- CURRENT STATUS
What is the regulatory status of Enloe Dam?
On August 13, 2019, as affirmed on December 19, 2019, FERC issued an order terminating the Enloe Dam Hydropower License. Upon termination of the FERC license, regulatory authority fell to the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Enloe Dam’s placement on federal property managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requires the District to have a Grant of Right of Way (ROW) from BLM. The current ROW expires on June 30, 2063.Why did the District decide to not continue pursuing re-energization?
On November 19, 2018, the Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a motion to no longer pursue electrification of Enloe Dam and to permit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license to terminate. This decision was based on the complexity, risk, and considerable cost involved in restoring power generation. The Board of Commissioners made this decision in the best interests of the ratepayers, considering the current availability of cheaper sources of power.
Why is the District still spending money on Enloe Dam?
Since the establishment of the PUD and its acquisition of Enloe Dam, there have always been financial obligations associated with owning and maintaining the structure. The District is at all times committed to fulfilling its obligation to ensure the safety of the structure with the least cost impacts to its ratepayers. Dam safety investments need to be made now, regardless of the future direction. Any decision on the future of Enloe Dam will require a lengthy, likely decades-long process, and the District cannot in the meantime neglect its duty to ensure public safety.
How does the District ensure dam safety?
As the owner of Enloe Dam, the Public Utility District No. 1 of Okanogan County (District) is obligated to ensure public safety and to meet all dam safety regulations of both the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) and Bureau of Land Management. In order to meet these obligations, the District successfully conducted a comprehensive dam safety inspection in September 2022. The main finding from this inspection is that the dam’s appearance remains more or less the same as was observed in 1950, and no emergency measures are needed to ensure safe operations in the near term. Findings identified during the inspection are currently being incorporated into an updated stability modeling analysis of Enloe Dam. Recommendations, such as further analyses or structural modifications from the updated stability report, will be subject to the discretion of the DOE’s Dam Safety Department.
A full report is available upon request with the District.
- MEDIA ARTICLES
NORTHWEST PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE
Enloe Dam Article, August 2021, Northwest Public Power Association Magazine
- DAM REMOVAL INQUIRIES
The District is aware of the desire on the part of some stakeholders to remove Enloe Dam. However, there is no requirement to do so. Nevertheless, the District remains open to reviewing comprehensive proposals from interested stakeholders that include, but are not limited to, the following criteria:
- Independent feasibility assessment that collects and evaluates scientific data, including:
- Determination if Enloe Dam was built on the second set of falls or a run of falls.
- How anadromous fish would pass after removal, either naturally or artificially.
- Would artificial passage be allowed by all interested parties?
- What agencies will fund and manage the new fish populations?
- Process for establishing new ESA habitat above Enloe Dam and impacts to private property owners, irrigators, and the Palmer Lake fishery.
- Delineation of suitable habitat for anadromous fish above Enloe Dam, with current data.
- Comprehensive sediment analysis of the 2.43 million cubic yards of sediment, behind Enloe Dam, approved by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
- Process for cultural resource mitigation requirements by removing a structure on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Dam removal cost estimate based on preliminary engineering designs.
- Ability to compete for funding with other habitat projects in the Pacific Northwest.
Approval from the Canadian government will allow new fish populations to cross the border.
Scoping process for the public, upstream and downstream landowners, affected cities, irrigators, and other interested parties.
Identification of a partner with the means to fund Dam removal.
Identification of a partner who can relieve the District of any future liability.
The District has been engaged in Enloe Dam removal conversations as far back as the 1960s. Recently, Richard Roos-Collins of the Water and Power Law Group PC, presented the District Board of Commissioners with a memorandum (memo) that describes a feasible pathway to pursue removal of Enloe Dam. The memo analyzes potential liabilities arising from dam removal, along with strategies to avoid and manage such liabilities. On July 25, 2022, the District Board of Commissioners passed Resolution No. 1775 supporting a process to evaluate the potential Enloe Dam removal, as outlined in the memo.
Trout Unlimited (TU) has stepped forward as the Project Manager to lead the comprehensive feasibility analysis, consistent with the memo’s criteria. TU has secured funding, in collaboration with other entities, to conduct this analysis.
Two of the recent grants received by TU and partners, include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant for approximately $2 million and the United States Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) grant for approximately $4.9 million.
Stantec was selected as the firm to conduct the necessary assessments, alternatives analysis, and advance engineering to a point that will provide a high level of confidence in the cost estimate. Other entities are leading additional aspects of the work, such as identification of a Dam Removal Entity and developing a plan of how to address the liability concerns of a potential dam removal project.
District staff is participating in this process consistent with Commissioner Resolution No. 1775. TU estimates the feasibility analysis to be concluded in 2025, at which point numerous stakeholder entities will determine which preferred alternative to pursue. The next steps would include advancing the engineering design, local, state, and federal permitting processes, securing all necessary funding for the project, and completing the liability plan.
- Independent feasibility assessment that collects and evaluates scientific data, including: