Bureau of Reclamation says no to Black Rock

The massive Black Rock reservoir got a thumbs down Friday from the Bureau of Reclamation in what could be the final blow to dreams of major new storage in the drought-prone Yakima Valley.

A final report, based on five years of study costing $18 million, concludes a 1.6 million acre-foot reservoir east of Yakima is too costly and doesn’t meet federal guidelines.

“We have determined that ... just building reservoirs isn’t going to be the best solution,” said Gerald Kelso, the agency’s area manager in Yakima.

The report, a final environmental impact statement, estimates Black Rock would return only 13 cents on the dollar spent to build it, a figure that is even worse than was estimated earlier this year.

Construction costs, which includes interest costs and contingencies, could be as high as $7.7 billion, not including annual operating costs of more than $60 million.

Environmental groups hailed the decision to reject Black Rock — along with two other potential storage projects reviewed during the study — saying it is time to look at cost-effective measures like smaller dams, conservation and other mechanisms to improve water supply.

Supporters of Black Rock said they intend to continue pushing for congressional approval for the reservoir despite the bureau’s rejection. They say the report woefully underestimated the benefits to irrigation, fish and recreation.

The bureau now plans to work with the state of Washington on a mix of smaller, less-expensive solutions to meet irrigation, fishery and municipal needs,  Kelso said.

This more modest approach has the support of some irrigators and the Yakama Nation.

A vehicle to do that may already be in place. A 1994 federal law that authorized funds to make irrigators more efficient and improve stream flows for fish could be used to fund fish ladders at basin dams, improve water conservation and increase fish habitat.

The environmental impact statement will be open for public comment through Feb. 3  because of the addition of information designed to show how seepage from the dam would be controlled.

Seepage poses a major concern for expanding radioactive contamination beneath the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to the east — the most contaminated site in the nation — and could be significant enough by itself to doom the Black Rock project.

The federal Energy Department, in comments submitted on the study, urged the bureau to drop Black Rock from consideration.

Energy Department officials said Black Rock has the potential to cause severe injury to the Hanford site and the effects of a dam failure haven’t been thoroughly evaluated.

The bureau disagrees with that conclusion and argues it can control seepage from beneath the reservoir, Kelso said.

As proposed, Black Rock would draw water from behind the Priest Rapids Pool by pumping it uphill into the reservoir, built behind a 600-foot-high dam. The proposed dam would be larger than Grand Coulee Dam.

The 10-mile-long lake created behind the dam would supply water to Lower Valley irrigators, leaving Yakima River water available to enhance fish habitat.

Congress authorized the study in 2003 to review storage alternatives that would provide at least a 70 percent supply of water to proratable water right holders, those whose rights are reduced in times of shortage.

The other goals were to improve fish life and supply future municipal and industrial needs.

Black Rock supporters, primarily the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance, said the report confirms their belief that Black Rock is the only alternative that meets all three goals.

“This is a hoop we had to go through to get the concept of a water exchange with pump storage on the table,” said Sid Morrison, chairman of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance.

He said federal guidelines do not permit the bureau to consider all the benefits, which the alliance estimates at more than $8 billion from consistent agricultural production, from extensive recreational opportunities that include a resort and private homes built around the lake and from improved fish runs.

Morrison said he agreed partially with the bureau’s conclusion that Black Rock lacked community support.

That’s because the water shortage problems in the basin have been around for years and little has been done to solve them.

“We have to build a base of political support and community acceptance,” Morrison said. “Part of the lack of community acceptance is a concern about what it will cost, and that this issue has been worked on for so long, and so little has happened, that no one believes that anything can happen to fix it.”

Morrison said there’s a remote chance of obtaining federal approval under the economic stimulus package President-elect Barack Obama intends to pursue when he takes office. But Morrison conceded Black Rock is not far enough along to receive serious consideration.

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, also held out hope for Black Rock in a brief statement issued by his office, identifying the reservoir’s technical feasibility as an important and valuable conclusion. The bureau concluded earlier in the study that the reservoir could be built.

“The Yakima Basin needs more water storage and this report sets the stage for developing a community consensus on how best to move forward,” the Hastings’ statement said.

Two other options reviewed in the study also failed to meet federal guidelines. The Wymer reservoir — a 162,000 acre-foot reservoir in the Yakima River Canyon, north of Yakima — would return 31 cents on the dollar. A final alternative, a combination of Wymer and pumping water back upstream from the mouth of the Yakima River, would return only 7 cents.

Environmental groups said the bureau made the right decision.

“The final EIS confirms that it makes no sense to build the Black Rock dam — it’s too expensive, too risky, and there are too many better alternatives to meet the needs of fish, farms, and communities,” said Michael Garrity, Washington conservation director for American Rivers, in a statement the group issued Friday.

The Center for Environmental Law and Policy, a vocal critic of Black Rock, chimed in with a similar tone.

“”It’s a good day at Black Rock,” Executive Director Rachael Osborn said in a news release. “The region’s water future lies with better management, including aggressive water conservation, water markets, and pricing water to reflect its true cost.”

Once the comment period ends, a final report, called a record of decision, will be issued next spring.

A final report on smaller storage proposals and nonstorage alternatives is expected to be released by the state Ecology Department about the same time. The state review looks at expanding Bumping Lake along Chinook Pass, the Wymer dam and the Pine Hollow reservoir in the Ahtanum drainage, west of Union Gap.

Other measures include adding fish ladders at all basin dams and improving flood plains and reconnecting side channels to enhance fish life.

Kelso said the bureau remains committed to finding solutions to basin water problems.

“We are committed to working in collaboration with others to look for long-range solutions to future water supply needs in the Yakima Basin,” he said in a statement.

As far as the bureau is concerned, Black Rock is not among those solutions.

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