"McMorris Rodgers’ Journey To The Energy And Commerce Gavel"

"WHITMAN COUNTY, Wash. — Cathy McMorris Rodgers peered over the Lower Granite Dam here this August as tens of thousands of gallons of Snake River water roared like a locomotive over its spillway gates. She had some concerns.

“That’s a lot of gold flying over that dam,” the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said.

For her, the biggest worry was that the water spilling over the dam, part of an effort to protect salmon, was coming at the expense of hydropower. The dam has the potential to provide energy for 3.5 million people, or 567,000 homes, although that mark is not usually met."

George Cahlink reports for E&E News December 6, 2022.