2 GOP lawmakers urge Inslee to veto Snake River dam study

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Two Republican members of Congress from eastern Washington are urging Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to veto funding to study the impacts if four dams on the Snake River are breached to help salmon.

The Legislature appropriated $750,000 to study how best to help local communities if the federally owned dams are breached.

The bill is sitting on Inslee's desk.

U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse, who have the dams in their districts, say the study is a waste of taxpayer dollars because the dams are owned and operated by the federal government.

They say the money should instead be used to fund salmon recovery programs.

The four dams are blamed for reducing salmon numbers on the Snake and Columbia river systems.

Inslee is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.