Canada Looking For A New Columbia River Treaty To Promote Ecosystem Functions, Cultural Values Of B.C., First Nations
In a Columbia River Treaty “Agreement in Principle” with the United States, Canada will set aside 4-million-acre-feet of water each year that in the past has been used for power production. This water stored behind Canadian dams instead will be used to promote ecosystem functions and socio-economic and cultural values of British Columbia and its First Nations, according to an information session by B.C. Treaty negotiators last week.
In addition, Canada will provide 1 MAF of water in all years, and an additional 0.5 MAF in dry years, to support downstream salmon survival and migration through flow augmentation, saying that the augmentation water “will assist efforts in both countries to maintain and enhance salmon populations in the mid and lower Columbia, including the Okanagan salmon stocks.”
In July, Canada and the United States reached an Agreement in Principle toward modernizing the 60-year-old Columbia River Treaty, which has played an important role in guarding against and reducing flood damage in the U.S. and providing electricity to millions of households, businesses and industries in both countries. Originally ratified in 1964, the countries have agreed to continue the transboundary water management agreement, but with the addition of provisions that protect and support communities and ecosystems in both countries.
The AIP took British Columbia and U.S. treaty negotiators some six years to negotiate. For British Columbia, the process took over a decade of engagement with Canadian Columbia Basin Indigenous Nations, local governments and residents, said Kathy Eichenberger, the lead Treaty negotiator for British Columbia. She added that the AIP provides a roadmap for the negotiation teams to move forward on drafting the final modernized Treaty and for B.C. to begin engaging with the Columbia River Basin residents to seek feedback on the AIP and on next steps.
Canada and the U.S. are in the process of negotiating interim agreements that would be in effect during the period between when the AIP was reached, and a modernized Treaty is brought into force. “We expect the interim agreements would mirror the AIP,” a statement on B.C.’s Treaty website says.
Columbia River Treaty British Columbia website is at https://engage.gov.bc.ca/columbiarivertreaty/agreement-in-principle/
“The AIP reflects as much as possible what the people of British Columbia want,” Eichenberger said. “It is much better than what we’ve had for the past six decades. We had a (previous) Treaty that focused on flood control management and power and not enough on ecosystem issues.”
She said that flood risk management will continue, but at a lower level. The old Treaty provided 8.95 MAF of flood control storage, but the AIP has dropped that to 3.6 MAF, a 60 percent reduction for 20 years, and all that water will be stored in Arrow Lakes, the closest reservoir to the U.S. border with Canada.
“That will be less restrictive on how B.C. operates its reservoirs, and the U.S. will have to be more aware,” she said. There is also a provision for Called Upon flood management, something that had actually existed in the old Treaty but had never been used.
The Canadian Entitlement will change. An FAQ on the Treaty webpage says that the CE volume is initially less than B.C. has received in recent years, but higher than expected in the outer years. The Entitlement calculations and the CE volumes included in the AIP are independent of how the U.S. chooses to operate its system (for example spilling water rather than generating power to assist in juvenile salmon migration). The revenue B.C. receives from the CE is a function of the volume and prices in the Pacific Northwest power market, which vary seasonally and from year to year.
The Canadian Entitlement drops from 660 MW to 305 MW capacity and 550 aMW to 220 aMW of energy. The CE is sold either domestically to BC Hydro or on the U.S. energy market, and revenues go to the Province’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Pre-planned flood risk management (FRM) payments are anticipated to be US$37.6 million annually starting in 2025 operating year, and are indexed to inflation, using the consumer price index (CPI), through 2044. The original payment for flood control was US$64.4.M for 60 years, which expired September 16, 2024.
The U.S. also receives additional benefits from the operation of Canadian Treaty reservoirs and will provide an additional US$16.6 million to Canada annually once the modernized agreement enters into force, indexed to inflation using the CPI, through 2044. The additional benefits include irrigation, recreation, navigation and fisheries. This additional compensation does not exist in the current Treaty.
