Some Dam Hydro News · don’t show up, they have the power to send out their own inspectors to at least visually inspect a dam. Still, it’s not an easy job when the entire dam

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

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8/21/2020

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Dams: (They sure have money problems.) These high-hazard Michigan dams haven't reported inspections in years Some inspection reports are more than a decade overdue By: Ross Jones, Aug 06, 2020, wxyz.com (WXYZ) – Mich. — 18 high and significant hazard dams in Michigan have not submitted required inspection reports with state watchdogs, with some more than a decade overdue. The revelation comes more than two months after two dams in Midland County failed, leading to thousands of homes being lost or damaged and more than $200 million in devastation. In Michigan, dam owners are required to have their dam inspected every few years. For significant hazard dams that would lead to a loss of property if they failed, the state requires inspections every four years. .

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The inspections are paid for by the dam owner, and the report is supposed to be shared with safety engineers at EGLE, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, to identify any deficiencies. “A good regular inspection program is important, because it enables you to know if there’s anything developing,” said Mark Ogden, project manager with the Association of Dam Safety Officials. But across the state, a 7 Action News investigation reveals that 18 high or significant hazard dams haven’t submitted an inspection report in at least six years. Some date back more than 20 years. At Manitonka Lake, just north of Mount Pleasant, the Walker Creek Dam #2 hasn’t reported an inspection since 2009. That’s because, according to the association that owns it, it wouldn’t pass. The dam partially failed a decade ago, and is currently listed in poor condition and owners say they can’t afford to replace it. About 370 families live on the lake. The Baldwin Fish Hatchery Dam in Lake County is currently listed in unsatisfactory condition, the lowest grade possible, and hasn’t been inspected in nine years. The owner “did not respond” to the state when they asked for the overdue inspection. In fact, 10 dam owners have ignored the state’s requests. “That’s alarming, right?” said Luke Trumble, a dam safety engineer with EGLE. “We need to get inspection reports for them, and we are working to do that.” According to EGLE spokesman Nick Assendelft, the Baldwin Fish Hatchery Dam “has been in poor condition for some time” and stakeholders, including the Watershed Council, DNR, and others, have been pursuing to have the structure removed. But funding challenges, as well as the owner’s recent passing in February, have made that challenging. Even as some inspection reports lagged by more than a decade, a review of records finds that EGLE failed to take more aggressive action to ensure compliance. In St. Joseph County, the Portage Plant Dam owner hasn’t submitted an inspection report since 2002. Today, the dam is listed in poor condition. “It’s an older dam,” Trumble said. “There’s deteriorating concrete and lack of maintenance and things like that that need to be addressed.” “And that owner has been out of compliance for years, right?” asked Channel 7’s Ross Jones. “Right,” Trumble said. “Has he ever been fined?” Jones asked. “I don’t know if he’s been fined,” Trumble said. After our interview, an EGLE spokesman could not find a record of any fines of the Portage Plant Dam owner, or any other dam owners, dating back the last 10 years “(It) may have been 10 years since the department has assessed a fine on a dam owner,” said spokesman Nick Assendelft, stressing that fining a dam owner is EGLE’s last resort. In the case of the Portage Plant Dam, safety engineer Luke Trumble said the department had used a combination of “violation notices” and “cordial reminders” to attempt to bring the owner into compliance. “I would have hoped that we would have had more compliance sooner,” Trumble admitted. “This one’s probably gone on too long.” Rep. Aaron Miller lives not far from the Portage Plant Dam and says EGLE needs to use all the tools in its toolbox to ensure inspections are being performed and submitted. “If a dam owner is not showing up to the table,” Miller said, “I don’t know how you can justify keeping that going.” If fines don’t work, he said EGLE should take more severe action. “If (owners) can’t pay the fines, just like someone who doesn’t pay their property tax eventually gets foreclosed on,” Miller said. “That needs to be a route to be able to prevent another Edenville from happening.” EGLE says they’re more interested in gaining compliance than fining dam owners. When inspection reports don’t show up, they have the power to send out their own inspectors to at least visually inspect a dam. Still, it’s not an easy job when the entire dam safety inspection team for the state, as we’ve reported, is just two people. The duo is in charge of regulating 1,059 dams across Michigan. To Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills), that’s unacceptable. “We just don’t have enough resources to be able to be proactive,” she said. “Two people on dams? They’re spread so thinly.” As the state grapples with a mammoth budget hole caused by COVID-19, finding more money to help regulate Michigan’s aging infrastructure seems unlikely, though Bayer says she’ll push for it. After our interview with EGLE, the department announced it was expanding its dam safety team from two engineers to three. A start day for the new hire was not specified. “We ought to have better enforcement,” Rep. Miller said. “If there is a dam on the troubled list, do we want to wait until another Edenville happens?”


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(Everybody has the answer but they won’t wait until we have all the facts,) Why the Mid-Michigan Dams Failed New report says failure may have been avoidable August 6, 2020 | mackinac.org MIDLAND, Mich. — A new report released today by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy examines what caused two Mid-Michigan dams to fail earlier this year. The failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams led to widespread flooding that washed away significant portions of the surrounding communities and forced the evacuation of over 11,000 area residents. The report looks at the compounding failures of Boyce Hydro, the dams’ owner, and the governmental bodies charged with regulating the dams, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The culmination of those failures led to the damage of over 2,500 homes and other buildings in the area. The circumstances that eventually led to the flood, which is currently estimated to have done $200 million worth of damage, suggest that much of this could have been avoided. “Edenville and Sanford dams did not have to fail — they had weathered similar storms in the past,” said Jason Hayes, author of the report and director of environmental policy at the Mackinac Center. “There appears to have been an ongoing string of failures on the part of the dam’s owner, the state government, and even the federal government, to ensure this dam was properly maintained and operated.” The report also looks at the efforts of the Four Lakes Task Force, a local group that attempted to get ahead of the persistent lack of maintenance and repairs on the dams. The task force was working with the dam’s owners and various levels of government to purchase, rehabilitate and operate these properties. “Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has used the dam failures and flooding as a platform to argue that private companies should not be allowed to own essential infrastructure,” said Hayes. “But there are over 1,000 regulated dams in the state that are privately owned and properly managed today. It doesn’t necessarily follow that handing these dams over to the same government agencies that already have regulatory authority over these Mid-Michigan dams would be an improvement.”

