News Release
| Release Number: | 98-001 |
| Dated: | 1/9/1998 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-Modifying Elk Creek Dam for improved fish passage will provide the highest probability of successful passage and the lowest cost method of providing long-term fish passage, according to the Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
This finding was noted in the Corps' Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), a document stating that the proposed removal of a section of the dam's spillway and left abutment to recreate the pre-project stream alignment will not have a significant negative impact on the environment. Portland District Engineer Col. Robert Slusar signed the FONSI today, Jan. 9.
The decision comes at the close of a 60-day comment period on the Corps' environmental assessment-a document describing in detail the planned work. Comments were accepted until Dec. 17, 1997.
"Based on the assessment of likely environmental impacts, and public and agency comments received, the District Engineer determined that an EIS (environmental impact statement) is not warranted," said Elk Creek project manager Doug Clarke.
The Corps wants to modify the dam to manage the unfinished project more cost-effectively and to restore passive (hands off) passage for anadromous fish through the project area, Clarke said, eliminating the current trap and haul system which requires the fish be physically handled. The dam is located 1.7 miles above the confluence of Elk Creek with the Rogue River, and 26.5 miles northeast of Medford, Ore.
The work will include removing a portion of the dam's spillway and left abutment, realigning the stream above and below the dam, and placing features in the stream and streambank to maintain adequate flow velocities for fish passage. The cut through the dam will be about 150 feet wide at the base of the dam and 225 feet wide at the top of the dam. The size of the cut was designed to meet fish passage velocity criteria at a flow range of 10 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 5,000 cfs. This range of flows was coordinated with and recommended by state and federal fishery resource agencies.
The Corps' proposal is the most cost effective and biologically sound way to provide fish passage at the unfinished project, based on expected biological results and a cost effectiveness analysis. And, because the Corps will take actions to preserve the remaining portion of the structure, such as sealing access galleries to protect the structural integrity of the concrete, the work will not physically preclude completion of the project in the future, should that decision be made, Clarke said.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviewed the selected stream alignment plan. These agencies also determined this method to be the most effective fish passage solution, and agree the current trap and haul program at the dam should be discontinued.
The trap and haul system was not designed for long-term use, nor was it designed to be used in the relatively uncontrolled flow and debris loading that occur with the unfinished project, Clarke said. 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, allowing the fish to be trapped between the dam and weir.
The Corps plans to request technical and cost proposals for design and construction of the fish passage corridor through the project, with contract award in March 1998, Clarke said. The goal is to complete the work later this year, if funds are available. The cost estimate for the work is about $7 million.
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 1976, followed by completion of Applegate Dam in 1980.
Construction of Elk Creek project was initiated in 1971 with acquisition of project lands, relocation of residents and relocation of some roads and utilities. Several legal actions ensued over several years, which delayed construction.
Elk Creek Dam construction was stopped in 1988 at a height of 83 feet, one-third its design height. In April 1995, the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court required, among other things, a comprehensive review of a wide range of issues under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before construction could continue.
Due to the cost and time required to respond to the Ninth Circuit Court opinion without any certainty of success, and the current restrictive federal budgetary climate, the Corps decided not to perform the NEPA studies necessary to remove the injunction against completion of the project.
On Nov. 6, 1995, the Corps notified the Congressional Appropriations Committees of its intention to evaluate options for long term management of the project in its unfinished state. In the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of fiscal year 1997, Congress made funds available for long-term management of the dam in an unfinished state and directed the Corps to take necessary steps to provide passive (hands off) fish passage through the project.
The planned work complies with a number of environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 USC 1344); the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the Cultural Resources Acts.