Columbia River Task Force
Photo credit: Reclamation
The Task Force was established in June 2024 by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and is co-chaired by the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Announcements
Federal agencies working in the Columbia Basin perform the work of the Columbia River Task Force. Recent announcements relating to the work of the Task Force agencies or affecting the entire basin are posted below.
Recent Announcements
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DOE Launches Pacific Northwest Regional Energy Planning Study to Explore Solutions to Energy Planning Challenges
Today the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) announced the launch of the Pacific Northwest Regional Energy Planning Project (PREPP), a broad engagement‐based planning process that will produce regional analyses of infrastructure investments that will be required to meet the goals and requirements of regional participants, including resource adequacy, decarbonization, ecosystem priorities, and system resilience and reliability.
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OMB posts Columbia River Salmon Budget Crosscut
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has prepared the Columbia River Salmon Budget Crosscut pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding, dated December 14, 2023, entered between the United States and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the State of Oregon, the State of Washington, and the National Wildlife Federation.
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U.S. Department of State posts further details on the Agreement in Principle on modernizing the Columbia River Treaty
This web page provides supplemental details regarding the “Summary of the Agreement in Principle to Modernize the Columbia River Treaty Regime,” available at https://www.state.gov/summary-of-the-agreement-in-principle-to-modernize-the-columbia-river-treaty-regime/
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$240 Million in Pacific Northwest Fish Hatchery Investments Announced
The Departments of Commerce and the Interior today announced a $240 million investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to support fish hatcheries that produce Pacific salmon and steelhead, underscoring the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to empowering Tribal Nations and fulfilling the federal government’s trust and treaty responsibilities.
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Agreement in Principle to Modernize the Columbia River Treaty
The Columbia River and its tributaries are the life spring and economic engine of the Pacific Northwest. For millennia, Tribes and Indigenous Nations have relied on it to sustain their culture. Additionally, the Columbia River and its tributaries account for 40 percent of U.S. hydropower, irrigate $8 billion in agriculture products, and move 42 million tons of commercial cargo ($20 billion in value) annually.
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Tribal Circumstances Analysis released
As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented agreement to restore wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin, the Department of the Interior today released a report documenting the historic, ongoing and cumulative impacts of federal Columbia River dams on Columbia River Basin Tribes.
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Bureau of Reclamation and Washington Department of Ecology initiate water supply replacement study
The Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology have initiated the Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study and will host two virtual public meetings to share information and address questions from interested parties throughout the study area.
Documents & Reports
Agencies represented by the Task Force are completing a set of deliverables as outlined in the stay agreements and the Presidential Memorandum. Links to the primary and completed documents are available below.
Primary Documents
- MOU and U.S. Government Commitments in Support of the Columbia River Basin Initiative
- MOU and Mediated Settlement Agreement – Phase Two Implementation Plan
- Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Health & Abundant Salmon, Steelhead and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia Basin
- White House announcemetn of Task Force
Completed Reports
Reports in Development (More information coming soon)
- Regional Energy Planning Study
- Recreation and Public Access Analysis
- Transportation Analysis
- Mid-Columbia 10-Year Restoration Plan
- Ocean and Estuary Research Plan
About
Leadership
The Task Force is co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the Deputy Secretary of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. Other agencies represented on the Task Force include the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Management and Budget, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Nik Blosser serves as the first Executive Director of the Columbia River Task Force. Blosser brings more than two decades of salmon and energy-related experience to the role, including experience in state and federal government and the private sector.
Participating Agencies
Newsletter
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