Deschutes River Alliance 2021 Advocacy and Legal Accomplishments

Department of Environmental Quality and Environmental Quality Commission

This past year began DEQ’s long process of updating its nearly two-decades old water quality standards. DRA has been involving itself at every step. First, we commented on DEQ’s assessment methodology for its Integrated Report – a biannual Federal Clean Water Act requirement for determining what water bodies are listed as water quality “impaired.” DEQ’s 2018/2020 report was DEQ’s first since 2012. Second, we reviewed and commented on DEQ’s draft “Triennial Review,” another CWA requirement detailing the state’s programmatic priorities. Finally, we provided comment on DEQ’s final Triennial Review. Proposed water quality updates to protect long-ignored fish uses are expected sometime in late 2022, with EQC and EPA approval coming many months after that. We will continue to ensure that the lower Deschutes’ water quality standards protect the river’s many uses.

During the summer, we discovered a 5-month gap in PGE’s monthly water quality reporting requirements that DEQ was seemingly unaware of. Worse, this gap was during this past summer’s heatwave – meaning DEQ was not using the full range of data that would normally be available to them in their decision making. PGE did eventually submit the missing reports, but DEQ must be more vigilant in holding the operators to the most basic license requirements. 

In October, the EQC held a special hearing on our year-long effort to get DEQ to properly enforce the dissolved oxygen standard in the lower Deschutes. Unfortunately, the EQC punted on the issue choosing to delaying any action until water quality updates are finalized. This ensures one more spawning season without spawning protections for redband trout, with no guarantee the process won’t extend years longer. Check out our article below for more details.

To address this pattern of inaction from the EQC and DEQ, the DRA is working to get strong environmental voices placed in the two vacant EQC positions. We sent a letter (available on our website) to the Senate committee considering Gov. Brown’s current nominees and will be actively participating in the process.

Portland General Electric

In April, we brought a fully-avoidable fish kill to light. Due to maintenance oversights, PGE’s fish collecting facilities killed hundreds of fish, including threatened and endangered species. This came from our ongoing review of PGE’s safety filings, which have noted serious structural issues at the Pelton Round Butte project. We will be engaging structural engineers to see how best to address PGE’s many maintenance shorttcomings.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued their ruling on our Clean Water Act lawsuit. The Court ruled that the case could not move forward due to the sovereign immunity of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. We are unsatisfied with this decision and believe the case should be judged on the merits of the science.

Throughout the summer, we kept a close eye on and voiced our concerns with PGE’s water temperature management. During the year’s record-breaking high temperatures, PGE’s operation of the SWW resulted in weeks of potentially lethal temperatures. If PGE is serious about its fish reintroduction efforts, this cannot continue. We will continue to urge PGE and DEQ to ensure the LDR is able to support the biological needs of its native fish.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

DRA kept a close eye on ODFW’s responses to this year’s historically low steelhead returns. Despite January and February forecasts of extremely low numbers, ODFW waited until late August to announce river closures – which were to take effect just four days later. ODFW repeated this misstep, extending the closure for the rest of the year just two days before it took effect. Worse, ODFW’s protections basically ended there. Commercial gillnet operations and all but three other tributaries remained open. These half-steps did next to nothing to protect steelhead while hammering central Oregon’s river-based economies. Over the coming months, DRA will advocate for ODFW to abandon its knee-jerk approach to regulation in favor of clear, holistic plan that actually protect the region’s salmon and steelhead while distributing the burden equally among fishing interests.

The Oregon House of Representatives and Senate passed a wide-reaching bill that included $10 million in relief for Oregon’s outdoor recreation outfitters and guides. This one-time expenditure will provide direct financial support to Oregon-registered private, for-profit, and nonprofit outfitters and guides.Throughout the summer’s heatwaves, we worked to strike a balance between protecting the LDR’s native fish and keeping recreational fishing open. DRA also raised these issues with representatives from the Governor’s office and State Senator Bill Hansell. Since mid-summer, we have continued to raise the issue to decision-makers through letters to state agencies and testimony at public hearings. 

Earlier in the year, throughout the summer’s many heatwaves, we were also engaged with ODFW. In June, DRA supported ODFW’s “hoot owl” regulations and pushed for additional protections. These temporary rules limited angling to times of day when the heat would least impact migrating fish. This was an important measure that both protected threatened and endangered fish while also keeping angling opportunities available. Unfortunately, ODFW ended these restrictions too early. Right before a widely-reported heatwave in August, ODFW lifted the hoot owl regulations – opening the fish to unnecessary temperature stress. We condemned the move in a letter to ODFW’s director. We will continue to urge ODFW to protect fish and to use its position as a state agency to advocate for improved water quality conditions on the lower Deschutes River. 

Additional Advocacy Work

In February, the Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Work Group released its final report to the Oregon House Committee on Water. The final report – the culmination of more than a year of meetings and conversations to address increasing HABs across the state – was far-short of what was needed to be included. As such, we sent a letter to the Work Group and the House Committee calling for more urgent action. Many of Oregon’s annual algal blooms, like on Lake Billy Chinook, can be prevented with already-existing mechanisms. Oregon, its legislators, and its agencies must take a more active role on this issue.