For more information about details of the AIP, see: –CBB, July 12, 2024, U.S., Canada Reach ‘Agreement-In-Principle’ For Modernized Columbia River Treaty; Assures Pre-Planned Flood Control, Rebalances Power Benefits, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/u-s-canada-reach-agreement-in-principle-for-modernized-columbia-river-treaty-assures-pre-planned-flood-control-rebalances-power-benefits/
The AIP will give Canadians more flexibility in how they operate their system. “We will be able to unilaterally figure out how to operate our system and to look at objectives we want to achieve that support B.C.-based interests,” Eichenberger said. “Environmental and indigenous cultural values can be achieved with this flexibility.”
However, the AIP is far from a final “modernized” agreement, as was evident by the public session held by B.C. negotiators, with more than half attending from the three indigenous First Nations in British Columbia, who have played a big role in the negotiations to this point and are continuing to be involved in hammering out the details of a final agreement, which is likely at least six months away.
B.C. First Nations – the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan – and U.S. tribes across the border are coordinating salmon reintroduction efforts, sharing salmon reintroduction studies to prevent duplication of effort and facilitating information sharing. The goal is to maximize synergies from efforts on both sides of the border and to facilitate information sharing. More information is at www.columbiariversalmon.ca.
In addition, according to the AIP, Canada and the U.S. will form an Indigenous-led advisory body that will provide recommendations on how Treaty and other hydro-system operations can better support ecosystems along the entire Columbia River, which will include a salmon coordination committee, according to Jay Johnson of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, speaking at the AIP information session.
The Joint Ecosystem and Indigenous Cultural Values Group will give First Nations and U.S. tribes a voice in decision making, Johnson said. The Group will take a “one river” approach and make recommendations on how hydro operations can be changed to better support ecosystem and indigenous needs.
There will also be a Joint Ecosystem Indigenous Cultural Values Body, an adaptive management group, made up of First Nations and U.S. tribes that will make recommendations to B.C. and U.S. entities to help them make informed ecosystem and cultural decisions.
For background, see:
— CBB, August 9, 2024, Guest Column: Canada-U.S. ‘Agreement-In-Principle’ Sets Stage For More Balanced Columbia River Treaty, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/guest-column-canada-u-s-agreement-in-principle-sets-stage-for-more-balanced-columbia-river-treaty/
–CBB, July 12, 2024, U.S., Canada Reach ‘Agreement-In-Principle’ For Modernized Columbia River Treaty; Assures Pre-Planned Flood Control, Rebalances Power Benefits, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/u-s-canada-reach-agreement-in-principle-for-modernized-columbia-river-treaty-assures-pre-planned-flood-control-rebalances-power-benefits/
–CBB, Oct. 13, 2023, Without A New Columbia River Treaty Corps Will Need To Use ‘Real-Time’ Flood Control, Rather Than ‘Assured Storage’ In Canadian Reservoirs, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/without-a-new-columbia-river-treaty-corps-will-need-to-use-real-time-flood-control-rather-than-assured-storage-in-canadian-reservoirs/
— CBB, June 30,2021, Nw Lawmakers Send Letter To Biden Urging ‘White House Led Strategy’ On Columbia River Treaty, Seek Reducing ‘Canadian Entitlement’; Conservationists’ Letter Stresses ‘Health Of The River’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/nw-lawmakers-send-letter-to-biden-urging-white-house-led-strategy-on-columbia-river-treaty-seek-reducing-canadian-entitlement-conservationists-letter-str/
— CBB, June 16, 2023, New Agreements Give Canada’s Indigenous Nations Revenue Sharing From Benefits Of Columbia River Treaty, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/new-agreements-give-canadas-indigenous-nations-revenue-sharing-from-benefits-of-columbia-river-treaty/
— CBB, May 24, 2023, Columbia River Treaty Negotiators Meet In Kelowna; Discuss Salmon Reintroduction, Flood-Risk Management, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-river-treaty-negotiators-meet-in-kelowna-discuss-salmon-reintroduction-flood-risk-management/
— CBB, April 20, 2023, As Expiration Date Nears, U.S., Canada Pushing To Finish Columbia River Treaty Negotiations By June; Uncertainty Over Future Operations A Motivator, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/as-expiration-date-nears-u-s-canada-pushing-to-finish-columbia-river-treaty-negotiations-by-june-uncertainty-over-future-operations-a-motivator/
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