April 2006 Issue

Montana Governor Urges Construction of New Transmission Lines

 Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer told the Council in Whitefish that meeting the country's energy needs while protecting the environment is a formidable task but one that can be accomplished. Energy conservation will help, particularly in the short term, but in the long term new power sources will be needed, including electricity from wind and clean-coal (low emission) plants. Montana has a vast, largely untapped wind power potential, and also large reserves of coal, the governor said. But without new transmission lines to link the state to population centers on the West Coast, investment in new power supplies will languish. "I implore you to help us with transmission corridors," Schweitzer said.

Council Expresses Concern About Proposed Flood Control Study

In a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Council expressed concern about the broad scope and high cost of a proposed $30 million comprehensive study of flood control in the Columbia River Basin. The Council also commented that flood control is not a responsibility of electricity ratepayers and, therefore, the Corps should not proceed with its current plan to seek reimbursement from the Bonneville Power Administration for most of the study cost. The Corps plans to decide later this year whether to proceed with the study.

Summer Flows Show Biological Advantage in Kootenay River

Brian Marotz of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reported that monitoring of the Kootenay River between Libby Dam and the city of Libby last summer suggests that stable outflows from the dam—a key recommendation in the Council's 2003 mainstem amendments to its fish and wildlife program—are having the intended effect of keeping shoreline areas wet more consistently than in past years when summer outflows from the dam varied widely. Consistently wet shoreline areas benefit fish by encouraging the growth of food organisms, as opposed to variable wet and dry shorelines that result in lower productivity of food organisms.