to rivers,” Irvin said. “Examples include increasing efficiency at existing hydropower dams and adding power generation to irrigation conduits and currently non-powered dams. Unfortunately, this legislation undermines those positive efforts and is counterproductive to finding collaborative solutions that meet our nation’s needs.”

About American Rivers:

American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org

For immediate release
July 13, 2020

Contacts:
Andrew Hawley, Western Environmental Law Center, 206-487-7250, hawley@westernlaw.org
Amy Kober, American Rivers, 503-708-1145, akober@americanrivers.org
Bob Nasdor, American Whitewater, 617-584-4566, bob@americanwhitewater.org
Nic Nelson, Idaho Rivers United, 208-343-7481, nic@idahorivers.org
Walter “Redgie” Collins, California Trout, 415-748-8755, rcollins@caltrout.org

SEATTLE—Citing breathtaking levels of overreach, conservation, fishing, and paddling advocates today filed a complaint in federal court challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule effectively sidelining the role the states and the public have long played in permitting decisions affecting clean water.

“With this rule change, the Trump administration has given corporations the green light to run roughshod over local communities, and has proven it is more interested in corporate rights than states’ rights,” said Andrew Hawley, attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. “The judicial branch must intervene to preserve some semblance of balance in our nation. What an opportunity for the courts here: To stop this flagrant overreach steamrolling states and Tribes while preserving an essential public health and clean water protection.”

The new rule guts the Clean Water Act’s Section 401 provisions, which for nearly 50 years have provided for states’ and authorized Tribes’ self-determination in permitting for a wide array of projects requiring federal approval within their borders. The rule also suppresses state and Tribal public participation processes that moor U.S. water policy in the harbor of democracy.

“Now is not the time to be rolling back protections for our rivers and clean water,” said Chris Williams, senior vice president for conservation at American Rivers. “We need to be doing more, not less, to ensure healthy rivers can provide clean drinking water and support strong communities and local economies. The Trump administration’s unlawful new 401 rules abandon the Clean Water Act’s commitment to providing a voice for Tribes, states, and communities in how their rivers and streams are protected and managed, allowing potentially harmful projects to escape critical local review. We must protect the rights of states and Tribes to defend clean water safeguards.”

“The rule changes will have a long-term and devastating effect on California’s ability to manage its clean water resources,” said Redgie Collins, staff attorney at California Trout. “Unless changed, this gives hydroelectric dam operators the ability to skirt State Water Board regulations that protect the health, safety, and welfare of all Californians.”

This rule change is separate from rollbacks to the Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS), which eliminates protections for many waterbodies throughout the country, but represents an equally dangerous threat to clean water and public health nationwide: Section 401 applies broadly to any proposed federally licensed or permitted activity that may result in a discharge into any waterway that is covered under the law. Projects that may be approved against states’ and Tribes’ wishes include pipelines, hydropower, industrial plants, municipal facilities, and wetland development.

Working in combination, the Section 401 and WOTUS rollbacks will make it virtually impossible for states, Tribes, and communities to stand in opposition to projects that will pollute and harm their rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands.  

Further, the new rule limits the information on proposed projects that may be made available to the states, Tribes, and the public.

“These new regulations are a brazen attack on the Clean Water Act with the goal of undermining the public’s ability to protect our rivers from harmful impacts of federally-licensed energy projects on the environment and outdoor recreation,” said Bob Nasdor, American Whitewater legal director. “Rather than protecting and restoring our rivers, these rules will weaken water quality by limiting the information, time for review, and ability of the states to require that projects meet state standards.”

“Under the cover of COVID-19, the Trump administration has again stripped one of our bedrock environmental laws and is giving extractive and polluting industries the power to dictate their own pollutant levels in our rivers, lakes, and wetlands, all in the name of profit,” said Nic Nelson of Idaho Rivers United. “By effectively silencing public review and participation processes for these projects, they will have equally degraded our basic rights of democracy.”

The new rule, finalized without Congressional input, directly overturns Congress’ intent to integrate state and federal authority for permitting decisions affecting state waterways.

Photos for media use available here.

Letters (public comments) from states, Tribes, and organizations opposing Section 401 rollbacks:

Opposition Letter: State of South Dakota (scathing)
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/v.mLY3z2d_20191021South_Dakota_CWA_401_commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Arkansas
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/5RTbsrt8~_AR_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of California
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/F1zojtGKa_20191021_Ltr_to_A_Wheeler_re_SWRCB_response_to_401_Cert_Proposed_Rulepdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/FoaQ2zvAh_20191021Yakama_Nation_Section_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Inter Tribal Association of Arizona
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/.jk5nJ1oK_InterTribal_Assn_of_AZ_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Idaho
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/kZlX31CB7_ID_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Louisiana
October 19, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/F52ivsrg._LA_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
October 22, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/UTuKpy6FF_Menominee_Tribe_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Montana
October 17, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/SnoPVhxYj_MT_401_rule_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Nevada
October 17, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/0BeC6MkzI_NV_401_Rule_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of New York
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/c0.jrsYs~_NY_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Pennsylvania
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/Q9h7qFprp_PA_Comments_on_401_rulepdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Seattle City Light
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/XDTlaYaTh_Seattle_City_Light_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Skokomish Indian Tribe
October 20, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/NKCE.ps4l_20191020Skokomish_Tribe_Section_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Standing Rock Sioux
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/67Ar2EyV8_Standing_Rock_Sioux_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Tennessee
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/e7PdQltny_TN_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Texas
October, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/SS5mPC48m_TX_401_commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians
October 14, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/hiNTrBCKr_Twenty_Nine_Palms_Band_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: State of Washington
May 24, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/21GYgD4xa_WA_401_Commentspdf.pdf

Opposition Letter: National Governors’ Association
October 18, 2019
https://www.nga.org/policy-communications/letters-nga/natural-resources-committee/letter-regarding-the-environmental-protection-agencys-proposed-rule-updating-regulations-on-water-quality-certification/

