I frequently read newspaper articles claiming the Bonneville Power Administration has spent at least $17 billion attempting to recover Columbia Basin threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. This claim needs clarification.

Federal law requires BPA to be self-sustaining. A more accurate statement: Private citizens and business owners across the Pacific Northwest have paid the lion’s share of that $17 billion, month by month, when they pay their electricity bills.

Fish and wildlife costs make up 24% of BPA’s nearly $3 billion annual budget, or around $700 million each year. Meanwhile, BPA is $15 billion in debt, recently burned through $900 million of its financial reserves, raised power prices by 30% over eight years, and will soon max out its $7-plus billion credit card from the U.S. Treasury. Add to the mix aging assets that require increasingly greater capital expenditures, along with falling prices for BPA’s surplus energy.

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson has crafted a proposal that would give BPA a chance for financial survival. Ignore or oppose Simpson’s proposal and Pacific Northwesterners stand to lose more than Snake River salmon and steelhead.

Bonnie Schonefeld

Kooskia, Idaho