Further investigation into the dam failures is currently underway. The report argues that, given the direct involvement of both Boyce Hydro and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy,

an investigation should be carried out by a neutral third party, such as the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. You can view the complete report The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit research and educational institute that advances the principles of free markets and limited government. Through our research and education programs, we challenge government overreach and advocate for free-market approach to public policy that frees people to realize their potential and dreams. Please consider contributing to our work to advance a freer and more prosperous state. (Who really owns them?) DHS Releases Report on Dam Infrastructure December 2015, amwa.net On December 17, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis


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(OCIA) released a new report: “Aging and Failing Infrastructure Systems: Dams.” Among the findings: https://www.amwa.net/assets/OCIA-Aging-and-Failing-Infrastructure-Systems-Dams-12.17.15.pdf states, localities, and private entities own 82 percent of all high-hazard potential dams; the Dam Safety Act expired in 2011, which limits federal funds available to support state dam safety programs; and 31% of dam safety incidents occur during construction or the first 5 years of operation. As overview documents for senior officials, OCIA reports are generally high-level treatments of complex subjects. See a related article about another OCIA report about dams in AMWA’s April 2015 Sustainability & Security Report. (Nothing like going right to the top.) Warren Buffett controls dams in Northern California. Why Gov. Newsom wants them torn down BY DALE KASLER, JULY 30, 2020 , sacbee.com Desperate to complete a historic but complicated dam removal on the California-Oregon border, Gov. Gavin Newsom has appealed to one of the world’s wealthiest men to keep the project on track: financier Warren Buffett. Newsom dispatched a letter to Buffett and two of his executives Wednesday urging them to support the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River, where the dams have hurt salmon populations. The dams are owned by PacifiCorp, an Oregon-based electric utility that’s part of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. conglomerate. The $450 million project has been in the works for years and would constitute the largest dam removal in American history, in an area of the West where conflicts over water have sparked large protests and, in 2002, a controversial intervention at the highest levels of the George W. Bush administration. After congressional Republicans torpedoed an earlier dam removal plan, the Obama administration brokered an agreement in 2016 under which PacifiCorp would surrender the dams to a nonprofit, the Klamath River Renewal Corp., which would oversee their destruction. The deal appeared to be sailing along until July 16. The Federal Energy Regulatory Corp., which oversees hydro projects, said it would allow the transfer of the dams’ licenses to the nonprofit — but only if PacifiCorp remained a co-licensee. FERC said the nonprofit “has limited finances and no experience with hydropower dam operation or dam removal.” That could be a deal-breaker. After years of negotiation with the tribes over upgrades to the dams to protect salmon, PacifiCorp concluded that it was time to let the facilities go. The utility decided that keeping the aging dams — the oldest dates to 1918 — was more expensive than letting them go. Being told it has to remain a co-licensee didn’t sit well with the utility. “Our concern is that if PacifiCorp remains ‘on the hook’ for dam removal, that the costs of that could spiral well in excess of what the cost would have been to simply relicense the dam,” PacifiCorp spokesman Bob Gravely told the Herald and News in Klamath Falls, Ore. Tearing down the dams would cost $450 million. PacifiCorp customers in Oregon and Northern California have contributed $200 million to the project, through surcharges on their bills, while the state of California pledged $250 million in funds from Proposition 1, a voter-approved 2014 water bond. “Our concern is that if PacifiCorp remains ‘on the hook’ for dam removal, that the costs of that could spiral well in excess of what the cost would have been to simply relicense the dam,” PacifiCorp spokesman Bob Gravely told the Herald and News in Klamath Falls, Ore. (Is 23 a record?) At least 23 lawsuits filed against owners of failed mid-Michigan dams and state agencies Michigan lakes disappear after historic flood causes dam failures By Cole Waterman | mlive.com, Aug 14, 2020


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DETROIT, MI — At least 22 lawsuits are filed in the Eastern District of Michigan federal court against the owners of two Midland County dams that failed and caused massive flooding earlier this year. State agencies are named as defendants in another related case. The federal lawsuits name Boyce Hydro LLC, Boyce Hydro Power LLC, Boyce Michigan LLC, Edenville Hydro Property LLC, owner Lee W. Mueller, and various related entities and individuals as defendants. Many were filed by citizens who own properties in Midland County that were affected by flooding caused by the May 19 failure of the Edenville Dam and breach of the Sanford Dam. Several of the lawsuits are class action, meaning one of the plaintiffs is a group of people who are represented collectively. Some of the suits also name JPMorgan Chase & Co. as a defendant, stating the investment banking company has been engaged in a joint venture with the other defendants. The suits’ demands vary from $500,000, $750,000, $5 million, and just shy of $10 million. Some allege property damage; others, personal injury. Also, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, the firms of Ven Johnson Law PLC and Romanucci & Blandin LLC filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Courts of Claims against the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE), and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for “their failure to properly regulate and supervise the Edenville and Sanford dams, which ultimately led to the severe flood damage sustained by nearly 300 clients,” the firms stated in a press release The plaintiffs are area residential and commercial property owners, whom the attorneys say are continuing to experience catastrophic property damage and economic harm. The Edenville Dam failed and the Sanford Dam was breached on May 19 due to heavy rain. The resulting flood largely wiped out the village of Sanford, and flooded parts of downtown Midland and beyond. Midland County officials have estimated that the flooding caused upwards of $209 million in damage. About 10,000 residents were evacuated from the region.

