State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, is irate with Gov. John Kitzhaber over Oregons decision to sue the federal government seeking new protections of endangered salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River.

Specifically, Hansell is frustrated by efforts to increase the amount of water spilled over hydroelectric dams on the river, which he said would cost Northwest ratepayers millions of dollars in increased utility bills.

In an open letter to Kitzhaber dated Oct. 12, Hansell questions why the state is challenging the governments current plan to manage dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, especially as fall chinook returns surge near 1 million again in 2014.

The idea is that more water spilled over dams boosts the survival rate of juvenile fish migrating downstream toward the ocean. But that also means less water in the powerhouse, increasing rates for utilities that rely on the Columbias hydroelectric generation.

Conflicting studies also suggest increasing spill over dams would oversaturate the water with dissolved gases that could be harmful, even fatal, to fish, Hansell said.

So governor, let us recap what is happening: the good state of Oregon is suing, using tax dollars, to try to scuttle a wildly successful restoration program that is the largest in the country for a species, to pursue added spill operations that will harm and kill the Northwest iconic salmon at considerable cost to state and local ratepayers, Hansell writes in his letter.

Governor, what are you thinking? he added.

Kitzhaber’s press secretary, Rachel Wray, said the governor plans to respond to Hansells letter by Monday.

Oregon filed a 60-day notice of intent Sept. 24 to sue federal agencies for violating the Endangered Species Act in their most recent biological opinion of the river hydro system, commonly referred to as the BiOp.

Salmon advocates, including the Sierra Club, American Rivers and Federation of Fly Fishers, already filed litigation in April. They argue the 2014 BiOp repeats problems with previous versions of the plan dating back to 2008, and discounts the latest science supporting changes in how the dams are operated.

Those changes include increasing spill, drawing down reservoirs or removing dams entirely in order to support downstream salmon survival.

The state’s lawsuit doesn’t mention removing dams, but does point to data that shows certain populations of endangered fish are in decline while the BiOp discounts potential survival benefits of increased spill.

It is not the first time Oregon, acting through the Department of Fish & Wildlife, has pushed for a spill proposal. Last year, ODFW along with the Nez Perce Tribe and other environmental groups  pitched an experiment to increase spill over dams for 10 years, which they hoped to see adopted in the Northwest Power and Conservation Councils Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.

The Independent Science Advisory Board, which serves the NPCC as well as the National Marine Fisheries Service and Columbia River Indian Tribes, reviewed their proposal and decided that, while the experiment had merits, it did not provide enough evidence of a working hypothesis.

Local utilities reacted negatively to the idea, and warned the increased cost of power could hit ratepayers hard in the wallet. Steve Eldrige, general manager of the Umatilla Electric Cooperative, said the spill project would reduce generation at Bonneville Power Administration by 600 megawatts per year and raise rates by $100 million.

The co-op, which buys 90 percent of its power from BPA, would pay $1 million of that total, Eldrige said.

Further questions remain about potential harms to fish by increasing spill and loading water with dissolved gases. This leads to gas bubble disease, where bubbles form in fish gills and tissue and eventually stopping blood flow.

Northwest RiverPartners, the Portland-based alliance of farmers, utilities, ports and businesses, says the state is fixated on increasing spill as a silver bullet for increasing fish survival, rather than focusing on the overall combination of factors and improvements in the BiOp to support healthy populations.

Our reaction is just disappointment, said Richelle Beck, the RiverPartners communications and technical specialist. We think the fish are doing much better, and we think Oregon should recognize that work.

Hansell is urging the governor to withdraw the lawsuit immediately, and join with other Northwest states and tribes in support of the BiOp.

And please look at the facts before entering into any more lawsuits, he concludes in his letter. Oregon needs to be a team player in the region, not suing others when it doesn’t get its way.

Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4547.