Corps Sued Over Columbia River Dam Pollution 

Columbia Riverkeepers filed a lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers December 8, alleging “pollution” from four dams the Corps operates on the Columbia River from lubricants and other pollutants. Riverkeepers has been one of a number of groups seeking to shut down and dismantle the four lower Columbia/Snake River dams because of claims that the warm water they create in their pools and release causes the river’s population of salmon to decrease. 

The latest suit claims the dams are releasing toxic lubricants without obtaining the necessary permits, called a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The suit includes “heated cooling water” as one such pollutant.

Columbia Riverkeepers first filed a Clean Water Act citizen suit against the Corps for these discharges in 2013. That litigation was resolved with a settlement agreement in 2014 in which the Corps agreed to apply for the necessary permits and take other actions to reduce its water quality impacts, and Columbia Riverkeepers agreed to refrain from further litigation related to the discharges for seven years to allow time for the permitting process. 

The suit seeks “declaratory and injunctive relief” rather than damages. The Columbia Riverkeepers website invites visitors to sign a petition to take down the dams.