Decision on dam, levees postponed until further notice

The decision is unanimous, or, rather, the lack of a decision is unanimous.

Chehalis Basin Board members will delay a decision on the proposed flow-through dam and other large scale flood projects until more questions are answered - seemingly indefinitely.

The Chehalis Basin Board, during its monthly meeting on Thursday, June 4, decided to scrap plans to endorse a long-term and large-scale solution to flooding in the basin by the end of the year.

Board members aired a range of concerns, but ultimately agreed on one thing: They could not come to a decision with the information they have now. No new timeline was established.

The process intended to yield a decision by the end of the year began roughly one year ago and was often referred to by the board as the "comparative analysis."

As part of the process, the board was considering six options for addressing fish and flood issues across the next 80 years. The options required a decision between endorsing a flow-through dam on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell, a system of levees around Centralia and Chehalis known as the Local Actions Non-Dam (LAND) alternative, or not endorsing any large-scale project to address flooding.

Members also considered modifications to the Skookumchuck Dam, but that proposal has long been less developed than the other two large-scale alternatives.

The recent State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) environmental impact study (EIS) on the proposed flow-through dam appears to be at the center of the delay. Some members cited concerns and even disappointments with the SEPA process so far, not believing it would include the information they needed to make a final decision on a long-term strategy.

One board member, Chehalis Basin Flood Authority representative Jay Gordon, questioned whether the EIS would offer analysis on the flow-through dam in a "neutral manner."

"This winter's SEPA process, and the listening sessions, was a big disappointment for me to see that we don't have a process that gets to developing good information, getting that good information out there," Gordon said. "I was surprised by that."

Another member, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation representative Glen Connelly, said he had hoped the EIS would include more information about alternatives to the flow-through dam to truly compare impacts. He argued the comparison as it stands was not comparing "apples to apples."

"We need to continue to do further conceptual design on the LAND project and things to actually see more of the impacts ... to really get them to a point where we can say, 'hey this is where we're at'" Connelly said.

Even if the EIS does eventually include the desired information, its release has been delayed and no new timeline has been established. It was originally expected to be completed near the end of the year.

A representative for the Washington state Department of Ecology and non-voting member of the board, Jennifer Hennessey, clarified during the meeting that Ecology would need until the end of the year to respond to all comments received during a recent public comment period on a draft version of the analysis. The draft SEPA EIS received more than 2,000 comments, according to Hennessey.

The SEPA EIS was originally expected to be completed entirely by the end of the year.

Board member Steve Malloch pointed to the responses to the draft SEPA as a reason to delay a decision.

"It was clear from the response to the EIS that, at least for the FRE, there's more work to be done before it can really be right for us to evaluate it," Malloch said. "And LAND certainly is in that condition."

Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer and Hoquiam City Administrator Brian Shay, both board members and representatives from the Chehalis Basin Flood Authority, echoed Malloch's conclusion.

"I would just say that, you know, I couldn't personally pick option A through F at this point in time," Shay said. "And I truly do want to be able to pick one that doesn't have any material weaknesses."

Board member J. Vander Stoep referred to both the large-scale project proposals during the meeting - the flow-through dam and the LAND alternative - as having potential flaws.

The draft SEPA EIS warned of adverse environmental impacts from the flow-though dam, especially to fish, as well as the possibility of collapse on the remote chance that a major earthquake hits while the dam's reservoir is full.

Hydrological studies of the LAND alternative have shown that while the levee system would protect certain neighborhoods in Centralia, Chehalis and even Adna, it could increase flood depths by a small amount in other parts of the Chehalis Basin.

Seeking common ground and brainstorming a path forward, board members ultimately united behind the less developed of the three flood infrastructure projects: the Skookumchuck Dam.

The Skookumchuck Dam is owned by TransAlta, complicating any modifications to the structure. However, the Skookumchuck Dam also appears to offer a middle ground with benefits to both fish and flood mitigation.

The office has proposed ideas for modifying the dam to allow for fish passage, flood water storage or both. While advocates of fish or flood protection at times disagree, the project seemingly offers a direction to potentially offer benefits to both.

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