Looking at Columbia Basin Issues From All Perspectives

By Kris Polly

This month, we consider issues related to hydropower and marine wildlife in the Columbia and Snake Rivers from multiple angles. In our cover story, we interview Kurt Miller, a longtime public power professional who currently serves as the CEO and executive director of the Northwest Public Power Association, which advocates for more than 150 nonprofit, community-owned member utilities. Mr. Miller discusses the 2023 Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) and explains the serious concerns his organization’s members had about the plan and its potential effects, including the possible breaching of the lower Snake River dams. While he is “relieved” by the 2025 cancelation of the RCBA, Mr. Miller believes there are tangible alternative steps that can be taken to protect salmon and find “common ground and win-win outcomes.”

Our next interview looks at the same issue from a different perspective. Donella Miller, the fishery science manager for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, describes the cancelation of the RCBA as “truly disheartening,” viewing it as one of the first federal agreements to acknowledge the full effects of the federal hydro system on tribal communities. Ms. Miller argues for a broader conception of fishery health and urges Columbia basin stakeholders, including power producers, farmers, tribal nations, and others, to pursue “beneficial collaborative processes” following the example of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, a water resources plan in central Washington.

Next, we interview Paul Stackhouse, a senior research scientist at the National Aeronautic and Space Administration’s Langley Research Center who leads the Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project. POWER uses satellite data to measure solar power potential throughout the world, making it useful for the developers of solar projects, including solar-over-reservoir projects; it can also be used for water resources management and flood management.

After that, we speak with Nic Phillips, a vice president at IDEAL Electric Company, an Ohio company with roots going back to 1903 that is now seeking to revitalize U.S.‑based manufacturing. IDEAL is putting its vast facility to work building new machines, including hydro units, and fixing old ones, including those manufactured by other companies.

Finally, we interview four hydro professionals who participated in the National Hydropower Association’s Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill in April 2025. We dig into how they prepared, what they experienced, what worked best, and the advice they have for industry peers who might be interested in taking part in the next Advocacy Day, which will be held in March 2026.

Looking at the issues surrounding the lower Snake River dams from all perspectives will be critical for finding a durable solution that is acceptable to all parties. It is encouraging that both Mr. Miller and Ms. Miller emphasize the possibility of (and need for) collaboration and win-win solutions.

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Hydro Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.