B.C. to be consulted on U.S. dam plan

By Tom Fletcher

BC Local News - March 02, 2008

Washington State will be a "good neighbour" as it conducts detailed study of a proposed dam on the Similkameen River, a state official has assured the B.C. government.

A proposed dam at Shanker's Bend, just south of the U.S.-Canadian border near Osoyoos, dates back to 1948 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied the Columbia River and its tributaries. The idea was revived last year when the state gave Okanogan County a $300,000 grant to begin study of three proposals, to improve state water supplies as well as generating power.

The 80-metre "high dam" proposal would back water up into B.C. nearly to the communities of Cawston and Keremeos, affecting the Lower Similkameen and Chopaka native reserves. A lower dam proposal would contain flooding to the U.S. side of the border, and a third run-of-river option would create a smaller seasonal pool on the U.S. side that would avoid flooding the community of Nighthawk, Wash.

B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner wrote to the Washington State Department of Ecology late last year seeking clarification of the proposal and asking for consultation with local governments, first nations and the province. Penner said in an interview last week he is reassured by the response.

Jay Manning, director of the state ecology department, wrote back to say the preliminary permit is good for 36 months and only allows engineering evaluation to assess costs and see if the valley could actually hold water. While he didn't rule out the high dam proposal, his department's files indicate the low dam option was first developed in 1955 in response to Canadian objections.

"Washington will work diligently to ensure that any and all concerns are addressed to the best of our abilities," Manning wrote. "A good neighbour should offer no less."

Manning also noted that it has been many years since the state approved a hydroelectric facility, and he views the estimated nine-year approval process as "somewhat optimistic."

Penner, who helped lead a successful campaign against the proposed Sumas 2 natural gas power plant just over the border, said the state's need for energy and the prospect of climate change puts more pressure on for projects such as this.

Washington is also looking at the flood control and fish habitat benefits that could be gained from such a dam. Its background report says a dam would allow the release of cold water into the Similkameen and Okanogan Rivers, where high summer water temperatures impair fish migration.

Benefits downstream would be balanced with impacts upstream, in a dry grasslands region with numerous rare species.

The water from the proposed reservoirs would also be available for agricultural and municipal water supply in Washington.