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Talks to save Lake Tapps may drag on 2 more years
'HUGE ISSUES': Task force needs additional time to work out
settlement proposal
02/26/2001
Rob Tucker; The News Tribune
The task force formed to save Lake Tapps has been working for 22 months, but
some members say they need another 18 to 24 months to craft a settlement
proposal.
The possibility that talks could go on into 2003 stunned some lakeside
homeowners who are exhausted by nearly two years of meetings.
"My kids are home raising themselves while I'm in meeting after
meeting," said one homeowner and task force member who asked not to be
identified. "What will the other homeowners think? They think this thing is
solved."
"This will be tough on homeowners," said Pam Cleveland, a Bonney
Lake city councilwoman, deputy mayor, and lakeside homeowner. "It still
puts their lives on hold."
At a recent task force meeting to discuss the situation, she expressed
concerns that Lake Tapps homeowners might not go along with a delay and
"upset the apple cart."
Others in the 38-member task force insist that they need to ask the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission for the additional time. They said there are too
many competing interests to deal with, as well as legal hurdles to clear, before
a lake-saving solution can be forwarded to the federal commission.
"This is what it will take to get the job done," said Shawn Bunney,
an attorney for the Pierce County Council who is helping the task force.
"These are huge issues."
The task force was formed in April 1999 to study ways to save the lake, a
part of Puget Sound Energy's White River Hydroelectric Project. Some 2,000
homeowners live around the lake, but it would dry up if the project is shut down
over a dispute between Puget and federal authorities regarding licensing
requirements.
Task force members have found that the time state agencies require for legal
and policy reviews of any proposed settlement is much longer than anticipated.
Any supporting legislation could take another year to clear the Legislature. And
the Army Corps of Engineers could take years to decide whether to contribute to
proposed solutions.
The task force also must deal with the details and legalities of protecting
endangered spring chinook salmon and bull trout in the White River.
FERC has given the task force until July to finish. Any lake-saving plan
requires its approval. Strong opposition from lakeside homeowners could kill the
effort.
Some homeowners on the task force, while tired, said they understood they had
little choice but to ask for more time.
Next month, the task force will make a final decision on whether to ask for
more time. If they go ahead, they will file a request with FERC soon after.
Sumner Mayor Barbara Skinner, a task force member, asked what would happen if
the federal commission denied the request.
Mark Quehrn, Puget's attorney, said federal authorities would shut down the
hydro project, he said. And Lake Tapps, denied its inflows from the river, would
dry up.
If an extension request is filed, commissioners will consider it, said FERC
spokeswoman Celeste Miller.
Generally, she said, the federal commission asks for comments from interested
parties if such a request is filed.
The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is one of those interested parties. It has White
River fishing rights through a federal treaty. The tribe is concerned about a
task force proposal to sell lake water for human consumption to raise money to
make up the estimated hydro project deficit. The tribe noted that the withdrawal
permanently takes away a substantial amount of water - 100 cubic feet per second
- from the river and could hurt fish. The Muckleshoots' concern is shared by the
Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
The task force has developed a preliminary agreement that outlines a possible
settlement. Options that could preserve fish and raise enough money to save the
lake include higher flows in the White River to enhance water quality and to
protect fish; possible sale to local park authorities of 2,500 acres owned by
Puget along the White River; and the possible sale of Lake Tapps water for
drinking.
The settlement could include asking the Army Corps of Engineer to pay for
replacement of the 90-year-old hydro project's $12.5 million diversion dam on
the White River.
While settlement options now exist, many details haven't been worked out. It
could take lakeside homeowners at least 18 months to form an organization to
represent them in carrying out the final settlement. It would take at least two
years to obtain a legal right to sell lake water for drinking, according to the
task force and state Department of Ecology. Sale of Puget's riverside lands for
a park could begin late next year, depending on a King County study, state
approval of wildlife protections, and King County budget deliberations.
Puget once estimated the deficit on the hydro project at $35 million to $80
million over 20 years. But last week the utility revised its estimate downward,
to $15 million to $50 million over two decades. That's about $750,000 to $2.5
million annually, instead of $1.75 million to $4 million.
"It's good news," Bunney said. "But there's still a
substantial hole."
Ed Schild, director of energy production and storage for Puget, said the
utility refigured losses based on the rising costs of using natural gas-fired
generators in place of the hydro project. Gas-fired generators still remain
cheaper than producing electricity at Lake Tapps. He said the recalculation had
nothing to do with the skyrocketing prices of electricity, which are an
aberration and cannot be used in long-term projections.
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* Reach staff writer Rob Tucker at
253-597-8374 or at rob.tucker@mail. tribnet.com
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SIDEBAR (A8)
Lake Tapps timeline:
1910-11: Puget Sound Energy develops the White River Hydroelectric Project.
It combines four smaller lakes into Lake Tapps. Fifteen dikes contain the water.
1962: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders PSE to get a license for
the hydro project. PSE appeals, saying FERC lacks jurisdiction.
December 1997: FERC issues license requirements for the hydro project. PSE
appeals and declines license, saying requirements are too expensive.
February 1999: PSE says it may retire the project, allowing Lake Tapps to
evaporate and leaving 2,000 lakeside homeowners high and dry.
April 1999: 38-member task force to save Lake Tapps is formed and asks FERC
to delay imposing the requirements.
July 30, 1999: FERC grants two-year delay to allow time to negotiate a
settlement to save lake.
February 2000: Task force approves 13 lake-saving options.
April 2000: Task force approves PSE plan to sell lake water for drinking to
help make up the estimated $2.5 million annual operating deficit on hydro
project.
Nov. 9, 2000: Task force agrees on final draft of preliminary agreement in
principle to save lake.
Dec. 14, 2000: Most task force members sign preliminary agreement.
Feb. 22, 2001: Task force discusses need for two-year extension until
mid-2003 to reach proposed settlement.
July 2001: Final task force proposal is due to FERC if extension isn't
granted.
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