In 2018, EGLE and DNR assumed regulatory responsibility for the Edenville Dam after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revoked the license of owner Boyce Hydro Power LLC to operate the dam following decades of alleged mismanagement and violations. The lawyers are asserting that since the state agencies assumed regulatory responsibility, both EGLE and DNR knew the Edenville Dam was unable to meet federal and state standards for flood capacity. “For years, EGLE and DNR knew the Edenville Dam was unsafe,” said attorney Vernon “Ven” Johnson. “In fact, an internal

email stated that the state discovered the 96-year old structure didn’t meet state standards for its capacity to withstand major flooding, yet they did nothing to protect the communities, our clients and their property. Their negligence, knowledge and purposeful acts with regard to how they handled the dam management is what led to the devastating events on May 19. The state must be held accountable for its actions or lack thereof.” State law requires dam spillways to have the capacity to pass 100- or 200-year floods, or the flood of record, depending on the dam. The lawsuit states the defendants were aware of the Edenville Dam’s failure to meet its spillway capacity as early as 2016. “The state agencies were acutely aware of the risk that the unsafe dams posed to the community,” said Stephan Blandin,


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founding partner of Romanucci & Blandin. “The flood caused significant destruction to the surrounding area, and drained both the Wixom and Sanford Lakes, reducing our clients’ home values resulting in long-term economic hardship.” Johnson on June 1 filed a mass tort lawsuit with the Midland County Circuit Court against the owners of the dams on behalf of residents impacted by the catastrophic flooding. He joined other high profile attorneys filing similar lawsuits regarding the flooding, including Detroit attorney Geoffrey Fieger, Buckfire Law Firm and Bernstein Law Firm.

Boyce Hydro LLC and Boyce Hydro Power LLC are two of several entities owned by Mueller, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection July 31 in federal court in Bay City. Attorney Lawrence Kogan, representing Boyce Hydro, has said the state is to blame for the bankruptcy. “Boyce is insolvent and bankrupt because of the way the state enforced its laws,” Kogan previously told MLive. The state filed a lawsuit against Boyce Hydro in 2018. It accused Boyce Hydro LLC of conducting a major drawdown of Wixom

Lake without getting the proper permits. Boyce Hydro said it opened the gates as a preemptive safety measure to ensure dam safety during winter conditions, but the state said the drawdown was intended by Boyce Hydro to avoid paying for winter ice buildup maintenance, not as a measure of downstream safety concern. Mueller and the state were suing each other over damage to aquatic life when the May dam failures occurred. In June, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a new lawsuit against Boyce Hydro on behalf of EGLE and the Michigan DNR that blames Boyce Hydro for the flooding and seeks to recover costs associated with the disaster. Earlier in August, FERC announced it will contract with a third-party investigative team to examine the failures of the two dams as well as the operations of the nearby Smallwood and Secord dams. EGLE is on board with the move, though the investigation will be independent of the state and federal agencies. (The cost is one thing, but the harm done to lives is more important.) Michigan puts $175M price tag on flooding damage in Midland County By Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, June 8, 2020, freep.com As Midland County continues to assess more than $175 million in damage from last month’s flooding, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plans to ask the federal government for more help. Whitmer announced Monday that she will seek from the federal government a major disaster declaration for areas of Midland County, as the staggering amount of damage from dam failures along the Tittabawassee River begins to become clear. More than 2,500 homes, businesses and nonprofits were damaged or destroyed by the floods, with estimated losses of $175 million, said Mark Bone, chairman of the Midland County Board of Commissioners. Some 150 homes were destroyed, with another 790 suffering major damage that may yet be declared total losses, he said. Probably only 8% of those affected had flood insurance, Bone said. “Most people that got flooded by this, they weren’t in a flood zone,” he said. “So they’ve lost their homes. We are taking calls every day about how we make this right with them. We are trying to figure that out.” Another $34 million in damage was sustained on public property and to nonprofit organizations, Bone said.


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The flooding came May 19 and 20 after the failures of the Edenville and Sanford dams along the Tittabawassee River following days of heavy rains. Whitmer called it “an event unlike anything we’ve ever seen in 500 years.” A major disaster declaration from the federal government will open up resources such as crisis counseling for those in the affected area who need it; funding for debris removal and road repairs, and low-interest loans for homeowners, renters, business owners, farmers and nonprofits, Whitmer said at Meridian Elementary School in flood-ravaged Sanford. (Does Global Warming affect dam safety?) Editorial: Recent string of wet weather is a wakeup call for dam safety MARK GORMUS/TIMES-DISPATCH/ Aug17,2020, richmond.com

August only is half over but the Richmond region already is poised for a month of record-breaking rainfall. According to NBC 12, Richmond International Airport recorded 14.84” of rainfall as of Monday morning. Much of this month’s total came over the weekend, as areas of the region were hit with five to nine inches of rain. Only

2004 — the year of Tropical Storm Gaston (16.3”) — netted more precipitation. Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights saw some of the most serious flooding. According to Chesterfield officials, the storm forced the county to install emergency water restrictions, as its treatment plant went offline. The city of Richmond’s Jahnke Road pump station, which supplies water to Chesterfield, also needed emergency repairs. The recent string of wet weather is a wakeup call for dam safety. Chesterfield officials classified Saturday’s rainfall as a 200-year flood event. According to The Times-Dispatch, more than 150 homes downstream from the Falling Creek Dam were evacuated. In Colonial Heights, around 30 homes near Swift Creek fell under a voluntary evacuation because of erosion near the dam at Lakeview Park. This situation could have been much worse. But it’s another reminder of pressing, unmet infrastructure needs. The National Inventory of Dams (NID) — a database operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — lists Chesterfield as having 78 total structures. The average age of these dams is 68 years old. Per NID data, as of July 2018, the Falling Creek Dam — owned by Chesterfield — already was deemed as a high-hazard structure, where a failure would cause probable loss of life or serious economic damage. In an August 2018 inspection, the Lakeview Dam — 100 years old and owned by Colonial Heights — also was classified as high-hazard. Severe weather events increasingly seem to be classified as 100- or 200-year occurrences. Where is the policymaking to upgrade these structures and match the severity of the flooding? As areas like Chesterfield and Colonial Heights grow, the issue will not go away. New subdivisions and residents add layers of complexity — and urgency — to aging dams. The downstream path of a structure built 68 years ago likely was a lot less populated — and hazardous — than today. Investments in dam safety need to match the surge in properties and storms. Homes and lives are at stake. — Chris Gentilviso (Sad end to heroic deed.)


