News Release
| Release Number: | 06-005 |
| Dated: | 1/10/2006 |
| Contact: | Diana J. Fredlund, 503-808-4510 |
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Fiscal Year 2006 (FY 06) Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, signed by President George W. Bush, includes $5.4 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works projects to manage the nation's water resources.
These projects will help maintain and manage navigable water-ways, effectively operate flood damage reduction and multiple-purpose projects, and restore and regulate wetlands and other important environmental resources across the nation.
The Portland District, Corps of Engineers is expected to receive about $206 million of the national budget to fund work in the Rogue, Willamette, Columbia, and Cowlitz river basins.
Fisheries
To increase the survival of migrating salmon and steelhead trout, Congress has authorized the design, testing and construction of new or improved fish facilities. One of the Corps' biggest construction programs is the Columbia River Fish Mitigation Project, encompassing three dams in Portland District and five others in the Corps' Walla Walla District, along the Columbia and Snake rivers.
In FY 06, the Columbia River Fish Mitigation Project will receive $85 million. Regional priorities will determine the final allocation of these funds, but the Portland District is expected to receive about 50 percent, or more than $42 million, to fund research and improvements to fish passage facilities at John Day, The Dalles and Bonneville projects, and to participate in system-wide evaluations.
At Bonneville Dam, funds will be used to complete biological testing of the second powerhouse surface bypass facility which was put into operation last year. In addition, funds will be used for project-wide passage efficiency and survival studies, adult passage monitoring improvements, and initiation of modifications to the screened bypass system, also at the second powerhouse.
At The Dalles Lock and Dam, work will continue to test and evaluate spill operations with the new spill wall, completed last year. Funds will also be used to continue modeling and developing alternatives for providing a guidance curtain in the project’s forebay, which should increase the number of fish passing the project through the spillway.
At John Day Lock and Dam, model studies and development of alternative surface bypass options will be carried out, leading to recommendations for improvements to fish passage at the dam.
At Elk Creek Dam, near Medford, Ore., construction was halted in 1988 as a result of a legal challenge. In 1995 the Corps began evaluating cost-effective and biologically sound methods to manage the project. Project funding of $300,000 will be used to operate a temporary fish collection and transport facility (trap and haul), provide project security and maintenance, and monitor water quality.
The Willamette River Temperature Control Project at Cougar Dam in the Willamette Valley will receive $1 million. The Corps completed construction of an intake tower to draw water from different reservoir elevations, thereby controlling downstream river temperatures. Closely replicating pre-project water temperatures should improve conditions for spring Chinook salmon and resident fish in the McKenzie River. Funds are provided for monitoring and analyzing alternatives to address long-term fish passage.
The Corps is continuing work on fishing sites for Native American tribes, which have treaty-fishing rights on the Columbia River. The Corps will use the $4 million appropriated for this project to continue designing treaty fishing sites at the Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day pools; continue consultation and initiate design and construction on the Celilo Village redevelopment, as well as assist the City of White Salmon with sewer system improvements to accommodate treaty fishing site needs. Of the scheduled 31 treaty fishing sites, 29 have been completed.
Hydropower
The Corps has been producing power at Bonneville Lock and Dam since 1938, when it became the first federal dam to operate on the Columbia River. Today, the three hydropower projects on the Columbia River operated by the Portland District – Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day – have a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts, enough to power five cities the size of Seattle.
Hydropower production at the Corps' multipurpose projects – power generation, flood damage prevention and recreation – is directly funded by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which markets the power generated by the federal projects. In FY 06, Portland District will receive $64.7 million from BPA for routine operation and maintenance at these hydropower projects. The District will receive about $40 million from BPA for capital plant additions and improvements to power-generating facilities, including work on the Bonneville Dam and The Dalles Dam Major Rehabilitation projects. The Portland District will also receive $5 million in FY 06 appropriated funds for the work on the second phase at Bonneville, which involves replacing the windings of six generators and replacing ten turbines. The plan is to complete the second phase of the project by 2011. When completed, generation capability will increase enough to provide electricity for 16,000 more homes in an average year.
