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Fact Check: Where McKinney, Duresky Stand on Breaching Snake River Dams by Eric Rosane Tri-City Herald, October 16, 2026

Rep. Newhouse introduced the Defending our Dams Act, which would
prohibit studies to breach the four lower Snake River dams if passed.

Richland, WA -- Debate and litigation has simmered for decades about whether to remove the four federally managed dams located on the lower Snake River.

Even today it's a hot-button issue for legislators, conservation groups, and utility providers who debate the structures' affects on grid reliability, fish migration, power generation, and barge freight.

During his six-term tenure in Congress, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, has been a staunch advocate for retaining the four dams. Last year, he introduced the Defending our Dams Act, which would prohibit studies to breach or alter the function of the four lower Snake River dams if passed.

As Newhouse retires, two candidates running for Washington's 4th Congressional District hope to succeed him during the Nov. 3 general election. Ballots have already been mailed to registered voters.

As ballots begin to arrive, voters will have to decide between Democrat John Duresky and Republican Amanda McKinney.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

The four dams -- Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite -- were built in the mid-20th century between Pasco and Clarkston.

Both candidates agree the four dams should not be breached, though they disagree on how the Trump administration has handled the issue.

McKinney said she will "protect these assets that provide affordable energy, irrigation and commerce." It's important not only for the welfare of Americans, but also to help the nation lead in the race for artificial intelligence supremacy.

"I will support reliable domestic energy, defend the hydropower Central Washington depends on, and work to reduce unnecessary costs for farmers, truckers, and small businesses," she said.

The dams generate enough emission-free renewable energy to power about 800,000 homes, structural changes have helped improve passage for recovering fish populations, and its locks system allow the transportation of $3 billion worth of commerce each year.

Roughly 40% of the nation's wheat transits through the dams.

RESILIENT COLUMBIA BASIN AGREEMENT

McKinney said Trump was spot on to pull out of a settlement agreement that could have led to the removal of the four energy producing dams.

The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement paused decades of litigation over the alleged harm the dams caused to migrating fish.

The plan reached during the Biden administration called for the government to spend $1 billion over a decade to help fish, and to build enough clean energy projects to match the dams if Congress ever decided to breach them, according to Associated Press reporting.

Some believe removing the dams and restoring fish habitat is the best path forward to help salmonoid species at risk of extinction.

Duresky is also in favor of retaining the dams, though said the politics is complex.

He says it was a bad decision for Trump to break an agreement that effectively was a temporary stop to the debate around dam breaching. Republicans, he said, are using "a cudgel when a scalpel would have been the better approach."

"The irrigators had a 10-year agreement in place where we were not going to make a decision on breaching the dams, the water levels were agreed to by everybody including the stakeholders, and the current president tore up the agreement," he said.

Duresky said he is a "big supporter" of modernizing energy infrastructure, and that there's a "lot of difficult work to be done here."

There's been very little pushback from Democrats on his dam stance. Central Washington residents, Duresky says, know how valuable the water and dams are for everyone.