Opposition Letter: Western Governors’ Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Council of State Governments, Western Interstate Region, Association of Clean Water Administrators, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Association of State Wetland Managers, Western States Water Council
October 16, 2019
https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/standcomm/scnri/EPA_NPRM_CWA_401_Comments_FINAL.pdf?ver=2019-10-17-150909-880&timestamp=1571346568787

Opposition Letter: Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and 31 other organizations
October 21, 2019
https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/Sierra%20Club%20Comments%20Section%20401%20EPA%20Proposed%20Rule%20final.pdf

Opposition Letter: Sens. Carper, Duckworth, and Booker
October 21, 2019
https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/10/carper-duckworth-and-booker-epa-s-section-401-proposal-violates-states-rights-harms-water-quality

Opposition Letter: Southern Environmental Law Center
October 21, 2019
https://www.southernenvironment.org/uploads/words_docs/SELC_Comments_on_%E2%80%9CUpdating_Regulations_on_Water_Quality_Cer….pdf

Opposition Letter: Rep. Peter DeFazio
July 29, 2019
https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2019-7-29%20PAD_LTR%20to%20EPA%20re%20401Certification.pdf

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June 22, 2020

Contact: Sinjin Eberle, 720-373-0864

In a major victory for one of the Southwest’s last major free flowing rivers, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission voted 7-2 on Friday to end work on the Environmental Impact Statement for the Gila River diversion. The threat of the diversion spurred American Rivers to name the Gila America’s Most Endangered River® of 2019.

“This is a resounding victory for last year’s Most Endangered River and one of New Mexico’s greatest natural treasures. We applaud our partners for their years of work and the Interstate Stream Commission for recognizing the value of the free-flowing Gila River,” said Bob Irvin, President and CEO of American Rivers.

The Gila River Diversion has long been a contentious, wasteful proposal, that would have devastated New Mexico’s last major wild river. Partners including the Gila River Indian Community, Gila Conservation Coalition, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity have been vital to the effort to stop the diversion.

Flowing out of the nation’s first Wilderness Area, the Gila River supports outstanding examples of southwestern riparian forest, cold-water fisheries and a remarkable abundance of wildlife. The Gila River is important to Indigenous peoples who have lived in southwestern New Mexico for thousands of years. Many cultural sites are found along the Gila River and throughout the watershed.

“Our people have lived on the banks of the Gila River in Arizona for thousands of years, and we have watched our River dwindle through overuse in the Upper Valley,” said Governor Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community, located in Arizona on the banks of the Gila River.  “We have known for decades that our River is in danger, so we were pleased to partner with American Rivers in the fight to protect the River. The action by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission to end funding for the proposed Gila River diversion is a significant victory in our common fight to protect the Keli Akimel, as we call the River in our language.  Hopefully, with this decision, we can put this wasteful proposal behind us for good.  Our fight to protect the Gila will never be over, but this is a resounding victory and I want to thank our partner, American Rivers, for all their hard work in helping to bring this about.” 

The diversion could have dried up the Gila River, impacting fish and wildlife and the local outdoor recreation and tourism economy. The diversions and infrastructure would have harmed critical habitat for seven threatened or endangered species. Declining groundwater levels caused by the diversion and new groundwater pumping would have threatened the cottonwood-sycamore-willow bosque, some of the last remaining intact riparian forest in the Lower Colorado River Basin. 

Now that the diversion proposal is dead, the commission will have the opportunity to re-allocate nearly $70 million to more river-friendly, shovel-ready, local water supply projects benefitting tens of thousands of residents across Southwestern New Mexico, including infrastructure improvements in Deming, Lordsburg, Silver City, and greater Grant County. 

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Construction crews mobilize to remove dam, restore free-flowing river and fish passage

June 17, 2020

Contact: Amy Kober, American Rivers 503-708-1145, akober@americanrivers.org

Renee LaCroix, City of Bellingham, rlacroix@cob.org

Bellingham – Construction crews have begun working to remove the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam, a top priority project for salmon recovery in Puget Sound.

The result of years of effort and partnership by the Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, American Rivers, City of Bellingham, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, conservation organizations and state and federal agencies, the Middle Fork Nooksack River Fish Passage Project will restore habitat for threatened steelhead, bull trout, and Chinook salmon, a vital food source to endangered southern resident killer whales.

Crews have been working for months to prepare the site, including extensive precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19. The dam will be demolished in July and restoration of the river channel will take place in August. When in-water work is completed in September, the river will flow freely for the first time in more than 50 years.

“Rivers are vital to life, and when we remove a dam and let a river flow freely, people, fish and wildlife, and the economy can all benefit,” said April McEwen, associate director of American Rivers’ River Restoration Program and project manager.

The project showcases how communities can work together to restore and care for vital resources while maintaining water supply.

“The Middle Fork Dam was constructed as an essential piece to our drinking water infrastructure but we have known for over a decade that we needed a creative solution to restore access to this pristine fish habitat,” said Renee LaCroix, assistant director for City of Bellingham Public Works. “Fish are an invaluable cultural and ecological resource in the Pacific Northwest and we are grateful for the community relationships that made this long-term vision a reality.”

“It is possible to create a more sustainable future by restoring a free-flowing river to provide critical habitat for threatened species and to meet the needs of communities,” said McEwen. “We hope this example of tremendous collaboration and innovation can inform and inspire other river restoration efforts in the region and nationwide.”

“Nooksack is a historical tribe in this watershed,” said George Swanaset Jr., Nooksack Tribe’s natural and cultural resources director. “Work began many years ago with Nooksack tribal members Peter Joseph, George Swanaset Sr., Paul Costello and Nooksack Cultural Committee, and is still ongoing. The diversion dam is located in the boundaries of an area nominated as Traditional Cultural Property with the National Register of Historical Places.”

“We want to see the salmon return and continue protecting a resource that has always been there for our people,” said Trevor Delgado, Nooksack tribal historic preservation officer. “The Middle Fork dam removal project is a representation of decades of work and provides an opportunity to work together collaboratively to protect an area that is deeply rooted to our culture. What the Middle Fork means for our people today, we want it to mean the same for future generations. We want to continue to pass on the bridge from our ancestors into the future.”

