600 



hydropower funding requirements for mitigation under the Power Act. 



The BPA, NPPC, and fishery managers need to agree on a fair minimum annual contribution 

 to fish and wildlife and implementation of the process for distribution that fully includes the 

 resource management role of the fishery managers. 



The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have requested that economic analyses of the various Columbia 

 River System Operations Review (SOR) alternatives include acknowledgement and analysis of 

 realistic costs, including federal government subsidies. Such an evaluation would enable the 

 Tribes to truly evaluate the costs of salmon restoration relative to other costs. Such an 

 evaluation should consider the wholesale power rates that the industries enjoy, irrigation 

 discounts and the "WaterWise Implementation Plan" that is inconsistent with water use efficiency 

 and energy efficiency, transportation subsidies, electric consumption subsidies for contractors 

 building dwellings without natural gas appliances, etc. Maintaining discounts for any uses of 

 the river does not make economic sense given the fact that BPA is in debt and is plagued with 

 budget deficits. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have also urged that any economic analyses 

 include recognition of the inestimable costs (monetary and spiritual) to Shoshone-Bannock Tribal 

 Members in terms of lost fisheries, restrictions and curtailments of sacred traditions, and social 

 and economic suffering caused by the existing operations of the hydroelectric system. 



Question 4 : What can be done to facilitate water conservation and other changes in regional 

 water management to provide increased fiows for power production and salmon 

 recovery? 



Response : 



The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have learned of BPA's efforts to execute a contract with 

 Northwest Irrigation Utilities to extend the Irrigation Discount. Extending the Irrigation 

 Discount does not favor water use and energy efficiency, and negatively impacts many natural 

 resources. This effort, on behalf of the BPA, falls into a broad category of philosophies that 

 are vastly different between the Tribes and BPA. The Tribes view goals such as reducing total 

 energy consumption and water use while restoring and conserving the natural environment as 

 paramount to the BPA directive. However, it is painfully clear that BPA does not even 

 understand this type of goal, let alone trying to embrace it. 



The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and other federal agencies (e.g., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) 

 have tried unsuccessfully to include the Snake River above the Hells Canyon Complex in the 

 scope of the SOR. The failure to incorporate the multi-purpose operations of the middle and 

 upper Snake River and non-federal projects in order to meet fish and wildlife needs is 

 unacceptable. Similarly, we question how projects in Montana and Canada will be treated. If 

 all these areas are simply treated as a "hypothetical pool" then the full disclosure of possible 

 effects to fish, wildlife, and cultural resources is prevented. The review should include the 

 water that is stored and released from projects throughout the entire Columbia River Basin 



Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Testimony Page 6 



BPA Task Force Hearings 



