Down Comes The Dam

Janette Brimmer: “The dam, as you can see, is being removed!"

Interviewer: "How are you feeling being here?"

Janette: “Ha ha ha ha ha! It's really great. I mean, it's really great because these are sort of vestiges of another time. And we know now what a devastating impact they've had on fish.

“We first approached the dam owner with an offer to remove it free of charge.

“They were not so inclined.

“So we started a lawsuit, and then they decided that maybe, actually, the dam really wasn't doing them that much good, and getting it out at somebody else's cost was a good idea.

“With the dam removal, they're going to replace that outdated canal with a solar irrigation pump — so, the the farmer can still have the irrigation, but the dam is going to be gone.

“With that removal, we're going to open up miles and miles and miles of prime habitat for salmon.”

Janette Brimmer works on cases in the Northwest region, as well as national water and wetland matters. She works on a variety of water quality litigation, including protecting iconic waters, such as Puget Sound, and leading the Waters of the U.S. team. Janette is based in the Northwest Office.