“The habitat in the Nooksack basin will take decades to recover because there are many limiting factors that impact Endangered Species Act listed (ESA) early Chinook,” said Merle Jefferson, director of Lummi Natural Resources. “The habitat above the Middle Fork has potential and we hope that this project will provide more spawning habitat for the salmon, which are integral to our heritage and cultural identity.”

“The State and tribal co-manager hatchery programs will provide the necessary adult salmon spawners to seed the new habitat. These hatchery programs are critical to preserving the ESA species while habitat recovers. We will be working together to monitor the effects of the dam removal and hope that the project produces the fish returns we are looking for,” Jefferson said.

Removing the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam will restore access to 16 miles of cold, pristine spawning and rearing habitat in the upper Middle Fork Nooksack River for threatened spring Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout. Project elements include moving the point of water diversion upstream to eliminate the need for the dam while maintaining water supply; removing the dam and restoring the channel to reconnect habitat; and installing fish screens to prevent entrainment into the water supply diversion.

Fish passage at the dam was recognized as the top priority action to increase spring Chinook in the Water Resources Inventory Area 1 Salmon Recovery Plan. In the 2019-2021 state biennium, the project was ranked the top priority for funding by the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration program and subsequently funded in the state capital budget.

Additional benefits include restoration of culturally significant resources for the Nooksack Indian Tribe and Lummi Nation, increased resiliency of Bellingham’s municipal water supply and removal of a safety hazard for whitewater kayakers.

The Middle Fork Nooksack River Dam was built to supplement the City of Bellingham’s water supply in 1961. Though state law at the time required fish passage, dam construction was permitted without the inclusion of passage.

The Nooksack Indian Tribe has advocated for dam removal for decades. In 2002, the WRIA 1 fishery co-managers, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Bellingham to work together to restore fish passage at the dam. Several design efforts and feasibility studies were undertaken without approval of a feasible solution.

The project was re-initiated in 2017 when American Rivers became a formal partner, with funding provided by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation for project management and coordination, as well as planning and construction. The private foundation funding was critical to development of the project and in leveraging remaining public funding needed for project completion.

The project is managed by the City of Bellingham and American Rivers, with key support from the Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Funding and collaboration was provided by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, City of Bellingham, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,  Puget Sound Partnership,  Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund, and the Open Rivers Fund, a program of Resources Legacy Fund supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Additional project partners include Long Live the Kings and American Whitewater.

The Nooksack River watershed, located in northwestern Washington, spans parts of Whatcom and Skagit Counties and reaches north into British Columbia. The watershed covers more than 830 square miles and contains more than 1,000 miles of streams and rivers, spanning three main Nooksack River tributaries – the North, Middle and South Forks. From the flanks of glaciers on Mount Baker, the river flows through forests, farms and towns to Bellingham Bay and Puget Sound.

Before the arrival of non-native settlers to the area that is now known as Whatcom County, the Nooksack Indian Tribe had intimate knowledge and use of the Nooksack River, inhabiting areas throughout its watershed, including the isolated section of the Middle Fork. Historically, the Middle Fork was a place for hunting, gathering, solitude and spiritual practice. Today, the Middle Fork Nooksack is a Traditional Cultural Property and has been nominated by the Tribe as a Place of Significance. The people of Nooksack and their descendants see the area as part of their cultural identity and wish to continue their traditional practices.

Lummi Nation’s Usual and Accustomed area for fishing, hunting and gathering reserved by the 1855 Point Elliot Treaty is far reaching through the Puget Sound area and includes the San Juan Islands, Fraser River in Canada and Nooksack River watershed where the dam removal project is taking place. Early Chinook are an integral part of the heritage and culture of its 5,500 community members. The Tribe is working to restore salmon fishing back to mid-1980s harvest levels by restoring salmon habitat in the watershed and providing harvestable fish through hatchery production at its three salmon hatchery facilities.

Middle Fork Nooksack Fish Passage Project – partner quotes

“Removing the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam will restore miles of pristine habitat for fish and illustrates the type of collaborative projects essential to salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest. We hope that this public private partnership inspires future work that benefits people, salmon and orcas.”
-Anji Moraes on behalf of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

“The Middle Fork Nooksack River Fish Passage Project will benefit both fish species and people. The newly accessible areas of the river will provide Puget Sound Chinook salmon, bull trout and steelhead additional spawning and rearing habitat and the expected increase in population abundance for Chinook salmon will, in turn, help the southern resident orcas. The river holds cultural significance for the Nooksack Indian Tribe and Lummi Nation, and the relocation of the City of Bellingham’s water supply intake maintains a reliable drinking water supply for the city’s residents. This project will continue to deliver multiple benefits over the long term. The Partnership is pleased to be involved as a funding partner in this project through the Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund, and we are deeply grateful to the many other partners and funders who have made this project possible.”
-Laura Blackmore, executive director, Puget Sound Partnership

“The removal of the Nooksack Dam was identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an important step toward recovering bull trout in the Nooksack River. We are pleased to be working with American Rivers, the City of Bellingham and other partners to ensure the Nooksack bull trout remains one of the strongest runs of threatened bull trout in the Puget Sound.”
-Rich Carlson, Coastal Program Washington State coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

“The teamwork and innovation at the heart of this project exemplify the approach that we take with the Open Rivers Fund for dam removal and river restoration across the American West. It’s just what we need to address our increasingly urgent 21^st Century water infrastructure challenges, while achieving benefits for people, fish and wildlife. We’re pleased to have supported this inspiring team of partners.”
-Julie Turrini, director, Resources Legacy Fund/Open Rivers Fund

“The NOAA Fisheries Restoration Center is grateful to play a part in the removal of the Middle Fork Nooksack River dam. We applaud the years of collaboration, partnership, teamwork and hard work that got us here. I am excited that this project uses an ecosystem-based approach to restore fish passage and connectivity in the Nooksack River watershed and hope that it will be a model for future projects to come.”
-Jennifer Steger, Pacific regional manager, NOAA Restoration Center, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries Service

“Restoring the Middle Fork Nooksack River to its free-flowing state will benefit wildlife, ecosystems and people—from native tribes and residents of communities that rely on a sustainable source of clean drinking water. Hopefully the success of this collaborative project will serve as a model for other states seeking to restore rivers while meeting community needs.”
-Nicole Cordan, project director, The Pew Charitable Trusts

May 20, 2020

Contact: Amy Kober, 503-708-1145

A dam failed in Michigan yesterday, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. The Edenville Dam, which failed, and the Sanford Dam, which was compromised, are on the Tittabawassee River, a tributary of the Saginaw River. The failures followed days of heavy rainfall and sent floodwaters into downstream communities. Residents of Edenville, Midland and Sanford were evacuated.

