Columbia River Treaty & Permanent Engineering Board

Columbia River Treaty

The Columbia River Treaty is an international agreement between the United States and Canada, signed in 1961 that establishes coordination obligations for flood risk management, hydroelectric energy production and has yielded environmental benefits in the Columbia River Basin.

The Treaty calls for two designated “entities,” a U.S. Entity (created by a Presidential Executive Order) and a Canadian Entity (appointed by the Canadian Federal Cabinet) to implement the Treaty with the assistance of a Permanent Engineering Board.

Entities are responsible for overseeing the conduct of the Columbia River Treaty and include the U.S. Entity, the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration and the Division Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Northwestern Division, and the Canadian Entity, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (B.C. Hydro).

The Entities appoint representatives to the operating and hydrometeorological committees, while the Permanent Engineering Board appoints members of the PEB Engineering Committee. The Permanent Engineering Board handles tasks such as assembling flow records, assisting in settling differences that may arise between the Entities, and creating annual reports of the results being achieved. 

Treaty History

Canada and the U.S. were facing two major challenges in the Columbia Basin after the Second World War.

First, the Columbia River was causing periodic and sometimes devastating flooding. Second, an upswing in the economy and population increased the need for additional energy sources.

In response to these challenges, Canada and the U.S. decided to investigate if water could be stored in the upper Columbia Basin for the benefit of both countries. After years of study, investigations, and negotiation the Columbia River Treaty was signed by the U.S. and Canada on January 17, 1961. Instruments of ratification covering the Treaty and Protocol were exchanged on September 16, 1964.

The Treaty was developed to provide for cooperative measures for hydropower and flood risk management, which will make other benefits possible as well. 

Under the treaty, Canada agreed to build three storage dams Keenleyside, Duncan and Mica - in the Canadian Columbia Basin. It also provided permission for the U.S. to build Libby Dam in the U.S. with its reservoir reaching into British Columbia.

Treaty Modernization

The United States and Canada began negotiations in May 2018 with the objective of developing a modernized Columbia River Treaty regime that serves the people of the Columbia River Basin on both sides of the border, including members of several Tribal and Indigenous Nations.

The U.S. Department of State is leading the U.S. team in negotiations with Canada. The U.S. Government’s key objectives include continued, careful management of flood risk; ensuring a reliable and economical power supply; and improving the ecosystem in a modernized Treaty regime.

Discussions with Canada have focused on water flowing across the border, namely from the Canadian Treaty projects—Keenleyside (also known as Arrow), Duncan and Mica dams—and from Libby Dam in the United States. These projects together are collectively known as the “Treaty Projects.”

On July 11, 2024, the United States and Canada announced an agreement in principle, which can be found on the Department of State's website: https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-western-hemisphere-affairs/details-about-the-key-elements-agreed-between-the-united-states-and-canada-regarding-modernization-of-the-columbia-river-treaty-regime. 

The Treaty provisions regarding Canada’s obligations to operate its reservoirs for U.S. flood risk management changed on September 16, 2024. The United States secured an obligation from Canada to provide a degree of flood risk management when the Treaty was originally signed, that obligation continues so long as Canada has dams in the basin that contribute to flood risk reduction in the United States. The first 60 years of that obligation were handled on a pre-planned and pre-paid basis. In 2024, the 60 years of pre-planned flood storage in the Canadian Treaty was replaced with terms that allow the United States and Canada to coordinate FRM operations and payment for FRM differently, by using what is known as "Called Upon" or “real-time” operations.

This provision means that the United States can call upon Canada for assistance when necessary to meet U.S. flood risk management needs. The United States would need to continue to operate its reservoirs to reduce flood peaks in periods when it calls on Canadian reservoir storage, as it does today. The Treaty has a corresponding change on the payment side, which would require the United States to compensate Canada based on the economic loss shown to arise directly from any foregone use of the relevant reservoir space during the flood period.

Since the July 11, 2024 agreement in principle, both countries have begun developing text for a modernized treaty regime. Once the agreement enters into force, it improves FRM operations for the United States over the existing Treaty as it provides for 3.6 million acre-feet (MAF) of preplanned space in Canadian reservoirs. Until that new regime enters into force, the United States and Canada will be in an interim period, prompting the need for a new operating plan for FRM. USACE has worked with Canada to secure the 3.6 MAF of preplanned FRM storage for 2025.

Permanent Engineering Board

The Columbia River Treaty established the Permanent Engineering Board (PEB). Article XV of the Treaty established the Board consisting of four members, two appointed by Canada, and two by the U.S

Permanent Engineering Board duties include:

• Assembling records of the flows of the Columbia River and the Kootenay River at the Canada - U.S. boundary;
• Reporting to the U.S. and Canada whenever there is substantial deviation from the hydroelectric and flood control operating plans and if appropriate include in the report recommendations for remedial action and compensatory adjustments;
• Assisting in reconciling differences concerning technical or operational matters that may arise between the entities;
• Making periodic inspections and require reports as needed from the entities with a view to ensuring that the objectives of the Treaty are being met;
• Making reports to the U.S. and Canada at least once a year of the results being achieved under the Treaty and make special reports concerning any matter which it considers should be brought to their attention;
• Investigating and reporting with respect to any other matter coming within the scope of the Treaty at the request of either the U.S. or Canada.

For the U.S. Section of the PEB, the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Energy each appoint one person as a U.S. member. At the time of appointment such members may be but need not necessarily be, officers or employees of the U.S., and shall serve as a member of the Board at the pleasure of the appointing Secretary.

In addition to the two members, there are two alternate U.S. members of the Permanent Engineering Board, with one each appointed by the respective Secretaries. The appointed members and alternate members compose the U.S. Section of the PEB. The member appointed by the Secretary of the Army is the Chairman of the U.S. Section.