[dementis]

2020 article about this dam removal project makes it sound more like a financial burden removal rather than restoring salmon habitat. The environmental impact is just the emotional baggage being used to get the voters to foot the bill for the project.

https://apnews.com/article/dams-fish-salmon-oregon-environme...

"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must approve the deal. If accepted, it would allow PacifiCorp and Berkshire Hathaway to walk away from aging dams that are more of an albatross than a profit-generator, while addressing regulators’ concerns."

[hellotomyrars]

The calculus doesn’t stop at the maintenance costs, though I agree that altruism isn’t the goal. Salmon are big business. The positive effects of helping build the population has a (pardon the pun) downstream benefit, economically.

I don’t think people who are familiar with the PNW have an understanding on how these issues have real impact day to day. The fishing has gotten worse and the attempts to help the salmon populations, like salmon ladders, is a tiny boost, if at all. And everything has a cost, including all of that infrastructure.

Put simply: The dams cost too much, provide too little, and the fish are more valuable.

This is a slam dunk no-brainer for everyone involved.

If they generated a meaningful amount of power things would be different, but they’re not even a drop in the bucket at this point.

[compiler-guy]

The state has a broad interest in fixing the environmental effects. The owners have a financial interest in avoiding maintenance. So it’s both.