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Good Treaties Make Good Neighbors: Modernizing
the Columbia River Treaty regime |
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June 2, 2018 |
The United States and Canada will began
negotiations to modernize the Columbia River
Treaty regime last Thursday, May 31. The
54-year-old treaty is an extremely important
agreement with our best ally and partner in the
hemisphere. Established in 1964, the treaty’s
flood risk and hydropower operations have
provided substantial benefits to millions of
people on both sides of the border and
facilitated additional benefits such as
supporting the river’s ecosystem, irrigation,
municipal water use, industrial use, navigation
and recreation. The United States deeply values
our unique and essential relationship with
Canada.
Around the world, this treaty serves as a model
for transboundary water cooperation—and rightly
so. Americans and Canadians alike should be
proud of the invaluable cooperation that has
contributed to the development of the regional
economy on both sides of the border.
But we don’t live in 1964. There is a whole
swath of arrangements established under this
durable yet flexible treaty that should be
modernized. In both countries, our understanding
of the river and the basin has changed since the
development of the transboundary system with
three treaty dams in British Columbia and one in
Montana.
Last December we announced it is time to
modernize the Columbia River Treaty regime.
That’s shorthand for the treaty and the myriad
technical mechanisms and arrangements that
translate the agreement into day-to-day
realities. It is in many of these details where
the United States wants to see improvements. As
the United States enters into bilateral
negotiations with our Canadian counterparts, our
objectives include continued, careful management
of flood risk; ensuring a reliable and
economical power supply; and better addressing
ecosystem concerns.
The U.S. negotiating team set these objectives
with input from the people most directly
affected by the treaty. On the U.S. side, the
starting point is the U.S. Entity Regional
Recommendation for the Future of the Columbia
River Treaty after 2024, a consensus document
released in 2013 after five years of
consultations among the Northwest’s tribes,
states, stakeholders, public and federal
agencies. Since the submission of the regional
recommendation, the State Department has
continued to meet with and hear from the
sovereigns, states and stakeholders within the
region. The U.S. negotiating team deeply values
the expertise and experience of the tribes and
will continue to consult with them on a regular
basis as negotiations proceed. We are committed
to keeping our American partners informed of our
progress during the negotiations.
As we begin active negotiations with our
Canadian neighbors, we will hold town halls
throughout the region to hear views from the
public on the process and the Treaty. The first
town hall took place in Spokane on April 24 on
the margins of the Lake Roosevelt Forum and
included an open question and answer session for
the public. We plan to hold the next town hall
later this summer.
Good treaties make good neighbors. The United
States and Canada have a long, positive history
of engagement on the Columbia River. We expect
to continue that cooperative spirit upon
engaging in the current negotiations.
Francisco L. Palmieri
Mr. Palmieri is a career diplomat and
currently serves as the Acting Assistant
Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the
U.S. Department of State. He has spent over 31
years representing the United States at home and
on assignments abroad. |
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