The Dalles Dam Major Rehabilitation Project includes rewinding nine generators, replacing blades on two turbines, refurbishing the blades on the other units, and upgrading other power plant features. Work is scheduled to be complete in 2010.
Environmental Restoration and Protection
The Lower Columbia River Ecosystem Restoration Project has received $2 million to plan, design and continue construction on ecosystem restoration projects in the Lower Columbia estuary.
Under the auspices of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and the Clean Water Act, the Corps regulates construction and other work in navigable waterways and has authority over the discharge of dredged or fill material in wetlands and other aquatic areas. Portland District will receive an estimated $3 million in FY 06 funds from the national program to help carry out its regulatory mission.
Columbia River Channel Improvements Project
The Corps has received $15 million for the Columbia River Channel Improvements Project to continue construction of ecosystem restoration sites and dredging to increase the channel depth.
Studies
The appropriations act also funds studies of identified water resource problems and possible solutions that will benefit the region. In conducting the studies, the Corps will compare alternative solutions, determine the costs and benefits of alternative plans, and recommend specific courses of action to Congress, which may then authorize and appropriate funds for construction of a recommended project. Portland District will spend $1 million on studies at five different projects.
(a) The Eugene - Springfield Metro Waterways Study will receive $250,000 for a feasibility study, which began in October 2003. This project is a comprehensive review of ecosystem restoration opportunities in a number of urban waterways and watersheds.
(b) Funding in the amount of $150,000 will be used to study the Lower Columbia River Ecosystem Restoration Project. This is a comprehensive study of wetland and riparian habitat restoration, as well as stream and fisheries habitat improvement.
(c) The Willamette Basin Review Project feasibility study is funded at $50,000. The original scope of this study called for the Corps to analyze the feasibility and impacts of modifying operation and storage plans for its 13 Willamette Valley reservoirs, to better serve current and future water resource needs in this heavily populated region. The study was initiated in response to increasing demands placed on Corps reservoirs for municipal and industrial water, irrigation and recreation. The provisions of a forthcoming Willamette River biological opinion likely will impact the scope of this study.
(d) The Corps will receive $400,000 to continue the Willamette River Floodplain Restoration Study. Through this study, the Corps is evaluating opportunities to modify existing floodplain features that may further reduce flood damages by increasing natural flood management capability. Corps reservoirs in the Willamette Basin control only 27 percent of the drainage. A restored floodplain could help absorb excess floodwaters, slow the velocity of the water, and create new habitat for a variety of plants and animals--including endangered fish species.
(f) The Willamette River ecosystem restoration feasibility study, with funding of $160,000, focuses on the lower Willamette River. This study will identify and address any ecosystem restoration activities in the project area.
Operation and Maintenance
The Portland District Operation and Maintenance Program includes navigation, flood damage reduction, and 19 multipurpose projects. It also includes the sediment retention structure built in response to the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, the Willow Creek project near Heppner, Ore., and Willamette Falls Locks at West Linn, Ore. In FY 06, $88.8 million has been appropriated for all operation and maintenance (O&M) activities.
One of the Corps' O&M missions is maintaining waterways for commercial use in the Columbia and Willamette rivers and along the Oregon and southern Washington coastlines. Navigation projects funded in Oregon and Washington include the mouth of the Columbia River and the Columbia River from the mouth to The Dalles. Along the Oregon Coast, maintenance funding is provided for Coos Bay, Chetco, Coquille, Port Orford, Rogue River at Gold Beach, Siuslaw, Umpqua and Yaquina Bay.
The appropriation act includes $4.4 million for flood damage reduction projects.
Approximately $55.5 million has been allocated for hydrographic surveys and channel maintenance, which includes monitoring navigation structures such as jetties and dikes. Included in this total is $17 million for repairs to the jetties at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Willamette Falls Locks at West Linn, Ore., has been allocated $65,000. This level of funding will not allow full seasonal operation of the locks.
The day-to-day operation and maintenance of the Corps' multipurpose projects, including navigation locks and recreational facilities, received funding of $26.7 million in FY 06.
The Corps is committed to serving its customers, the people of Oregon and Washington, through the Corps-wide Civil Works program.