Black Rock proponents outline plan details

Hoping to overcome resistance to the proposed Black Rock reservoir, supporters are working on draft legislation that would spell out its benefits to the Yakima Valley.

The proposal would include a number of enhancements intended to gain support from the Yakama Nation, a critical player in basin water resource issues.

Among them is fish passage at the five basin storage lakes and the possible rebuilding of the long-ailing Wapato Irrigation Project to allow more farming on the 1.2 million-acre Yakama Nation Reservation.

Tribal staff, however, indicated Monday that the Tribal Council had not discussed the proposed legislation and would not comment.

The nation, along with the Roza Irrigation District, raised questions recently about the project and indicated support instead for a more comprehensive package of improvements that included smaller storage options than the 1.6 million acre-foot Black Rock proposal.

Work on the proposed legislation comes at least six months before the federal Bureau of Reclamation completes an environmental impact statement on the Black Rock plan.

State and federal officials suggested the draft bill -- with the preliminary title of Yakima River Basin Environmental and Salmon Restoration Act -- may be premature since the environmental study isn't finished.

Will Marlow, spokesman for Fourth District Rep. Doc Hastings of Pasco, said Hastings is aware Black Rock supporters have been talking about a draft bill, but no detailed discussions have occurred with his office.

He said the environmental and technical reviews should be completed before any federal legislation is considered.

Sid Morrison, chairman of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance, a grassroots group that favors Black Rock, said the draft bill is an attempt to show what could be achieved with Black Rock in place.

The estimated $6.7 billion reservoir would draw water from the Columbia River to serve Lower Valley irrigators, assuring them of at least a 70 percent supply in every year.

The basin has been rocked by severe water shortages twice in the last seven years.

Using Columbia water would leave Yakima River water for instream flows for fish and habitat improvements.

"We are doing this work now as a way to say to people there is more to this than you think," Morrison said. "This is a way to spell out what you can really do if you have that much water and are intent on rebuilding the Yakima system. This is the rest of the story."

At the same time, two local lawmakers are investigating possible funding sources outside the usual federal appropriations and local matching funds.

State Rep. Bruce Chandler said he and fellow 15th District lawmaker Rep. Dan Newhouse are reviewing potential funding packages that might include other states that would benefit from having stronger fish runs.

Morrison said it is too early to know all the elements that will be in the bill.

"Authorization for Black Rock would be a small part of the legislative package. It allows us to all the other things that are so highly desirable on establishing the fishery and getting this water delivered to lands that can use it," he said.

* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.