LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Department of Ecology, in an historic action, has required federal operators of eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers to create a plan to keep the waters cold enough for adult salmon to survive.
Conservation groups said the decision is necessary to protect endangered salmon species, which struggle to survive when river temperatures exceed 68 degrees.
Opponents of the decision say meeting the temperature standards could be unattainable without costly rate hikes for utility customers.
An Ecology spokesman says it could take two years before federal agencies release a detailed plan to meet the state’s new water temperature requirements.