Readout of a Meeting Between the Leaders of the Six Sovereigns, the Columbia River Task Force and White House Officials

Senior Advisor for International Climate Policy John Podesta and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory convened a meeting at the White House today of the Columbia River Task Force to discuss progress toward fulfilling the historic December 14, 2023 agreement to restore wild fish populations, expand clean energy production, increase resilience, and provide energy stability in the Columbia River Basin.  The leaders of the four Columbia River Treaty Tribes and States of Oregon and Washington, known as the Six Sovereigns, joined federal leaders in the meeting. The December 14, 2023 agreement followed a Presidential Memorandum issued by President Biden in September 2023 that – for the first time ever – directed Federal agencies to pursue solutions to restore healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin;  secure a clean and resilient energy future for the region; support local agriculture and its role in food security domestically and globally; and invest in the communities that depend on the services provided by the Basin’s Federal dams.

The parties reviewed progress on the list of over 60 commitments the U.S. Government made as part of the December 14 agreement and in support of the policy outlined above. They acknowledged success in the full or partial completion of commitments, including an update of the Tribal Circumstances Report by the Department of the Interior, which for the first time acknowledged historic and ongoing impacts of Federal Columbia River dams on Tribal Communities, the launch of studies that, among other things, will examine scenarios for future water supply and energy needs in the Basin, including scenarios to replace current services in the event Congress decides to breach the lower four Snake River Dams; the initial posting of the Columbia River Salmon Crosscut Budget by the Office of Management and Budget; and the Department of Commerce and Department of the Interior’s commitment of $240 million to support fish hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest. The leaders also discussed progress on other commitments and the implementation of the Presidential Memorandum.

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