“A dam failure and flood during a pandemic is a worst-case scenario. The immediate focus must be on ensuring public health and safety,” said Bob Irvin, President and CEO of American Rivers.

The Edenville Dam, a hydroelectric dam built in 1924, was plagued for years by concerns and safety violations. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked its license in 2018 due to concerns that the dam could not withstand a significant flood and lack of action by the dam’s owner to address those concerns over many years. FERC first flagged problems for the dam’s owner in 1999.

Dam safety scares have forced evacuations of downstream communities in recent years in California, Nebraska, South Carolina, and now Michigan.

“This is not an isolated incident, Irvin said. “Climate change is bringing more severe flooding, at a time when our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. It’s essential that we act now to invest in our rivers to protect public safety, improve our economy and strengthen our communities. This means shoring up necessary oversight and safety regulations, while also increasing funding for smart water infrastructure, including dam removal.”

American Rivers highlighted three priority actions:

1. Increase, don’t decrease, public safety and environmental safeguards – The safety of federally licensed hydropower dams is overseen by FERC.  While FERC revoked the dam’s license in 2018 due to safety concerns, that clearly was not enough to prevent this week’s catastrophe.  Moreover, on the same day the dams failed, President Trump signed a new executive order to roll back more regulations under the guise of restarting the economy. Further gutting the regulations that safeguard human lives and safety and protect the environment is the wrong way to produce a sustainable economic recovery.
2. Strengthen evaluation and enforcement – Michigan has a working dam safety program.  Even so, state dam safety offices are historically underfunded with a limited number of staff responsible for inspecting thousands of dams. We must improve these efforts by making it the responsibility of dam owners to inspect and maintain their dams; requiring more frequent, detailed inspections of deficient dams and increasing penalties for unsafe dams and violations; and, requiring dam owners to ensure that funds are available to repair or remove dams in the event they can’t or won’t meet safety standards. As communities continue to grow and development expands, many dams may also be misclassified as infrastructure and development increases downstream.
3. Increase funding for dam removal and water infrastructure – Dam removal can be the best way to address a dam that poses a safety risk. There are tens of thousands of dams across the country that no longer serve the purpose they were built to provide and whose removal could eliminate the cost and liability associated with owning a dam. Unless they are well maintained, their condition only gets worse every year. The most cost-effective and permanent way to deal with obsolete, unsafe dams is to remove them.

Senators Udall and Heinrich introduce legislation to protect New Mexico’s Gila River

May 12, 2020
Contact: Mike Fiebig, 406-600-4061; David Moryc, 503-307-1137

Responding to strong community support, Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich today introduced legislation to add New Mexico’s Gila River to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The bill would designate 446 miles of the Gila as Wild and Scenic, forever protecting the river and tributaries from dams and other harmful development.

“Protecting the wild Gila River is an investment in New Mexico’s future and provides a legacy for all Americans,” said Bob Irvin, president of American Rivers. “Healthy, free-flowing rivers are lifelines for communities in an era of climate change. We applaud the Senators’ leadership in protecting the Gila, which is vital to the region’s economy, fish and wildlife and recreation.”

In 2019, American Rivers named the Gila America’s Most Endangered River®. “America’s Most Endangered Rivers is a call to action,” Irvin said. “New Mexico’s citizens and Americans everywhere responded to that call by urging state and federal decision makers to protect this special river. Now, with the Wild and Scenic legislation introduced, the future of the Gila River looks bright. We are grateful to Senator Udall and Senator Heinrich, and to our partners and supporters for their commitment to saving this national treasure.”

Signed into law in 1968, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is our nation’s strongest tool for protecting healthy, free-flowing rivers. The Act permanently protects a designated river’s free-flowing character, water quality and outstanding values such as scenery, recreation, fisheries and wildlife habitat. A designation honors existing uses of the river and can support a strong outdoor recreation economy. The Gila River designation prohibits involuntary condemnation of private property, and preserves private property rights and water rights, existing irrigation and water delivery operations, grazing permits, public land access, and the ability to restore the health of our rivers and forests.

American Rivers expanded its river protection efforts in fall 2019, launching a new initiative to protect the last, best free-flowing rivers in the Southwest – rivers including the Gila and San Francisco. The program represents a significant new investment in the long-term resilience of rivers in the region.

The Gila River is the last major free-flowing river in New Mexico, supporting healthy riverside forests, cold-water fisheries (including recovering populations of Gila trout) and a remarkable abundance of wildlife. The river flows through the nation’s first wilderness area, established in 1924 under the leadership of conservation pioneer Aldo Leopold who was supervisor of the Carson National Forest. It is also important to indigenous peoples who have lived in southwestern New Mexico for thousands of years. Many cultural sites are located along the Gila River and throughout its watershed. 

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May 8, 2020
Contact: Amy Kober, 503-708-1145

Acting to safeguard drinking water for millions of Americans, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Water Resources Subcommittee Chairwoman Grace Napolitano (D-CA) today introduced the Clean Water For All Act, to repeal the Trump administration’s Dirty Water Rule.

The Dirty Water Rule removes Clean Water Act protection from ephemeral streams (one in five streams nationally) and isolated wetlands (51 percent of all wetlands), opening the door to increased pollution, harmful development and destruction of drinking water sources.

