Agreement Made On Columbia River Treaty Between U.S. And Canada

The U.S. and Canada announced today they’ve reached an agreement to amend and renew the Columbia River Treaty.  

The two countries signed the Treaty in the 1960s to establish coordinated flood control and hydroelectric energy production throughout the Columbia River Basin.   

The treaty was established in 1964. It calls on Canada to construct three storage dams - facilities that would store water in a way that protected downstream flow of water into the U.S. from flooding.  

In addition to providing flood protection, the treaty requires Canada to operate the river flow in a way that maximizes the ability of downstream dams in the U.S. - both federal and non-federal dams - to generate power. Canada is required to adjust the flow of water accordingly.  

In return, the treaty requires the U.S. dams to fulfill the Canadian Entitlement Allocation Extension Agreements (CEAEA). The stateside dams are required to return half of the downstream benefits back to Canada. The payment comes in the form of power. The dams must send a certain amount of electrical power back to Canada that equals half the downstream benefits the waterflow provides for the U.S. dams to generate power. For every two megawatts of power benefitting U.S. dams, one megawatt must be sent back across the northern border.  

The Chelan, Douglas and Grant County PUDs have a lawsuit against the Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the treaty.   

The lawsuit is meant to force the Bonneville Power Administration to inform the PUDs of what their contribution to an updated treaty will be.  

The PUDs claim they've had to pay too much to satisfy the treaty's requirements in recent years.   

The lawsuit claims the U.S. no longer realizes the same value of power as was projected in 1964. The suit calls for that calculation to be undated. 

The current Columbia River Treaty expires on September 15th.