On August 22nd, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in City of Tacoma v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. After being left nearly dry for more than 80 years by the Cushman hydroelectric project, the North Fork Skokomish river will once again have a healthy flow of water.

The Cushman Project lies on the North Fork Skokomish River in Washington. On May 21, 1999, FERC issued an Order granting the City of Tacoma' s motion to stay implementation of the new Cushman license pending litigation, including the instream flow provisions. At that time, FERC instituted an interim flow requirement of only 60 cubic feet per second (“ cfs” ), well under the 240 cfs established in the new license. The 60 cfs is wholly inadequate to support a healthy riparian ecosystem and adversely impact fish spawning, rearing, and access to salmon and steelhead habitat.