Bob Irvin, President and CEO of American Rivers, made the following statement:

“We applaud Chairman DeFazio’s leadership as a champion for clean water by sponsoring this bill, and we commend Rep. Napolitano for her leadership as the original co-sponsor of the legislation.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has underscored the critical need for safe, clean water for all to protect public health and hygiene. Now is the time to strengthen, not weaken, safeguards for our rivers and water supplies.”

“Clean water and healthy rivers are vital to strong communities and are essential to our future. We must follow the science and restore necessary protections to the streams and wetlands that provide so many benefits for our health, well-being and economy.”

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April 20, 2020
Contact: Amy Kober, 503-708-1145

Washington — The Trump administration will finalize its Dirty Water Rule tomorrow, stripping clean water safeguards from critical small streams and wetlands nationwide. The new rule removes Clean Water Act protection from ephemeral streams (one in five streams nationally) and isolated wetlands (51 percent of all wetlands), opening the door to increased pollution, harmful development and destruction of drinking water sources.

Bob Irvin, President and CEO of American Rivers, made the following statement:

“On the eve of the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, in the midst of a pandemic that is underscoring the importance of clean water, the Trump administration is finalizing a rule that will foul our nation’s waters for years to come.”

“Fifty years ago, the first Earth Day grew out of strong bipartisan support for safeguarding our land and water. Now, the Trump administration is dismantling clean water protections that are essential to public health and safety. We will not allow this administration to turn back the clock to the days of polluted streams and dying rivers.”

“American Rivers has gone to federal court twice in the past three years to block the administration’s moves to undermine protection of rivers and wetlands. Now we must do so again.”

“We reject this administration’s push to put polluters before people. We believe that science is the best guide to protecting our rivers and streams. And, we believe that everyone in our country should have clean water and healthy rivers, because they are vital to our health, our economy and our future.”

Note:

What is an ephemeral stream?
An ephemeral stream is a stream that only flows during or immediately following rainfall.
They are often the headwaters or tributaries to streams and rivers that flow year-round.

What is an isolated wetland?
An isolated wetland is defined as having no surface water connection to a perennial river or stream. They may still be connected to other water bodies by groundwater, and can provide important functions including fish and wildlife habitat, pollution filtration, and flood control.

Report calls for urgent action to protect communities from flooding

Embargoed for April 14, 2020

Contact:

Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers, 217-390-3658 (East Moline, IL)

Ryan Grosso, Prairie Rivers Network, (815) 954-7920 (Champaign, IL)

Jim Karpowicz, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, 573 424 0077 (St. Louis, MO)

David Stokes, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, (314) 276-6305 (St. Louis, MO)

Tim Wagner, Izaak Walton League of America, 801-502-5450 (Coralville, IA)

Trevor Russell, Friends of the Mississippi River, (612) 388-8856 (St. Paul, MN)

Kelly McGinnis, Mississippi River Network, 708-305-3524 (Chicago, IL)

Melissa Samet, National Wildlife Federation, 415-762-8264 (Sacramento, CA)

Christine Favilla, Piasa Palisades Group of the Sierra Club, 618-401-7870 (Alton, IL)

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Upper Mississippi River America’s Most Endangered River® of 2020, citing the grave threat that climate change and poor river and watershed management pose to public safety. Though we are encouraged by the increasingly overt actions of cities along the Mississippi River to address these issues sensibly, American Rivers and its partners called on state and federal leaders in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin to support solutions that hold more water on the landscape and give the rivers room to flood safely.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a grim light on the vulnerability of relying on resource-intensive flood control infrastructure. Floods don’t stop because people are sick and money is stretched thin. Flood fighting is not sustainable. Lives are at stake. We must change course,” said Olivia Dorothy, Upper Mississippi River Basin Director for American Rivers. “Our own river and watershed management decisions are making these disasters worse. The good news is, there are proven solutions that are protecting cities while giving rivers room to flood safely. We can protect our communities and our environment.”

The combination of land use change, artificial cropland drainage, climate change and floodplain management has fundamentally altered the flow of the river. As a result, the river is less stable and more prone to catastrophic flooding. The 2019 Midwest flood broke records, with homes, farms, roads and businesses under water for nearly 100 days on the upper Mississippi River.  According to NOAA, the 2019 flooding caused four deaths and $6.2 billion in damage. Yet leaders across the region are making the problem worse, building higher levees, allowing risky development in floodplains, increasing farm and wetland drainage, hardening stormwater infrastructure, and failing to plan for the future.

“Resiliency is the key to protecting our communities in an age of climate change. However, our poor mismanagement of the river means we can expect more dangerous and costly floods,” said Jim Karpowicz of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. “In a time when we should be maximizing the benefits of floodplains to absorb excess rain and runoff we are adding fuel to the fire by building higher levees and incentivizing floodplain development.”

“In the Upper Mississippi River, it’s hard to see the flow of our river as a form of pollution. But increased flows carry much more pollution,” said Whitney Clark of Friends of the Mississippi River. We’ve radically altered our landscape to quickly drain and channel water, especially from farm fields. With more intense rains from climate change, we urgently need to change our practices — for our downstream neighbors, our river and our economy. And we need federal agencies to study and encourage truly effective long-term solutions.”

To immediately address the dual threats of COVID-19 and flooding along the Upper Mississippi River, American Rivers called on state governors with approved emergency declarations to request special mission assignments for the US Army Corps of Engineers to support contagion control around flood fighting efforts, an added capacity valued by mayors along the Mississippi River. As of April 6, 2020, none of the Upper Mississippi River governors have taken this crucial step to protect people where major and moderate flooding is predicted in the coming weeks. Prior to requesting help from any federal agency, the state must have an approved disaster declaration for COVID-19. Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin have approved declarations as of April 6^th, Minnesota’s disaster declaration is pending.