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UPDATE: Drowning victim who pulled children from water in Clearwater County ID’ed By Times Report, Aug 18, 2020, crookstontimes.com Witnesses say she was in the water around 10 minutes before going under. An 18-year-old woman drowned in Clearwater Lake, MN near the Clearwater Dam Monday after, authorities say, she entered the water and pulled several children to safety after they’d gotten caught up in the churning, turbulent water near the dam, water that was significantly higher than normal due to recent heavy rains. She was identified Tuesday afternoon as Raina Lynn Neeland of rural Bagley. Sheriff Darin Halverson told the Star Tribune that it appeared Neeland was with a group of kids, and that without her actions there likely would have been multiple fatalities. Authorities got the call around 3:45 p.m. Monday from Sinclair Township in northern Clearwater County. When the first deputy arrived, according to the CCSO, an eight-year-old female had been pulled from the water and was initially unresponsive, before bystanders at the scene were able to perform life-saving measures and resuscitate her. Closer to the river, the 18-year-old woman was unresponsive and CPR was being performed on her by other bystanders. Witnesses estimated that she’d been in the water for around 10 minutes, pulling children to safety before she went under. Sanford Life Flight arrived and landed a short distance away, but paramedics were not able to resuscitate the woman

Hydro: (Everybody knew this was going to happen.) Midland-area dam operators for bankruptcy protection By Associated Press, Aug. 4, 2020 LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – wilx.com Two companies that own or operate dams that failed in the Midland area have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which would allow them to reorganize their finances. Boyce Hydro and Boyce Hydro Power owe at least $6.1 million for a series of loans through Chicago-based Byline Bank, according to a filing Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bay City. “Individuals and business owners whose property was damaged in the flooding have asserted millions of dollars in ... claims against the debtors, including via numerous class action and individual lawsuits that have been filed since the flooding occurred,” co-manager Lee Mueller said in a 47-page statement that accompanied the filing. Contractors that helped stabilize the dams also haven’t been paid, Mueller said. The Edenville dam failed during a steady rain in May, draining Wixom Lake and unleashing the Tittabawassee River. The river then overwhelmed the Sanford dam, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of Detroit. Mueller said Boyce Hydro and Boyce Hydro Power “do not believe that they in any way caused the flooding — quite the opposite.” He blamed regulators and an


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insistence on a high lake level. “I am personally devastated and am in despair for all property owners who have been impacted — many of whom I know personally,” Mueller said.. (A preliminary permit does not grant permission to build anything, but it does sound like a hopeless situation. Proposing to build a dam anywhere, always has conservationists and others opposing it.) Conservationists Intervene to Oppose New Dam Project Near the Grand Canyon New hydropower project would harm Little Colorado River and endangered species By COUNTERPUNCH NEWS SERVICE, AUGUST 3, 2020, counterpunch.org Washington, D.C. — A coalition of conservation groups filed a motion to intervene today to oppose a preliminary permit for a hydropower project near the Little Colorado River by the same company that proposed two similar projects last year. Earthjustice is representing Save the Colorado, Grand Canyon Trust, Living Rivers & Colorado Riverkeeper, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc., and WildEarth Guardians. The groups want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny a preliminary permit for the Big Canyon Pumped Storage Project proposed by Pumped Hydro Storage, LLC. The project would include four dams and reservoirs in and above the Big Canyon tributary of the Little Colorado River. The company has said that if this project is allowed to move forward, it would abandon the earlier proposals to dam the Little Colorado River. But the Big Canyon Project is every bit as harmful as the previous two projects. “The third time is not the charm for Pumped Hydro’s repeated attempts to build dams just outside the Grand Canyon,” said Rumela Roy, an attorney in Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain office. “FERC should deny the permit because this project would pump massive amounts of groundwater from an already stressed aquifer, and this groundwater pumping would harm endangered fish species and sacred sites of numerous tribes.” A portion of the Little Colorado River has been designated as critical habitat for the endangered humpback chub, an ancient fish that was once abundant in the Grand Canyon but is now on the brink of extinction. According to the National Park Service, the humpback chub in the Little Colorado River is “the only known spawning population of humpback chub in Grand Canyon. ”The Little Colorado River flows into the Colorado River downstream from this project, so it would also change the flows, sediment and temperature of that river, which flows through the Grand Canyon. “At a time when the Trump Administration proposes to strip the humpback chub of its endangered status, so too is industry poised to destroy its last and best spawning habit on the Little Colorado River,” said Jen Pelz, Wild Rivers Program Director at WildEarth Guardians. “It’s time to stop putting profits over people and the environment and draw a line in the sand to protect this already fragile region of the Colorado River basin. ”The motion argues that this proposal should not receive a permit because it does not pass a basic “fitness” test to warrant a preliminary permit, and because of potential legal challenges under the Endangered Species Act and likely opposition from Native American Tribes. The Little Colorado River gorge — where the proposed project would be located — contains numerous sites sacred to Native Americans, such as the Hopi Salt Trail. The Navajo Nation filed a separate motion to intervene on July 30, noting the project would be located entirely on its land and utilize the water resources of the Navajo Nation. “Building pumped hydropower in the hot, sun-drenched desert makes no sense at all,” said Gary Wockner, director of Save the Colorado: Colorado River Waterkeeper Network. “Solar is the answer, and with it you won’t face opposition from groups like ours that actively opposes all new dams in the already over-dammed and depleted Colorado ecosystem.”


