Trump Administration Loses Bid to Move Columbia Basin Litigation

The Trump administration can’t shake a lawsuit over a hydropower dam operation’s impacts on endangered salmon species in the Pacific Northwest after a federal judge ruled environmental group’s case remains in the appropriate court.

The US District Court for the District of Oregon said Thursday it retains jurisdiction over the issue of whether the Columbia River Power System’s operations threaten over a dozen salmon species listed under the Endangered Species Act, because the challenged decision was exclusively a federal action.

Judge Michael A. Simon dismissed the Trump administration’s argument that the Northwest Power Act’s exclusive jurisdiction provision applies to the ...