To move away from fighting future floods, American Rivers also called on state and federal leaders in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin to fund the “Keys to the River” plan. Officially named the Keys to the River 2020: An Upper Mississippi River Flood Risk, Sediment and Drought Management Study and led by the Army Corps of Engineers, it is the largest attempt by any federal or state entity to respond to the economic and public safety threats posed by climate change. If fully funded, it would be transformational in how the United States manages its rivers and floodplains.

“Right now, when there is a flood, it’s ‘everyone for themselves,’ which adds a layer of chaos to an already chaotic disaster. While some cities and states are planning better than others, there still isn’t any semblance of the necessary basin-scale water management plan required to solve the problem,” Dorothy said.

Scientists estimate that extreme downpours in the U.S. could increase by 400 percent by the end of this century. One study found that the magnitude of 100-year floods in the Mississippi Basin has already increased by 20 percent over the past 500 years, with much of that increase being caused by the combination of river development and climate change.

A November 2019 study, Climate Change and the American Mind, found that a majority of Americans are worried about harm from extreme events in their local area, with 58 percent concerned about harm from flooding. The harshest impacts of climate change are often most prevalent in communities of color and other communities that are socially or economically disadvantaged. In Midwestern towns, historic redlining and persistent economic injustices have concentrated communities of low income and communities of color behind levees.  These communities are carrying a higher risk burden due to the catastrophic consequences of levee failure. In rural areas, wealthy landowners are racing to raise levees to protect farmland – not people – pushing more water onto their neighbors.

To adequately offset the flood risk impacts of climate change and development, the Upper Mississippi River needs a water management plan that coordinates river and watershed management actions; ensures communities that are socially vulnerable are involved in the decision-making process; accounts for climate change; gives rivers room to flood safely; and restores lost habitat.

This is the 13^th year since 1991 that the Upper Mississippi has been named one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers. The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

“Despite the tremendous floods of 2019 and other, recent years, floodplain development continues unabated along the Upper Mississippi River, especially in the St. Louis-region,” said David Stokes, Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance. “Misguided projects such as the Port of Lincoln in Lincoln County, Mo, and the Pier St. Louis plan in St. Louis are still being proposed and supported by local governments. These developers and their supporters in government care only about their misguided ideas on economic growth and don’t care at all who or what they harm by these devastating floodplain developments.”  

“This is a defining moment for our response to climate change and devastating flooding,” said Ryan Grosso of Prairie Rivers Network. “We need to change how we live with the river, so it’s time for a holistic plan that brings people together and ends the selfish development we’ve seen in recent years.”

“Making room for rivers to flood is the future of flood risk management policy,” said Christine Favilla of the Sierra Club. “Getting people out of harm’s way and adapting our landscape to allow flood water to go “here” and not “there” takes the pressure off levees that protect people and critical infrastructure. While flood insurance and risk management reforms have, by and large, focused on the urban floodplain, more attention needs to be focused on flood damage reduction.”

“We cannot protect our communities by burying our heads in the sand,” said Melissa Samet of National Wildlife Federation. “To create resilient communities, protect wildlife and mitigate the impacts of a changing climate, we must develop a comprehensive plan that prioritizes restoration and protection of natural infrastructure, like wetlands and floodplains.”

“It is vital that we create room for our rivers to flood while reducing the impact of flooding on communities,” said Kelly McGinnis, of the Mississippi River Network. “We know the important safety, fiscal, and environmental benefits of utilizing floodplains and wetlands and creating a resilient river system and we need to be working together from an integrated plan to manage these issues.”

“Since the majority of the watershed is in intense row-crop agriculture, we must consider the key role that improved farming practices play in finding solutions to downstream flooding, impacts to our communities, and overall water quality,” said Tim Wagner of the Izaak Walton League. “Just the use of cover crops and no-till can increase the water infiltration and storage capacity of the soil by 20 or 30 times, while also shortening the down time for farm operators. Keeping more water on the land vs sending it downstream is a win-win for everyone.”

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2020

#1 Upper Mississippi River (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#2 Lower Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#3 Big Sunflower River (Mississippi)

Threat:  Yazoo pumps project

#4: Puyallup River (Washington)

Threat:  Electron Dam

#5: South Fork Salmon River (Idaho)

Threat:  Gold mine

#6: Menominee River (Michigan, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Open pit sulfide mining

#7: Rapid Creek (South Dakota)

Threat:  Gold mining

#8: Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia, Florida)

Threat:  Titanium mining

#9: Ocklawaha River (Florida)

Threat:  Rodman Dam

#10: Lower Youghiogheny River (Pennsylvania)

Threat:  Natural gas development

River of the Year: Delaware River (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland)

Honored as a national success story for restoration and a model for equitable and innovative clean water solutions.

ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS

American Rivers believes every community in our country should have clean water and a healthy river. Since 1973, we have been protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers and conserving clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices across the country, we are the most effective river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions that will last for generations to come. Connect with us at AmericanRivers.org.

Climate change and poor flood management threaten public safety

April 14, 2020

Contact:

Eileen Shader, American Rivers, 570-856-1128, eshader@americanrivers.org

Jim Karpowicz, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, 573-424-0077, jkarpowicz@moenviron.org 

David Stokes, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, 314-276-6305, dstokes@grha.org

George Cunningham, Sierra Club Nebraska, 402-669-2236, cunningham.geo@gmail.com

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Lower Missouri River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2020, citing the threat that increasingly devastating floods pose to people, wildlife and industries across Great Plains states. American Rivers and its partners called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state and local officials, to prioritize projects that reduce flood risk and restore fish and wildlife habitat.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action,” said Eileen Shader with American Rivers. “Right now, we’re on a collision course with climate change and poor river management. Unless we embrace better solutions like giving the river room to flood safely, we’re going to see increasingly severe disasters.”

Today’s Missouri River is one of the most controlled waterways in our nation. Artificial channels, levees and dams vainly attempt to control flood damages. The result is a river with narrow pinch points 1,200 feet wide that give rising water no place to go. Consequently, major floods regularly overtop and breach the levee system. During the March 2019 flood, for example, 850 miles of levees in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska were damaged. Repair costs will exceed $1 billion, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The situation will grow increasingly dire as the impacts of climate change take hold. A 2012 Bureau of Reclamation report predicted a 10 percent increase in runoff in the Lower Missouri River.

