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Renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty will begin in early 2018

The treaty was first ratified in 1964.
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The Hugh Keenleyside Dam near Castlegar was one of three built as part of the Columbia River Treaty. It has had a huge impact on the Columbia River valley all the way to Revelstoke. (Wikimedia Creative Commons)

Renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty between Canada and the United States will begin in early 2018, according to the U.S. Department of State.

On Thursday, Dec. 7 the Department of State tweeted:

“The United States and #Canada will begin negotiations to modernize the landmark Columbia River Treaty regime in early 2018. Certain provisions of the Treaty — a model of transboundary natural resource cooperation since 1964 — are set to expire in 2024. https://go.usa.gov/xnNr9.”

The treaty was first ratified in 1964.

Canada agreed to provide flood control and to build three dams — Duncan, Hugh L. Keenleyside and Mica — in B.C. and allowed the U.S. to build a fourth dam, the Libby Dam, that flooded into Canada, in exchange for “an equal share of the incremental U.S. downstream power benefits.”

The treaty has no end date but either country can end it from September 2024 onwards if at least 10 years notice is given.

We will have more on this story as we gather reaction.