Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Washington Law Review
Journal Abbreviation
Wash. L. Rev.
Abstract
This article traces the origins and development of the Pacific Northwest's hydroelectric system from its Progressive Era roots to the New Deal and beyond up to and including the enactment of the 1980 Northwest Power Act. The article includes the rise of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the movement to electrify rural areas of the region, and the effects of World War II and the Columbia River Treaty with Canada, ratified in the 1960s. The motivating force behind the enactment of the 1980 statute--the rise and fall of BPA's Hydro-Thermal Power Program--is also spotlighted. The article maintains that anyone wishing to understand the complex workings of the Columbia Basin hydroelectric system must understand how the system originated and grew over the years prior to the Northwest Power Act.
First Page
175
Last Page
244
Publication Date
1983
Recommended Citation
Michael Blumm,
The Northwest's Hydroelectric Heritage: Prologue to the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Act,
58
Wash. L. Rev.
175
(1983).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/faculty_articles/156
Included in
Energy and Utilities Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Legal History Commons, Water Law Commons