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#914211 - 11/25/14 09:58 PM Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan
eyeFISH Offline
Ornamental Rice Bowl

Registered: 11/24/03
Posts: 12766
Press Release
Issued by the Governor’s Chehalis Basin Work Group,
November 24, 2014

In April 2013, Governor Inslee tasked the Chehalis Basin Work Group with producing a recommendation for reducing flood damage and restoring habitat for salmon and other aquatic species across the Basin. The Legislature endorsed the Governor’s action by providing $28 million to implement on-the-ground projects and support a thorough, careful and transparent 16-month process by the Work Group to develop its recommendation. That work has been facilitated and coordinated by the William D. Ruckelshaus Center at the University of Washington and Washington State University, with the technical support and involvement of state agencies and other involved parties.

Last week, the work group submitted its recommendation to Governor Inslee; today, the Governor supports that recommendation.

The Work Group is comprised of David Burnett (former Chehalis Tribe Chairman), Vickie Raines (Cosmopolis Mayor and Chehalis Flood Authority Chair), Karen Valenzuela (Thurston County Commissioner and Chehalis Flood Authority Vice Chair), J. Vander Stoep (private attorney and Chehalis Flood Authority Pe Ell Alternate), Jay Gordon (farmer in lower Chehalis Basin and Washington Dairy Federation Executive Director), and Rob Duff (Policy Advisor to Governor Inslee).

The Work Group is recommending an integrated project for long-term flood-damage reduction and aquatic species restoration in the Chehalis Basin. Taken together, this suite of actions has a predicted benefit of over $720 million, including -$650 million in flood damage reduction and $70 million from increasing by up to 50% returning adult salmon for tribal, commercial and recreational fisheries. The project will also reduce the threat to closure of I-5 from five days to one.

These recommended actions have other benefits not included in the cost-benefit analysis. For example, the Chehalis Basin is the only major river basin in Washington state where salmon species are not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. A listing in the Basin would cause enormous societal and economic upheaval. There is an opportunity, by investing in aquatic habitat restoration now, to potentially avoid such listings, while reversing the decline in the salmon fishery.

The Work Group is recommending:1) initiation of the permitting process for a concrete flood retention dam on the upper Chehalis River, 2) improvements to the Chehalis-Centralia Municipal Airport Levee, 3) an unprecedented Basin-wide effort to restore aquatic species, including restoration of over 100 miles of spawning and rearing habitat, 4) continued investment in the highest-priority, smaller-scale flood-damage reduction projects including raising homes, floodproofing businesses and public structures, and 5) actions by counties and cities in the Basin to protect natural floodplain functions and ensure future development does not create more harm. These steps are recommended as an integrated whole, with specific guidance provided about sequencing and the pace of the work.

Implementing the Work Group recommendation will be challenging. Restoration of over 100 miles of the River will require the voluntary cooperation of many landowners and the technical skills of scientists at all levels of government. While there is broad support for water retention in the Basin, the Work Group acknowledges that its recommendation of a new water retention structure – a dam – is controversial. Dams, most in the U.S. built decades ago, have had negative impacts on natural resources. The Work Group has heard opposition to consideration of a dam from the Quinault Indian Nation and others. These concerns will be taken seriously in a formal evaluation, as part of a programmatic environmental impact statement. The dam being proposed is a next-generation dam. The proposed project to restore aquatic species habitat and to reduce catastrophic flood damage will only go forward if there is a significant net positive outcome for the fishery in the Basin.

The Work Group believes its recommendation to reduce flood damage and restore aquatic species is the best strategy for the long-term, especially in the face of climate change that is expected to increase the damages from flooding over historic levels and accelerate the decline of native species in the Basin.

Additional information is available at www.ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu.

Contact: Jim Kramer, Chehalis Basin Strategy Project Manager, 206 841-2145, jkramer.consulting@gmail.com
_________________________
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The Keen Eye MD
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#914221 - 11/26/14 01:15 AM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: eyeFISH]
DrifterWA Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 04/25/00
Posts: 5074
Loc: East of Aberdeen, West of Mont...
No Dam........Could be a large part of this, is to "cover the asses" of those that allowed building in the Lewis County "flood plain".......imo

Elwha Dams come down...........Now they want to build another....grrrrrr
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#914240 - 11/26/14 10:44 AM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: DrifterWA]
stonefish Offline
King of the Beach

Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5203
Loc: Carkeek Park
What the hell is a next-generation dam?
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#914244 - 11/26/14 11:34 AM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: stonefish]
eswan Offline
Juvenile at Sea

Registered: 01/19/14
Posts: 171
They seriously think 100 miles of habitat restoration will increase adult production by 50% only to have it flooded by a "next generation dam" will work? I'm all about more fish but if they want more then they should be focusing their energy on the netting situation in the entire basin. Sounds like they're all about protecting the folks that built in a flood plain and the commerce from I5.