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“This proposal to construct multiple hydropower dams and reservoirs in Big Canyon, just steps from Grand Canyon National Park, is an unconscionable waste of water in a place where temperatures reach triple digits in the summer and there are scant inches of precipitation a year,” said Daniel E. Estrin, Waterkeeper Alliance’s General Counsel and Advocacy Director. “In addition to adverse impacts to endangered species and Navajo, Hopi, and other tribes’ cultural resources, the proposed dams and reservoirs would cause enormous groundwater and evaporative losses — losses the Colorado River basin, the water supply for 40 million people, can ill afford as our climate heats up. Protecting our waterways and communities requires that we remove dams from the basin, not build more of them.” “The groundwater in the region is ancient — deposited millennia ago and emerging at turquoise springs near the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers,” said Alicyn Gitlin, Grand Canyon Program Manager for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “Pumping ancient groundwater to evaporate in reservoirs for an investor’s financial gain will destroy culturally important springs, kill wildlife, and waste a very precious resource. This proposal is totally disrespectful of all that is important in the area.” “The citizens of Moab, Utah overwhelmingly rejected a pump back hydro facility near Canyonlands National Park and we prevailed in the end,” said John Weisheit, Conservation Director for Living Rivers. “In fact, our community was subjected to this permitting process twice. What defines the communities of the Colorado Plateau is this: we have no more patience for corporations who would plunder our water, sacred sites and precious habitats.” “Local communities and ranching families on the Western Navajo Nation, as well as other tribes affiliated with the Grand Canyon, are opposed to this hydroelectric project,” said Sarana Riggs, Grand Canyon Program Manager, Grand Canyon Trust. “The desecration of cultural and prayer sites would be forever; the heartache of cultural loss will be felt by many tribes and individuals. To build this dam is to submerge and erase our identity as Indigenous people who have lived here since time immemorial.” “This proposal to build four dams just three miles upstream from Grand Canyon National Park is simply outrageous,” said Kevin Dahl, senior Arizona program manager for National Parks Conservation Association. “The downstream impacts would threaten local endangered species and damage the park itself. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should not allow such a reckless project to go forward, especially when the Navajo Nation has objected to this intrusion on their sacred land.” (There are too few advocates. Hydro needs a leader.) The future of hydropower will be determined in the Pacific Northwest By Kurt Miller, Aug. 6, 2020, utilitydive.com

The following is a contributed article by Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, that serves nonprofit electric utilities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming.

It may surprise you to learn that hydropower is now viewed by many Pacific Northwest residents in the same light as coal and natural gas. A regional survey showed this shocking result, despite the region's remarkable hydropower resources on the Columbia River and its tributaries. This perception is especially surprising in light of the incredible success story of hydropower in the Pacific Northwest. The region has the least carbon-intensive electric service territory in the nation and the most affordable renewable power in the nation. In other parts of the country, utilities are fighting to import more hydroelectricity from Canada to help reach their clean energy goals in an affordable way. However, in the Pacific Northwest, the average resident — especially younger adults — would like to see less of their energy coming from hydropower, despite their strong desire to fight climate change. As a result, there are almost-daily calls in the media to tear down dams that provide great benefits to society. How did we get here?


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The continued debate over hydropower dams is related to their potential effect on salmon. To address those concerns, billions of dollars have been invested in fish habitat improvements and to upgrade dams with advanced fish passage systems. The result has been a significant jump in juvenile salmon survival. The challenge is in the ocean, where some salmon species spend 75% of their lives. So, despite the in-river survival improvements, Columbia and Snake River salmon — like most salmon populations along the West Coast — are not returning from the ocean in healthy numbers. Is it the dams' fault? Columbia River Basin salmon populations were nearly decimated by commercial overfishing in the mid-to-late 1800s, and have never recovered. This was well before the first federal dam was completed in 1938. In terms of the hydroelectric system's role in helping or hampering salmon recovery, it's fair to say that the science on this topic is very mixed. The Columbia River Basin isn't a good laboratory, because river conditions are constantly changing. The focus on the river system may be poorly placed. Notably, the International Panel on Climate Change believes that ocean-warming and acidification caused by increased carbon levels and climate change is probably the biggest threat to all marine fish. NOAA researcher Lisa Crozier has stated that scientists around the world are seeing "a near synchronous decline" of critical salmon populations across the globe, likely due to climate change. Policy implications Scientific uncertainties have divided those who seek a better environmental outcome for the Northwest. For certain groups, hydropower's renewable aspect is often eclipsed by the contention that it may hamper salmon recovery efforts. Accordingly, we have seen some of the largest environmental groups in the nation weigh in against the lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington. Advocacy groups with combined annual revenues of almost $500 million submitted comments in favor of breaching the dams, bringing heaps of political clout to bear with elected officials. But, from a climate change and societal perspective, those dams are worth fighting for. They produce enough annual electricity — 1,100 average MW — to fully power Seattle. They can also provide upwards of 2,500 MW of peaking capacity during the winter months. Their fast-acting capabilities are relied upon by the federal Bonneville Power Administration to help integrate thousands of megawatts of intermittent renewables, like wind and solar power within BPA's significant footprint. Bonneville credits the dams as some of the most cost-effective generating resources in its portfolio. Federal agencies recently estimated that it would cost regional customers almost $800 million per year to replace the full capabilities of the lower Snake River dams with other renewable energy sources backed up by grid-scale batteries. That cost would result in a 25% increase in the electric bills of millions of Northwest residents — something the region and its most vulnerable communities cannot afford. We routinely hear from anti-dam groups that the successful removal of the Elwha River dams and Condit Dam on the White Salmon River are proof that removing the lower Snake River dams would be good for salmon. However, neither of the former dams had fish passage facilities, and they served very little societal benefit. It’s an apples to oranges comparison, but if the lower Snake River dams are breached, it will certainly be used as justification for other breaching efforts across the nation. By eliminating the best energy storage source in the nation — carbon-free hydropower — we will be fighting climate change with our hands tied behind our backs. A challenge on every front A new threat to the hydropower system has recently emerged — in the form of river temperature management —that may provide Oregon and Washington state with control over the federal Columbia River System. This development is important because Oregon's Governor, Kate Brown, has called for the breaching of the lower Snake River dams. Washington's Governor Jay Inslee is


