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Columbia River Treaty
Edition:
Columbia River Treaty Review
The Columbia River Treaty is a trans-boundary water management agreement between the United States and Canada.
The Columbia River Treaty has no specified end date. Either Canada or the United States can terminate most of the agreement provisions as early as September 16, 2024, provided they give at least 10 years’ notice (by September 16, 2014). Read more
Community Consultation Sessions Planned for November 2012!
Plans are underway for the Province’s Columbia River Treaty Review team to return to the Columbia River Basin in November 2012 to begin a second round of public consultations. The first round of consultations took place in May/June 2012 in seven communities: Jaffray, Creston, Nakusp, Castlegar, Valemount, Golden, and Revelstoke. The Treaty Review team is planning to return to the communities to provide new information and seek additional feedback from Basin residents. One of the key objectives of the sessions will be to describe and begin to receive feedback on the impact of Treaty options on the interests Basin residents shared with the Treaty Review team during the first round of consultations. Read more
What’s Being Talked About in the U.S.?
“What’s being talked about in the U.S.?” This question came up often during the Province’s spring 2012 Columbia River Treaty Review public consultation sessions. The answer is of interest to a lot of people.
The U.S. Entity (Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), as part of their Columbia River Treaty Review process, held stakeholder Listening Sessions in Portland, Oregon (June 27), Spokane, Washington (July 9), Boise, Idaho (July 13) and Kalispell, Montana (July 18) to educate and to provide an update on studies and other work underway. The B.C. Columbia River Treaty Review team (Treaty Review team) were there and listened. Read more
Impact-Benefit Study Underway
During the May/June 2012 community sessions, Columbia River Basin residents told the Columbia River Treaty Review Team that they wanted to fully understand the range of impacts and benefits of the Columbia River Treaty on Basin communities, the Columbia River Basin region, and the Province as a whole. Read more
Looking for Feedback on an Environmental Discussion Paper
Later this fall the Columbia River Treaty Review team will be posting on the gov.bc.ca/columbiarivertreaty website the first two chapters of an Environmental Discussion Paper. The objective of the Environment Discussion Paper is for Basin residents to understand and provide input into how environmental values are being considered in the Treaty review. Read more
Contact the Columbia River Treaty Review Team
Kathy Eichenberger, Executive Director
(250) 953-3368 Email
Chris Trumpy, Economics
(250) 952-6390 Email
Amy Avila, First Nations Consultation
(250) 387-7614 Email
Ingrid Strauss, Public Consultation
(250) 952-0640 Email
Stephanie Lepsoe, Environment
(250) 387-2505 Email
Cailin Bain-Glenn, Co-op
Email
Sandy King, Administration
(250) 387-2820 Email
Wet, Wetter, Wettest - Spring 2012 Flood Control and Coordination
With high water levels in rivers, lakes and reservoirs across the Columbia-Kootenay region and a record for the wettest month ever in Castlegar’s history, it was hard not to notice flood management efforts in B.C. and in the U.S. What led to this situation?
Following a pretty normal fall and early winter 2011, the March 2012 forecast for runoff volumes looked fairly average for most of the Columbia Basin. But then…March hit. Precipitation across the basin was two to four times normal, and snowpack increased by about 15 percent in four weeks. Discharges from tributary reservoirs began increasing in response to the forecasts of rising water volumes. BC Hydro began maximum releases from Kootenay Lake in mid-March. A cool, dry May slowed snowmelt and runoff, and water volume forecasts stabilized. And then… June. Rainfall records were broken in many parts of B.C., northern Idaho, and western Montana. Runoff volume forecasts increased sharply as the Kootenay Basin experienced three times the normal precipitation in June. Flood risk management operations swung into high gear throughout the Columbia-Kootenay Basins. Read more
Introducing the CRT Fish and Wildlife Technical Committee
The Columbia River Treaty Fish and Wildlife Technical Committee provides technical support to the Columbia River Treaty review. It is made up of technical advisors with expert knowledge of fish and wildlife issues in the Columbia River system and includes representatives from Environment Canada, BC Hydro, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations , Ministry of Environment and the Canadian Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CCRIFC). Read more
Treaty Review Question of the Month:
What is the Relationship Between the Non-Treaty Storage Agreement (NTSA) and the Columbia River Treaty
The Non-Treaty Storage Agreement (NTSA) is a water regulation agreement between BC Hydro and the Bonneville Power Administration that governs the use of 5 million acre-feet of Kinbasket Reservoir storage not already covered by the Columbia River Treaty. Non-Treaty Storage Agreement operations impact discharges from the Kinbasket, Revelstoke, and Arrow reservoirs as well as downstream U.S. hydroelectric projects. Read more
Join Us OnTwitter
Basin residents asked the Columbia River Treaty Review to utilize social media. We’re now on Twitter - @CRTreaty! Join the conversation, use #CRTreaty. Stand by for our Facebook launch.