Oregon Public Broadcasting

Members of the Northwest congressional delegation are backing a proposal to spend up to $200 million dollars over the next five years on cleaning up the Columbia River.  

Oregon congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator, Jeff Merkley, are the chief sponsors. Southwest Washington rep, Brian Baird supports it, too.

Baird has announced that he’s not running for re-election. He says he’d like to see the Columbia River bill pass before he leaves office – but he doesn’t expect it.

Baird: “It might actually be quite surprising if you could pass it this time. And frankly, a lot of the work we do in Congress to a certain extent, is a relay race. We move, we carry the baton a few laps and we don’t always get things we worked on passed during our tenure, but we might get it closer, and then the next person moves it further still."

Baird says even if the money doesn’t materialize right away – and even if Congress doesn’t approve it all – he hopes it would help coordinate federal studies and response efforts, especially in the the Columbia estuary.

Baird and other supporters say dedicated funding would put the Columbia River on par with the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico, as polluted waterways of national significance.