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#914245 - 11/26/14 11:47 AM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: eswan]
Chum Man Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 11/07/99
Posts: 2691
Loc: Yelmish
want to mitigate the threat of flooding to I5? raise it up! that should have been the plan all along, rather than develop the floodplain.

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#914246 - 11/26/14 11:49 AM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: eswan]
cohoangler Offline
Three Time Spawner

Registered: 12/29/99
Posts: 1611
Loc: Vancouver, Washington
I have no idea what a "next generation" dam is. However, if the purpose is strictly flood control (i.e., no hydropower), then it could be built with minimal affect on the fish. It could be a 'dry dam' whereas the river runs thru a concrete dam without obstruction (i.e., no reservoir). If a major storm, with flood potential, is in the forecast, they can close the opening thru the dam with a flood gate, thereby creating a flood storage reservoir until the storm passes. All the water could then be released, slowly, and the river could resume it's normal course.

But this is not a new idea either. Lots of these dams in the Northeast.

The report sounds like an interesting concept. Thanks for the summary.

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#914251 - 11/26/14 12:16 PM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: cohoangler]
Salmo g. Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 13520
Wow, a consultant's report the concludes we really can have it both ways! I just hate it when crap like this clouds over my rose-colored Polly Anna optimism. Restore 100 miles of salmon producing stream AND construct a new concrete flood control dam on the Chehalis? Hah! Oh, and for the record please, who pays for all this? $650 million in flood damage reduction benefits, eh? Over how many years? Quite honestly, I think having I-5 closed 5 days every 10 years due to flooding is an acceptable outcome. It's not like there is no other way around when it does happen. This is all about the money, and the salmon and steelhead will be the losers.

Sg

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#914258 - 11/26/14 12:48 PM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: Salmo g.]
Todd Offline
Dick Nipples

Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 28170
Loc: Seattle, Washington USA
My suspicion is that the dyed in the wool Capitalist Captains of Industry who want the "next generation" dam will not only gladly accept the Socialized Payment Plan, i.e., they don't pay schit for it even though it's for them, and we will all pay for it, especially those of us who almost never even go down there, but I'm sure they will lobby hard for it just like that.

Funny how those Capitalists turn into Socialists pretty quick when they can take everyone's money to build their pet projects. They'll probably want a tax break for all the money they'll spend with PR firms telling us how awesome it is that we get to pay for their dam, too.

Preach "personal responsibility"? Then you pay for your own dam, or pay for your own house to be rebuilt when the 100 year floods come every six years because you were too stupid to not build on a flood plain.

Show me a consulting firm that says we can have a new dam and better fish habitat and I'll show you a consulting firm that has strong ties to the dam building and operating industry, one that has never...ever...said anything other than "we can have both".

Fish on...

Todd
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#914264 - 11/26/14 01:28 PM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: Todd]
Rocket Red Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 02/14/06
Posts: 2540
Loc: Elma
Used to be hatchery, now is habitat.
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#914270 - 11/26/14 02:14 PM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: Rocket Red]
Rivrguy Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 4393
Loc: Somewhere on the planet,I hope
Not to throw gasoline but you can build in a flood plain. Now the pioneers did it and all over the world it is common. The structures are elevated with blow out panels around the bottom when they flood. Same on the Gulf Coast where the homes are elevated on pilings with blow outs but it cost more to build in that manner. The concept of building structures near the ground is not such a hot idea any place where it floods.
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Dazed and confused.............the fog is closing in

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#914304 - 11/26/14 09:28 PM Re: Chehalis Basin Flood Mgt Plan [Re: stonefish]
Eric Offline
River Nutrients

Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 3513
Originally Posted By: stonefish
What the hell is a next-generation dam?



Why it's a dam that successfully passes 100% of adult fish upstream, 100% of juveniles downstream, is big enough to subdue the biggest floods with no negative effects on habitat upstream or down, has zero cost to the taxpayer, is painted in the latest pretty pastel colors with rainbows overhead and unicorns roaming the shores.

Next-Generation………it's gotta be good, right? If it was just a "dam" I couldn't climb on board but this…..this changes everything!

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