US would keep more hydropower under agreement with Canada on treaty governing Columbia River

abcnews.go.com:

The U.S. and Canada say they have agreed to update a treaty that governs the use of one of North America’s largest rivers, the Columbia, with provisions that officials said would provide for effective flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generatio...

SEATTLE — The U.S. and Canada said Thursday they have agreed to update a six-decade-old treaty that governs the use of one of North America’s largest rivers, the Columbia, with provisions that officials said would provide for effective flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generation and sharing between the countries.

The “agreement in principle,” reached after six years of talks, provides a framework for updating the Columbia River Treaty. It calls for the U.S. to keep more of the power generated by its dams while improving cooperation between the Bonneville Power Administration, which markets power from dams in the northwestern U.S., and Canadian utilities, to help avoid blackouts.

The U.S. would pay Canada for reservoir capacity to hold back water during flood seasons, protecting downstream communities, at a rate that would begin at $37.6 million per year and increase with inflation. And the agreement would provide Canada with more flexibility in using the water stored in its reservoirs.

“After 60 years, the Treaty needs updating to reflect our changing climate and the changing needs of the communities that depend on this vital waterway,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a written statement Thursday.

But environmental groups lamented the deal as a missed opportunity to provide more water for imperiled salmon and steelhead runs that have been decimated by dam operations in the Columbia River basin over the past century. While the original treaty ratified in 1964