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said to be sympathetic to that view. Concerningly, in an attempt to help salmon, Oregon and Washington established river temperature limits that are significantly below the summertime river temperatures entering into their respective state borders. That means that the states' water quality standards couldn't be met, even if all the downstream dams within Washington and Oregon were removed. This unattainable criterion opens the door for states to require very costly, unproven measures that could greatly reduce the region's hydroelectric capabilities and increase its operational costs. It feels like the hydroelectric system is being set up to fail. But if we're serious about addressing climate change and reaching our clean energy goals in a socially equitable way, hydropower must be considered a crucial part of the solution. (More “take out the dams” for the Klamath River.) MONUMENTS OF COLONIALISM: WITH KLAMATH DAM REMOVAL AT AN IMPASSE, HUFFMAN CALLS CONGRESSIONAL FORUM By Thadeus Greenson/Community Voices Coalition, August 17, 2020, kymkemp.com Since time immemorial, as summer turns to fall, the Karuk Tribe’s fatawana, or world renewal priests, have gathered for a renewal ceremony that spreads across many days. They fast and hike to ancient prayer sites. They dance and ritualistically bath in the waters of the Klamath River, all in an effort to bring balance back to the world. But in the long hot days of August of a drought year with dense toxic algal blooms already forming behind a series of upriver dams, many fear that when it comes time for the fatawana to cleanse themselves in the river later this fall, its banks will already be lined with water quality alerts, warning that contact with the water could cause skin irritation and rashes. That would leave Karuk religious leaders to choose between their own safety and what they see as their religious duty to restore balance to the world. And that situation cuts to the heart of why the decades-long effort to remove four hydroelectric dams that clog the upper Klamath River should be seen not simply through an environmental and economic lens but also a social justice one, according to Craig Tucker, a natural resources consultant for the Karuk Tribe. “These dams, in some ways, are like monuments to colonialism,” Tucker said, drawing comparisons to Confederate statues in the south. “They’re really not useful but they sure do establish who’s in charge, right? This is not just about the environment and corporate responsibility; it’s this thing with monuments and symbols as tools of oppression.” The hopes of seeing those dams removed, hopes that burned so bright four years ago when hundreds gathered in Requa near the river’s mouth to announce a new removal agreement, have dimmed considerably since a July 16 ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Corporation. The ruling left the dam’s owner, PacifiCorp, threatening to walk away from the agreements and all other parties scrambling to keep them at the table. And late last week, North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman announced that the Water, Oceans and Wildlife Congressional Subcommittee he chairs will hold an emergency forum tomorrow examining the dams’ impacts on tribes, fisheries, the environment and downstream stakeholders. “The event will focus on four aging dams on the Klamath River owned by PacifiCorp and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, which have made millions for PacifiCorp’s shareholders, but to the detriment of Native communities and cultures, and those who depend on the river’s fish,” reads a press release announcing the forum. To be sure, the dam removal agreements have always been a delicate balance forged from the simple truth that the federal government had promised more Klamath water than it could possibly deliver. The accords were only reached after a decade of contentious litigation when a group of diverse stakeholders all agreed to give up some of what they felt entitled to in exchange for a more secure future and a desire to honor the humanity and needs of those sitting across the bargaining table. For ranchers and farmers near the river’s headwaters, that meant agreeing to shrink their footprints and make do with less water in exchange for a more stable supply. For the Karuk and Yurok tribes near the river’s mouth and the Klamath Tribes in Oregon, it meant agreeing to give up stake to some water in exchange for a cleaner, healthier river and, in the Klamath Tribes’ case, an expanded reservation. For PacifiCorp, the agreement represented a chance to walk away — to give up the dams, which don’t produce much electricity anyway, without having to accept the liability or price tag for their coming down. Environmental groups let go of the perfect


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(full water flows on an unencumbered river) in exchange for the good (removal’s opening up some 400 miles of additional salmon and steelhead spawning habitat while also improving water quality).The initial removal agreements — reached in 2008 and 2010 — were dependent on an act of Congress that would have provided $400 million for fisheries restoration and absolved PacifiCorp of any liability. But Congress failed to act on the legislation and the deals expired in 2016, sending the parties back to the negotiating table.A few months later, they reached a new, slimmer accord that omitted some of the pricey restoration work included in the first and used a third-party — the freshly formed nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corporation — that would take over the dams’ federal licenses, absolving PacifiCorp of liability and potential cost overruns. The nonprofit would then use the $450 million already raised — $200 million from charges to PacifiCorp ratepayers and $250 million from a California water bond — to oversee dam removal. But that plan hit a considerable snag with FERC’s July 16 ruling, which essentially OKed the bulk of the deal but did not allow PacifiCorp to hand over the licenses and walk away but instead required it to continue on as a “co-licensee” of the dams. PacifiCorp spokesperson Bob Gravely said FERC’s decision essentially “undercut” some of the main “customer protections” it had negotiated in the agreement. While Gravely said the company is hopeful the parties could come up with another solution to revive the agreements, he said it is also prepared to move forward with trying to get the dams relicensed. (It’s worth noting that while this was previously viewed as hugely cost prohibitive, as the company would have to install fish ladders and make other improvements to increase water quality on the river, a court decision in a lawsuit brought by the Hoopa Valley Tribe has brought that into question, as the court found that California and Oregon had in essence waived portions of their authority over the relicensing process.) Asked whether there were other things that could be brought to the table — indemnification agreements or large insurance policies — that could make PacifiCorp comfortable moving forward, Gravely said he’s hopeful something along those lines could stem from a meet and confer process with parties to the agreements over the coming weeks. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get comfortable being a co-licensee but are there ways to move forward and end up at the same result?” he asked. “The parties are talking and those conversations are underway.” But it’s clear many worry the company doesn’t have the same sense of urgency as other parties to the agreement. While the tribes and environmental groups watch the river grow sicker as time passes, with dismal salmon counts, PacifiCorp can continue operating the dam in some a kind of regulatory limbo, pushing off making any improvements. Meanwhile, with each passing year, the costs of dam removal increase. Hence Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emotional appeal directly to Buffet last month. “Since time immemorial, the Indigenous peoples of the Klamath Basin have stewarded the Klamath River, the second-largest river in California and once the third-biggest salmon producing river on the West Coast,” Newsom wrote. “It served as a centerpiece of community, culture and sustenance. Then beginning 100 years ago, construction of dams threatened this way of life, devastated salmon runs and altered the characteristics of the river itself. A century later, the river is sick and the Klamath Basin tribes are suffering. “We stand at an unprecedented moment of reckoning about our past and, more importantly, our future,” Newsom continued. “In this moment, we have the opportunity and obligation to see ourselves clearly and decide whether we are living up to the values that I firmly believe all Californians stand for: equity, inclusion and accountability.” In response, PacifiCorp President and CEO Stefan Bird soberly reminded Newsom that FERC’s ruling is a game changer for the company. “While FERC’s ruling contemplates a path forward for dam removal, it does so at the expense of the amended (Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement’s) customer protection framework,” Bird wrote, adding that while FERC’s order and the standing agreement cannot be “easily reconciled,” the parties involved have a “proven record of resilience, commitment and close collaboration.” Meanwhile, biologists watching the lower Klamath River are growing worried.


