The U.S. and Canadian governments have reached a preliminary agreement on a modernized Columbia River Treaty, President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.

“After 60 years, the treaty needs updating to reflect our changing climate and the changing needs of the communities that depend on this vital waterway,” Biden stated in a press release. “The Columbia River and its tributaries are of great importance to tribal and indigenous peoples, who have been sustained by this ecosystem and the abundant resources it provides for time immemorial. These waterways are also vitally important to our nation’s economy, generating 40% of U.S. hydropower, irrigating $8 billion in agriculture products, and moving 42 million tons of commercial cargo every year.

“In modernizing this treaty, we will elevate U.S. Tribes’ and Canadian Indigenous Nations’ voices,” Biden continued. “We’ll re-balance energy coordination between the United States and Canada, allowing the United States to keep more clean hydropower energy at home while giving Canada more opportunities to import from and export to the U.S. market — critical to both countries achieving our clean energy goals.

The U.S. will benefit from pre-planned water storage at Canadian Treaty dams, to help control flooding and protect vulnerable communities, Biden added.

The U.S. and Canada will continue to work “in the coming weeks” to draft an amendment reflecting “these key elements” and begin the process in both countries to “get this done,” Biden said.

Biden made the announcement July 11, as part of Trudeau’s visit to Washington, D.C.

“Canada and the United States have always been steadfast partners when it comes to protecting our shared waters,” Trudeau stated. “I’m proud to reaffirm this partnership through an agreement-in-principle reached between our two countries on the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty.”

Trudeau called the agreement-in-principle “a major milestone.”

“Today’s announcement is the result of extensive negotiations between the government of Canada and the government of the United States,” he said. “Canada’s negotiating team is a partnership between the federal government, the province of British Columbia, the Ktunaxa, the Secwépemc, and the Syilx Okanagan Nations. This agreement-in-principle is the result of extensive engagement, notably with Indigenous and local communities, to ensure that all interests are heard, represented and addressed.”