Addressing the issues associated with outdated floodplain management on the Lower Missouri River requires a major shift in how state and the federal governments manage this important resource. American Rivers called on state and local governments to commit to nature-based solutions, including levee setbacks and floodplain restoration. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must also identify repetitively damaged levees and plan projects that give the river room to flood. Affected communities — such as farmers, low-income communities and communities of color — must be included in decision-making processes to ensure that plans effectively address their needs.

“Despite the tremendous floods of 2019 and other, recent years, floodplain development continues unabated along the Lower Missouri River, especially in the St. Louis-region. Misguided projects such as Bangert Island in St. Charles, Mo, and the Maryland Park Lake District in Maryland Heights, Mo, are still being proposed and supported by local governments who care only for the dream of more tax dollars and don’t care at all who or what they harm by these devastating floodplain developments.” – David Stokes, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance.

“If the large floods events over the last quarter century have taught us anything, it is the over-engineered lower Missouri River needs more room to store water.  The confined channel that has disconnected the river from parts of its floodplain must be widen out to provide flood risk reduction, protection of more productive and less flood prone farmland in the floodplain, as well as the necessary ecological resilience for native species residing in the river system,” said George Cunningham, Sierra Club Nebraska.

“Clearly the Lower Missouri River is in crisis. The levees damaged by the flood of 2019 largely remain unrepaired as the river once again begins to rise. With floods increasing, business as usual is not an option, we need to totally rethink out flood control strategies,” said Jim Karpowicz, Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

“We need to stay safe and we want to enjoy all of the benefits that healthy rivers give our communities. We need our decision-makers to prioritize nature-based solutions to protect vulnerable communities from flooding and deliver a wide range of benefits, including improved water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreation, fishing and hunting opportunities,” said Shader.

Flowing for 2,300 miles from southern Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri, the Missouri River is America’s longest waterway. The Indigenous people who lived, and continue to live next to the river view the Missouri River as the “center of life” for the Great Plains, the river also played a critical role in Lewis and Clark’s famous 1804-1806 expedition. Once up to 10,000 feet wide in some sections, the Missouri historically experienced floods that spread across vast floodplains — the lands directly adjacent to the river.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes, including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in past years include the Mississippi River (2018, 2019, 2020), Middle Fork Vermilion River (2018), Kinnickinic River (2018), St. Louis River (2015), and the Niobrara River (2013).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2020

#1 Upper Mississippi River (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#2 Lower Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#3 Big Sunflower River (Mississippi)

Threat:  Yazoo pumps project

#4: Puyallup River (Washington)

Threat:  Electron Dam

#5: South Fork Salmon River (Idaho)

Threat:  Gold mine

#6: Menominee River (Michigan, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Open pit sulfide mining

#7: Rapid Creek (South Dakota)

Threat:  Gold mining

#8: Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia, Florida)

Threat:  Titanium mining

#9: Ocklawaha River (Florida)

Threat:  Rodman Dam

#10: Lower Youghiogheny River (Pennsylvania)

Threat:  Natural gas development

River of the Year: Delaware River (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland)

Honored as a national success story for restoration and a model for equitable and innovative clean water solutions.

ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS

American Rivers believes every community in our country should have clean water and a healthy river. Since 1973, we have been protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers and conserving clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices across the country, we are the most effective river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions that will last for generations to come. Find your connections at AmericanRivers.org.

Region needs flood protection solutions that prioritize safety, river health

April 14, 2020

Contact:
Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers,
odorothy@americanrivers.org

Andrew Whitehurst, Gulf Restoration Network, 
andrew@healthygulf.org

Louie Miller, Mississippi Sierra Club,
louie.miller@sierraclub.org

Washington, D.C. – For the second time in three years, American Rivers named the Big Sunflower River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, citing the Trump administration’s effort to revive a project that could drain 200,000 acres of nationally significant wetlands. American Rivers and its partners called on Congress to defend the integrity of the Clean Water Act by upholding the 2008 EPA veto of the destructive Yazoo Pumps, and instead focus on advancing immediate, affordable, effective solutions that will reduce flood risk and provide economic security to South Delta residents and farmers.

“The Yazoo Pumps will not reduce flood risk for residents of the southern Delta,” said Olivia Dorothy of American Rivers. “Instead of reviving this extraordinarily expensive boondoggle, local leaders and Congress should invest in more affordable and effective flood risk reduction measures to protect communities in the South Delta.”

The Big Sunflower River is threatened by an effort to resurrect the destructive Yazoo Backwater Pumps — a project that would drain and damage as much as 200,000 acres of wetlands. After finding it was too environmentally damaging, George W. Bush’s administration stopped the project in 2008 by issuing a rare veto through the Clean Water Act. In their analysis of the project, the Bush Administration also found that the Corps did not consider numerous flood relief options that had the potential to be more effective and cheaper than the proposed Yazoo Pumps.

Despite this reality, the Trump Administration has made the unprecedented move to reconsider the 2008 veto in the wake of four consecutive years of climate change-fueled Mississippi River floods. In reality, very few homes and families would truly benefit from the 100% federally taxpayer-funded $440 million construction project that would cost $2 million a year to operate.

“The Corps found that under the best-case scenario, 68% of the backwater area that flooded in 2019 – 347,000 acres – would still be under water even with the Pumps in place,” said Louie Miller of the Mississippi Sierra Club. “This reinforces what the Corps made clear in 2007; the project is not designed to protect communities from flooding. Instead, 80% of project benefits would be for agriculture by draining tens of thousands of acres of wetlands to intensify farming. The Yazoo Pumps are a cruel hoax on the citizens of the Mississippi Delta, sold as a panacea for flooding when in fact it will only enrich a select few who will benefit from lucrative contracts from the estimated $440M in taxpayer funding.”