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In addition to the toxic algal blooms beginning upriver, they say the drought year has left the river low and warm. “Water quality and water quantity conditions on the Klamath are, well, I would characterize them as terrible for fish,” said Barry “Junior” McCovey, a senior fisheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe. McCovey, who’s also a tribal member, said the few fish currently in the river sit stacked near creeks and other tributaries that pump cooler water into the river’s main stem. But the fish crowding together like that makes them more susceptible to increased stress and disease outbreaks. Usually, McCovey said, fall run salmon begin returning to the river in the last week of August or the first week in September, but that’s dependent on water temperatures and improved conditions. Last year, he said, their return “never really materialized,” making a fifth consecutive year of poor fish returns — including 2017, when conditions were so bad tribal members weren’t even allowed to catch salmon for subsistence. “We would never have been able to predict what happened last year based on years of data and forecasts,” he said, adding that biologists predicted some 100,000 fish would return to the river but only saw a fraction of that and those that did return were smaller than usual, hinting at problematic conditions out in the ocean in addition to what’s happening in the river. “That’s terrifying to someone like me because I’ve dedicated my adult life and career to fixing the river so we can restore and enhance these fish runs.” In a joint op-ed for the Oregonian, Karuk Tribal Chair Russell “Buster” Attebery and Yurok Tribal Chair Joseph James stressed that the health of the river and its fish are integral to the very essence and survival of their people, who for millennia inhabited dozens of villages along its banks. “For us, dam removal is absolutely necessary to restore our struggling fisheries, maintain cultural practices and provide tribal members who struggle to make ends meet access to traditional subsistence foods,” they wrote. Having worked with the tribes on local dam removal efforts for almost two decades now, Tucker knows that’s true. But he also isn’t convinced it — or Newsom’s heart-string tugging plea — is the best approach to getting Buffet and PacifiCorp to change course. Yes, he said, FERC’s decision does potentially leave the door open to some liability — whatever the Klamath nonprofit’s contingency fund, a massive insurance policy and bonded contractors can’t cover — but Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway — a company that has more than $100 billion in cash on hand — is “an empire built on insurance.” “The idea that they can’t figure out how to manage what I think is an infinitesimally small amount of residual liability just doesn’t make sense to us,” Tucker said, adding that he feels the parties need to make clear that a scrapped agreement will result in years of costly litigation and a very contentious, expensive relicensing process for PacifiCorp. “We don’t need Warren Buffet’s sympathy and we don’t need his charity,” Tucker said. “We need him to make a good business decision.” Huffman’s committee’s forum begins at 2 p.m. tomorrow and will feature comments from Huffman and North Coast state representatives, as well as a panel with a variety of subject matter experts. Tune on KEET-TV or through Huffman’s YouTube channel here. Just one piece of the puzzle of saving native, wild Klamath-Trinity salmonids: 1. Remove unnecessary dams. 2. Stop the harvest of fish under the guise of tribal rights to sell for profit at market, rather than to use for traditional food or ceremonial purposes. 3. Remove all cannabis grows, legal and illegal, taking water from critical spawning tributaries of the Klamath and Trinity that support wild fish. 4. Remove hatcheries, that release competitors for food and habitat needed by dwindling populations of wild fish, just for the sake of anglers in a feeble, failing attempt to mitigate dam projects. 5. Limit salmon and steelhead fishing to catch-and-release only for at least a 12 year period. (Factoring in for a 3 year salmon life cycle from egg to spawning adult. That is, four salmon generations.) 6. Discontinue the controversial and as yet unsuccessful Trinity River Restoration Program and put the millions being fruitlessly spent on the mainstem river into restoring spawning tributaries to pre-mining and pre-cannabis states of salmon reproduction.


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7. Get valley farmers benefitting from the CVP to realize that their monetary and political involvement in helping save our salmon runs will help insure that they keep their current water allotments from the Trinity under the Agreement – without lawsuits to the contrary as salmon runs further fail and more water is recommended for fish. What else am I forgettin’ here, folks?

Water: (Too much water and nowhere to go.) Heavy Rains in Virginia Close Roads, Prompt Evacuations at Dams August 18, 2020, insurancejournal.com Torrential weekend rains in central Virginia led to scores of road closings in low-lying areas and prompted home evacuations near a pair of small dams. Between three inches and 10 inches of rain fell in the greater Richmond area, particularly points south and east of the city, for the 24 hours since midday Sunday, the National Weather Service reported. A flood advisory was in effect for the region until early Sunday evening. Light rain was falling Sunday afternoon. Severe problems occurred in Chesterfield County, south of Richmond, which declared a state of emergency Saturday. The county said dozens of roadways and intersections were closed due to floodwaters or downed trees Saturday night. A heavily traveled area of the Chippenham Parkway near U.S. 1 was reopen Sunday after being closed in both directions overnight, the Virginia Department of Transportation said in a tweet. Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield was closed Sunday as staff assessed flooding damage. Authorities in Chesterfield County and nearby Colonial Heights on Sunday told residents living near community dams they could return home after evacuation directives previously issued due to worries about high water levels and overspill were lifted. In Chesterfield County, more than 150 homes in neighborhoods near Falling Creek dam were evacuated Saturday evening out of “an abundance of caution,” the county said in a news release. Some people took shelter at a local high school. No injuries were reported. The flooding threat from the dam was due to release of excess water from its gates and not any structural issues, Chesterfield Battalion Chief Sal Luciano told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The city of Colonial Heights also revoked its brief voluntary evacuation of residents near a dam at Lakeview Park after crews fortified the structure to address any concern about land connected to the dam washing away. “City crews have been able to complete the work necessary to prevent immediate erosion,” Deputy Fire Marshal Joe Boisseau told The Progress-Index of Petersburg. The evacuation request was for residents in a neighborhood along Swift Creek. High waters also threatened the city’s historic Swift Creek Mill Theatre. The main-level dining room was completely flooded, and the ground-floor level had more than a foot of water, the Theatre’s operators said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Environment: (Another fisheries battle. They’re getting it on all fronts.) Judge Blasts Feds Over Long-Delayed Salmon Protections at Oregon Dams


