February 24, 2017 — Environmental and fishing groups are suing the federal government to provide cooler habitat for migrating fish in the Columbia River system of Washington and Oregon.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Seattle against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the agency.
The lawsuit was filed by Columbia Riverkeeper, Snake River Waterkeeper, Idaho Rivers United, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, and the Institute for Fisheries Resources.
It seeks to compel the EPA to create a temperature pollution budget for the river system, to keep rivers cool enough to support salmon and steelhead runs in the face of global warming.
Giant dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers create reservoirs that cause water temperatures to rise in summer months, hurting fish.