News Release
| Release Number: | 01-150 |
| Dated: | 10/29/2001 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-As part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to enhance fish passage at Elk Creek Dam, it is requesting a Water Quality Certification from the State of Oregon. The dam is 1.7 miles above the confluence of Elk Creek with the Rogue River, and 26.5 miles northeast of Medford, Ore.
The Corps wants to modify the partially-completed dam to restore passive (hands off) passage for anadromous fish through the project area, said Elk Creek Project Manager Doug Clarke, eliminating the current system which requires fish be physically handled. The Corps currently funds the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to use a trap-and-haul method to move fish above the dam.
The water quality certification is required for the Corps to realign areas along Elk Creek. The Corps proposes to place about 40,000 cubic yards of rock in a 5,000-foot-long section of Elk Creek and build a riprap training wall and rock weirs to meet fish passage criteria just below the dam. The major areas that would be filled were excavated when original dam construction began, and include a diversion channel and plunge pool.
The public has an opportunity to provide comments on the Corps' request to receive a certification, which is authorized under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The Corps completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed work and accepted public comments before releasing a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) in January 1998. This same EA is again available for public review.
For a copy of the EA or to send comments, write to District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District, Portland, Attn: CENWP-PM-E, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Oregon 97208-2946. Please reference Public Notice CENWP-PM-E-01-10. Comments must be postmarked by Nov. 23, 2001.
The modification project also would include removing a section of the dam's spillway and left abutment to provide a corridor for fish passage through the dam. The cost estimate for the modification project is about $7 million.
The Corps' fiscal year 2002 budget submission to Congress requested $2 million for maintenance activities at Elk Creek and to initiate construction of the fish passage corridor. If the Corps receives the requested water quality certification, and pending final appropriations from Congress, it plans to award a contract for the final design and construction of the fish passage corridor by January 2002 with a target completion date of October 2002.
The ODFW and NMFS reviewed the Corps' proposal to modify the dam and determined that modifying the dam for fish passage is the most effective way to pass fish.
"The trap-and-haul system was not designed for long-term use," said Clarke, "nor was it designed to be used in the relatively uncontrolled flow and debris loading that occur with the unfinished project."
Adult fish are able to pass over the barrier weir at high flows and the weir has been knocked out of operation by debris a number of times, trapping the fish between the dam and weir. The facility must be replaced or significantly upgraded to work successfully over the long-term. The Corps' analysis showed that this is more expensive than removing a section of the dam to provide passive fish passage.
The Corps also had proposed fencing the entire 22-mile perimeter of the Elk Creek Project to better control invasion of noxious weeds and manage cattle grazing on project lands. As a result of the comments received on this proposal, the Corps is gathering additional information and revising the draft EA to incorporate another alternative presented by the public. Clarke said he expects the revised draft EA will be released for public review in late November.
The Elk Creek project was authorized as one of three multiple purpose projects designed to operate as a system to reduce flooding in the Rogue River Basin and to accomplish additional purposes such as irrigation, recreation, fish and wildlife enhancement and water quality control. The other two dams are complete and operational. Lost Creek Dam was completed in 1977 and Applegate Dam in 1980.
Construction activities for Elk Creek Dam began in 1971. Legal actions ensued and construction was stopped in 1988 at a height of 83 feet, one-third its design height.
In 1995, the Corps notified the Congressional Appropriations Committees of its intention to evaluate options for long-term management of the unfinished project. In the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of fiscal year 1997, Congress made funds available for long-term management of the unfinished dam and directed the Corps to take necessary steps to provide passive fish passage through the project.