"Army Corps of Engineers Agrees To Disclose Dam Pollution"

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in a legal settlement Monday that it will immediately notify the conservation group Columbia Riverkeeper, which filed the lawsuit, of any oil spills among its eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington."

"PORTLAND — For the first time in its history, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must disclose the amount of pollutants its dams send into waterways in a groundbreaking legal settlement that could have broad implications for the corps’ hundreds of dams nationwide.

The corps announced in a settlement Monday that it will immediately notify the conservation group that filed the lawsuit of any oil spills among its eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington.

The corps also will apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution permits, something it has never done for the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers."

Nigel Duara reports for the Associated Press August 4, 2014.