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August 17, 2020, by KARINA BROWN, courthousenews.com PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) — Dams in the Willamette Valley are killing the majority of the young salmon and steelhead that try to pass on their way out to sea, and the Army Corps of Engineers violated the Endangered Species Act by refusing to take steps to reduce those deaths, a federal judge ruled Monday. More than two decades ago, government scientists began evaluating a network of 13 dams in the Willamette Valley, eventually finding that dam operations were in danger of completely wiping out certain runs of salmon and steelhead and requiring improvements in water quality and fish passage to avoid that. The Army Corps was supposed to complete upgrades years ago. Now, the Corps says, the projects won’t be done until at least 2028. Environmental groups sued in 2018, asking a judge to enforce protections for Upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez found the Corps has continued to operate for years while killing fish at rates government scientists have said could jeopardize the continued existence of salmon and steelhead. Hernandez criticized the Corps’ failure to ask for a new evaluation of the dams’ effects on salmon when it was clear it wouldn’t meet its deadlines, calling it “a substantial procedural violation.” Meanwhile, other problems like warming oceans, habitat degradation and sea lion predation are pushing salmon and steelhead closer to the brink. The National Marine Fisheries Service, tasked with evaluating whether government projects violate laws intended to protect the environment, issued requirements in its 2008 biological opinion that were supposed to help keep Willamette Valley dams from making the situation worse. But Hernandez found that the Corps missed the mark. “Far short of moving towards recovery, the Corps is pushing the [Upper Willamette River] Chinook and steelhead even closer to the brink of extinction,” Hernandez wrote. “The record demonstrates that the listed salmonids are in a more precarious condition today than they were at the time NMFS issued the 2008 BiOp.” The fisheries service’s biological opinion allowed the Corps to harm threatened fish by operating the dams, so long as the Corps took specific steps to increase fish passage and cool water in the reservoirs behind dams, which reach artificially elevated temperatures that are lethal to fish. But the Corps never took most of those steps, according to court documents, and far exceeded the mortality levels the fisheries service said was allowable. The death rates allowed by the service were substantial — up to 65% of young salmon passing the Detroit and Big Cliff dams on the North Santiam River, up to 68% of juveniles at Fall Creek Dam in the Middle Fork Willamette and up to 32% at Cougar Dam on the McKenzie River. But the Corps blew past those limits, according to court documents. In slides that were part of its own 2016 PowerPoint presentation, the Corps used data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimating that dams in the McKenzie, Santiam, and Middle Fork Willamette subbasins are causing the death of between 71% and 89% of the young salmon and steelhead on their way out to sea. The Corps argued Congress authorized construction of the dams, knowing they would block passage of fish both on their way to sea and on their way back home to spawn. Still, Hernandez wrote, it’s illegal for a government agency to worsen the existential jeopardy a species faces, even in situations where “baseline conditions” mean the species is struggling to begin with. The Corps violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to take the steps the fisheries service said was necessary to improve water

Willamette River

Iron Gate Dam


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quality and to help young salmon and steelhead make it past the dams, and therefore worsening the decline of threatened fish, Hernandez found. Next up will be the phase of the litigation where the parties decide how to remedy the legal violations Hernandez found. The current ruling only assigns liability to the Corps and the fisheries service. Hernandez ordered the parties to suggest a briefing schedule for the remedy phase within the next two weeks. An order to speed a new fish passage facility currently slated to open at Detroit Dam by 2028 is likely to top the wish list attorney for plaintiffs Northwest Environmental Defense Center, WildEarth Guardians and Native Fish Society. As their attorney, Lauren Rule, told Hernandez in an earlier hearing, “These species may not have four to five years left. They are in such perilous conditions.” Meanwhile this spring, the Corps announced a plan to change the allocation of river water during dry years to benefit industrial, municipal and irrigation users. The Corps’ “share the pain” plan reduced water allocated to all categories of use, instead of prioritizing fish and wildlife by keeping water in the river during drought years. The Corps issued a biological assessment finding that its reallocation plan was unlikely to harm threatened salmon and steelhead — a conclusion National Marine Fisheries Service did not share. The agency found in a 2019 biological opinion that the reallocation plan “is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of Upper Willamette River Chinook salmon and steelhead and destroy or adversely modify their designated critical habitats,” mostly by raising water temperatures to levels deadly to adult fish fighting the currents on their way upriver. The Corps is already in the midst of determining its role in harming Willamette Valley fish listed under the Endangered Species Act. And the act bars government agencies from taking additional actions that would harm the species under consideration in such determinations. That dispute is the subject of subject of separate litigation, also overseen by Judge Hernandez. Andrew Missel, attorney for the plaintiffs in that case, told Hernandez in May that the Corps is operating outside the law. “The Corps broke the law by engaging in this action while at the same time engaging in ESA consultation,” Missel told Hernandez, using the acronym for the Endangered Species Act. “The agency is violating a procedure that impairs the process and will result in different conditions on the ground in the future. They just want to be free of any judicial review of their actions in this case.”

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Some Dam Hydro News · don’t show up, they have the power to send out their own inspectors to at least visually inspect a dam. Still, it’s not an easy job when the entire dam