BPA Turns 75, Part Six, Eye on the Future
Gerald Lewis, Yakama Nation It is a very beautiful day indeed to see the
sunrise to realize that we are alive.
Steve Wright, BPA CEO and Administrator The Columbia River unites us all across this
great Basin.
It enriches us, it enlivens us, and it electrifies us.
Gerald Lewis, Yakama Nation And today, very grateful to be here to witness
what is going to take place.
Bill Drummond, BPA Deputy Administrator To celebrate the 75th anniversary of what
is arguably the most significant occasion in the history of the 20th century in the
Pacific Northwest.
“Truck sirens” Natural sound : “Ladies and gentlemen, in
the first car, the 32nd President of the united states.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”
---------------FDR CLIP transition to current clip.
Many times over.
[Starts out with old clip:] My friends to the people of this country, in the construction
of this dam, we have had our eyes on the future of a nation; its costs will be returned…
(some overlap here) [To actor:] to the United States many, many
times over, in the improvement of navigation, transportation, the cheapening of electric
power and the distribution of this power to hundreds of small communities within a great
radius.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) 75 years ago, the Bonneville Dam was a landmark
public works project to provide jobs during the Great Depression and since then it’s
been a source of affordable and reliable electricity for industry and individuals across the Northwest.
Colonel Anthony Funkhouser, Northwestern Division Commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Bonneville Dam also played an instrumental role in the country’s defense in World War
II, supplying power to the nearby aluminum plants producing 50,000 warplanes.
And electricity from the dam also powered local shipyards that at one pointed turned
out a liberty ship every day.
Steve Wright, BPA CEO and Administrator So, countless people were emancipated from
the grip of poverty.
Freedom was secured.
Lives were saved.
Our quality of life has been enhanced.
And our air is the cleanest in the nation.
What could possibly tug at our conscience in the shadow of those accomplishments?
Well, the development of this river has exacted a cost.
A cost in terms of the native fish and wildlife that inhabited that river’s reach.
And a cost to the cultural and spiritual life of the people who relied on the river’s
natural bounty and received the least from the development of this system, the region’s
native tribes.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Herrera-Beutler (R-Wash.)
In three-quarters of a century Bonneville has necessarily adapted and changed to protect
our resources.
Steve Wright, BPA CEO and Administrator Together we are beginning to right the wrongs.
Roy Sampsel, Institute for Tribal Government, Portland State University
That’s the future that we promised our children, be they Indian children or non-indian children,
that’s what we have said that we will do and continue to do, because we believe that
there is no challenge that working together we cannot collaboratively address and solve.
Steve Wright, BPA CEO and Administrator We stand today at the rallying point for all
who live in the Northwest.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
Today, BPA is a model for renewable energy options.
Gerald Lewis We cannot impede progress because each and
every one of us live in a home and we use the electricity that comes through the lines.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
As we look forward we must do so while acknowledging that aging infrastructure reduces efficiency
and electricity production.
That we’ll need to focus on generation integration onto Smart Grid systems, that if we work together,
we can help meet the growing energy needs of our country with renewable power.
Ralph Cavanagh And the Northwest has emerged with Bonneville’s
help as an international leader in efficiency and renewables development.
It’s a success story by any measure.
Colonel Anthony Funkhouser, Northwestern Division Commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
And no matter the challenges ahead we are better prepared to meet them collectively
than separately.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
But it’s also an opportunity for us to look forward to the next 75 years and to the future
of the BPA.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Herrera-Beutler (R-Wash.)
Let’s utilize it, protect it, and pass it on for future generation’s prosperity and
for their economic freedom.
Steve Wright, BPA CEO and Administrator Today we seek to go further, to bring down
the barriers that separate economic success from ecological health and unite them in common
purpose.
Bill Drummond, BPA Deputy Administrator Together we watch over the river that creates
the most amazing energy on earth.
Roy Sampsel, Institute for Tribal Government, Portland State University
The future of this river, the future of this great resource, and how it works and continues
to work should be an inspiration to us and to the world.
Steve Wright, BPA CEO and Administrator Roll on Columbia.
Roll on.
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