“The Big Sunflower River supports some of the most important bird and wildlife habitat on the Lower Mississippi River,” said Andrew Whitehurst of Healthy Gulf. “The South Delta’s economy benefits from the leasing of private land to duck and deer hunters and from people using state and federal wildlife management areas like the Delta National Forest. The ducks and the annual revenue from hunting and outdoor activities are tied to the area’s wetlands – that can’t be overlooked.”

Federally funded programs are already available to provide relief and cost-effective protections for people’s lives, property and livelihoods. These programs include the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance and Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s post-disaster programs, and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s voluntary conservation programs.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a grim light on the vulnerabilities of relying on flood control infrastructure, like the proposed Yazoo Pumps, that are resource intensive to operate and maintain. Floods don’t stop because people are sick and money is stretched thin,” said Dorothy. “It is critical that the public speak out to defend this ecologically significant place from destruction and demand local leaders work to make flood risk reduction options available to residents. It is also vitally important that the public demand that Congress defend the integrity of the Clean Water Act and its critical veto authority.”

In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the Big Sunflower River begins in Coahoma County, Mississippi, and flows for 250 miles until it reaches the Yazoo River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Big Sunflower supports some of the nation’s “richest wetland and aquatic resources,” and is an important stop for migrating birds along the Mississippi River Flyway. Hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation fuel the state’s nature tourism industry, generating $8 billion per year according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in past years include the Mobile Bay Rivers (2017), Pascagoula River (2016) and Pearl River (2015).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2020

#1 Upper Mississippi River (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#2 Lower Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#3 Big Sunflower River (Mississippi)

Threat:  Yazoo pumps project

#4: Puyallup River (Washington)

Threat:  Electron Dam

#5: South Fork Salmon River (Idaho)

Threat:  Gold mine

#6: Menominee River (Michigan, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Open pit sulfide mining

#7: Rapid Creek (South Dakota)

Threat:  Gold mining

#8: Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia, Florida)

Threat:  Titanium mining

#9: Ocklawaha River (Florida)

Threat:  Rodman Dam

#10: Lower Youghiogheny River (Pennsylvania)

Threat:  Natural gas development

River of the Year: Delaware River (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland)

Honored as a national success story for restoration and a model for equitable and innovative clean water solutions.

ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS

American Rivers believes every community in our country should have clean water and a healthy river. Since 1973, we have been protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers and conserving clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices across the country, we are the most effective river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions that will last for generations to come. Find your connections at AmericanRivers.org.

Outdated hydropower facility threatens endangered salmon and steelhead

April 14, 2020

Contact: Wendy McDermott, American Rivers, 206-213-0330, wmcdermott@americanrivers.org

Lisa Spurrier, Puyallup & Chambers Watersheds Salmon Recovery Coordinator,

253-798-6158, lisa.spurrier@piercecountywa.gov

Dan Calvert, Puget Sound Partnership, 360-789-3165, dan.calvert@psp.wa.gov

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers named the Puyallup River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, citing the threat that a century-old hydropower dam project poses to endangered fish. American Rivers and its partners called on the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the fishing rights of the Puyallup and Muckleshoot tribes, enforce the Endangered Species Act, and correct all fish-killing aspects of the Electron Hydro Project. 

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action for the future of rivers like the Puyallup,” said Wendy McDermott with American Rivers. “We all know the Electron Hydro Project is killing fish, and we know why. Now it’s time for the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use their authority to fix it.”

Chinook salmon, a main source of food for endangered Souther Resident orcas, are threatened by the Electron Hydro Project, a hydropower facility constructed at the foot of Mount Ranier in 1904. The dam predates federal energy regulations and has insufficient fish passage. Adult salmon are restricted from accessing their spawning habitat upriver and juvinille salmon are drawn into a holding pond, where they drop 873 vertical feet into the powerhouse and turbines.

“To feed [Southern Resident] orcas, we need bold action on salmon recovery now.  Improving fish passage at the Electron Hydro Dam is crucial for salmon survival in the Puyallup River and in Puget Sound,” stated Laura Blackmore with the Puget Sound Partnership.

American Rivers and its partners called on the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use their authorities under the Endangered Species Act and demand expedited correction of all causes of federally protected fish mortality associated with the Electron Hydro Project. A Habitat Conservation Plan has been discussed and under devlopement for at least 12 years. It is long past time for the project to become compliant with the law.

“While hydropower is an important part of the Northwest’s energy portfolio, it can have major impacts on rivers and fish. Unfortunately, the workings of Electron dam and related facilities is having tremendous negative effects on native fish. Correcting these impacts could yield significant benefits to salmon, steelhead and bull trout recovery,” said McDermott. 

The Puyallup River’s glacially fed waters and the many species of fish and wildlife that rely on the river provide critical resources for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and local communities. Chinook salmon are the keystone species, supporting an entire web of life that includes Southern Resident orcas in Puget Sound and beyond. Chinook salmon are in steep decline as are wild steelhead and bull trout. All three of these native fish species are protected as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in past years include the Green-Duwamish River (2015 and 2019), Willamette River (2019), South Fork Skykomish and Green-Toutle rivers (2017), and the White River (2014).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2020

#1 Upper Mississippi River (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#2 Lower Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas)

Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#3 Big Sunflower River (Mississippi)

Threat:  Yazoo pumps project

#4: Puyallup River (Washington)

Threat:  Electron Dam

#5: South Fork Salmon River (Idaho)

Threat:  Gold mine

#6: Menominee River (Michigan, Wisconsin)

Threat:  Open pit sulfide mining

#7: Rapid Creek (South Dakota)

Threat:  Gold mining

#8: Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia, Florida)

Threat:  Titanium mining

#9: Ocklawaha River (Florida)

Threat:  Rodman Dam

#10: Lower Youghiogheny River (Pennsylvania)

Threat:  Natural gas development

River of the Year: Delaware River (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland)

Honored as a national success story for restoration and a model for equitable and innovative clean water solutions.

ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS

American Rivers believes every community in our country should have clean water and a healthy river. Since 1973, we have been protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers and conserving clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices across the country, we are the most effective river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions that will last for generations to come. Find your connections at AmericanRivers.org.