BPA reaches $900M agreement over fish with tribes

LOS ANGELES, April 7 (Reuters) - Hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest would remain intact and Indian tribes in the area would get $900 million to protect fish in the Columbia River basin if proposed agreements between three federal agencies and four tribes announced on Monday are accepted.

Before the 10-year agreements can be enacted, a federal judge in Oregon must approve a "biological opinion" later this year regarding the protection of fish on the Columbia and Snake rivers of the Pacific Northwest.

The federal agencies and Indian tribes hailed their agreements on Monday as an unprecedented cooperative effort to allow power production and protect fish on the rivers. The tribes have agreed to settle lawsuits filed against the federal agencies and not to file new suits during the 10-year period covered by the agreements.

"The agreements will get our governments out of the courtroom and back on the firm ground of mutual goals and collaboration," said Fidelia Andy, chairwoman of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

There are 31 federal dams in the Pacific Northwest that make about a third of the electricity consumed in the region. Twenty-one of them are run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 10 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The third federal agency involved in the agreement is the Bonneville Power Administration, which markets the electricity produced by the 31 dams and the Columbia Nuclear Generating Station in Washington. The agreement will affect operations of 24 dams.

BPA Administrator Steve Wright said the agreements "provide greater certainty for Columbia River basin fish recover activities and for Northwest (electricity) ratepayers."

Wright also said he hoped the agreements fostered future cooperation.

"We have spent decades arguing with each other," said Wright in a BPA press statement. "Today these parties are saying let's lay down the swords, let's spend more time working collaboratively to implement measures that help fish and less time litigating. I give Judge Redden credit for leading us down the path of collaboration."

The various sides were ordered several years ago to cooperate by U.S. District Judge James Redden in Portland, Oregon, who will entertain a proposed biological opinion to be presented by May 5 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.