U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington’s 4th District has teamed up with U.S. Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho to propose new legislation to ensure the Lower Snake River dams continue to produce electricity and support agricultural irrigation. 

Called the Northwest Energy Security Act, the bill would require the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain dam operations in line with the 2020 findings that federal agencies published indicating the dams should not be breached.  

It would also require the agencies to not allow any current or future study of the dams’ environmental impact negatively affect their operation. 

“This legislation upholds the Lower Snake River dams as vital pieces of infrastructure for Central Washington and the Pacific Northwest,” Newhouse said in a release.  

Eight other federal lawmakers from across the West have signed on to support the legislation. 

Debate has raged for years about the fate of the dams on the lower Snake River, which generate electricity while also supplying irrigation water from their reservoirs. The 2020 study, known as the Columbia River System Operations Final Environmental Impact Statement, implemented a plan to keep the lower Snake River dams in place. That was opposed by environmental and tribal groups and in December 2024, the Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced they would update their study. 

Full bill text can be found here.