OLYMPIA — Washington Senate Democrats propose funding studies on replacing the electricity and irrigation benefits from the four Lower Snake River dams.

The dams have a peak capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts. More than 50,000 acres of irrigated farmland would be impacted if the dams were breached, according to report last year done under the auspices of Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.

In a budget plan released March 23, Senate budget-writers propose a $2 million study on replacing the hydropower and a $500,000 study on replacing the irrigation benefits.

Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams were built between 1955 and 1975. The dams are not the sole cause of declining salmon runs, but have played a significant role, according to the Murray-Inslee report.

The Army Corps of Engineers operates the dam. Breaching them would take an act of Congress. The money for the two new studies would come from Washington’s general fund.

To avoid significant impacts to the region’s energy supply, new sources of power must be in place before the dams are breached, according to the Murray-Inslee report.

Senate Democrats propose contracting with the National Academy of Sciences or similar research organization to do the study. In a budget plan submitted to lawmakers in December, Inslee proposed spending $5 million on a study.

If dams were breached, irrigators who draw from reservoirs and wells would be impacted. Plus, irrigators would be affected by losing the dams’ hydropower to run pumps, according to the Murray-Inslee report.

“The critical relationship between continuous energy and access to water should not be understated,” according to the report.

Federal studies already have looked at the consequences of breaching the dams. A report by the Bonneville Power Administration last year concluded it was possible to replace energy from the dams, but at a substantial cost, even if emerging technologies, including new nuclear power plants, become available.

The BPA, the Army Corps and Bureau of Reclamation concluded in a 2020 study that breaching the dams would double the chances of a regional blackout.

Replacing the hydroelectricity with other zero-carbon power would push up wholesale electric rates by up to 50%, according to that study.

The dams other benefits include forming a river system that moves farm goods, mostly wheat, by barge from Lewiston, Idaho, to the Tri-Cities.

If the dams were breached, agricultural products would have to be transported by rail or truck, increasing the release of greenhouse gases. The agricultural industry would be fundamentally altered, according to the Murray-Inslee report.