SEATTLE — In a long awaited breakthrough, the U.S. and Canada have reached an agreement in principal renewing the Columbia River Treaty, which governs the use of the most important river flowing through the two nations.
The agreement, yet to be ratified by the U.S. Senate, was announced by the White House and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday morning. It modernizes the agreement that has managed the Columbia Basin and its hydropower dams for more than 50 years.
Binding for 20 years, the deal strives to balance energy coordination with a new power intertie north of Spokane that will allow Canada more opportunities to import and export hydropower into the U.S. market, a crucial boost to both countries striving to reach clean energy goals, President Joe Biden said in a statement.
The U.S. will benefit from water storage at Canadian dams, which control flooding and protect vulnerable communities while also providing reliable flows critical for irrigation, fish and other needs.
The goal is to bring the agreement in principal to the region for consideration and discussion, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said in an interview Wednesday. “We need to hear from the region.”
Negotiators from the two nations will continue to work to finalize details of the treaty and submit it to the Senate for ratification — by the end of the year, Cantwell said.
She said the importance of the treaty is immensely significant to the prosperity of the Northwest.
“There is no way to truly estimate the tremendous economic, environmental and recreational value of the Columbia River to our state and region,” she added in a prepared statement Thursday.
She said the region still needs to review and weigh in on the details. “But I appreciate President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau reaching a smart agreement to grow clean energy capacity in both countries and create opportunities for future cooperation that could expand electricity generation at a time when the region has huge demands for more power.”
Biden, in the prepared statement, said the updated treaty needs to reflect “our changing climate and changing needs” in the basin.
“The Columbia River and its tributaries are of great importance to tribal and Indigenous peoples … and are also vitally important to our nation’s economy, generating 40% of U.S. hydropower, irrigating $8 billion in agriculture products and moving 42 million tons of commercial cargo every year,” Biden stated.
Negotiations on the treaty modernization began in 2018. While there is more work to do, the agreement in principal “is a major milestone that will enable us to now update the treaty,” Trudeau said in a prepared statement. “The modernized Treaty will reduce flood risk in communities, advance Indigenous priorities and promote clean energy goals.”
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