The Save Lake Tapps Coalition disbanded in September 2007, after 8 year of community service.  The effort of this coalition is now focused in the Lake Tapps Community Council under a new charter.  All funds remaining in the SLTC account were transferred to the Lake Tapps Community Council.  This website is maintained by a the past secretary of the former Save Lake Tapps Coalition as a method of community education and awareness.  The Save Lake Tapps Coalition was formed on March 8, 1999 in response to an announcement in the media advising that Lake Tapps may be drained as a result of a possible involuntary abandonment of the White River Hydroelectric Project by Puget Sound Energy.  The Coalition was a non-profit community organization consisting of motivated, concerned people who live, use, or own property around our beloved Lake Tapps.   If you have web content concerning the interest of the lake, please forward to: valdez4726@comcast.net

Lake Tapps Community Council General Information Hotline - a community service number:   (253) 891-5460

Police Related Problems on the Lake?  

If Emergency Call:  911

If Non-Emergency Call:  (253) 798-4721 Option '1'

To leave a message on the Pierce County Sheriff Boating Hotline Call:  (253) 798-3300

Save Lake Tapps News 7/6/00

Every person in our community should review the document below.  
This document was prepared by the Lake Tapps Task Force Economic & Options Committee. 
 This document covers the many options which will help save the lake.

Priorization of Components

The Lake Tapps Task Force Economics and Options (EO) Committee was created by the Task Force to provide objective research and analysis on the economics and viability of options being considered by the Task Force to create a licensing settlement package acceptable to the involved parties. The Committee began its work in September 1999.

During the first two months of work the EO Committee built the foundation upon which it would conduct its work. The foundation included reaching agreement on an economic model to use to examine and compare the fiscal impacts of various options or suboption components against the economic baseline of the project if the projects were to operate under the 1997 proposed licensing conditions. The economic model shows us that under the 1997 FERC license conditions, the project will lose between $35 million and $80 million in Net Present Value over the first 20 years of a 50-year license term. The model also showed that it is unlikely that any one solution will create enough revenue to solve the problem. In other words, the solution will require a compilation of components or options. The foundation also includes the identification of every potential component of a solution. We identified 34 components as shown on the attached evaluation sheet. Finally, the foundation included the development of common criteria and format to use to evaluate objectively each component presented for review.

In November and December 1999, the EO Committee began the process of organizing and evaluating the agreed upon components using the agreed upon format for evaluation. EO Committee members and other Task Force members volunteered either to provide the first draft of component evaluations or to provide a review and analysis of components already drafted. By circulating the various drafts among the various stakeholders we believe the work product of the EO Committee to be more objective and complete. Breaking up the work among various volunteers also allowed the work product to move forward at a much faster pace. At its December 1999 meeting, the Task Force authorized the submittal of a 94-page evaluation of the 34 components to FERC as part of our quarterly report.

In January the EO Committee developed a ranking and prioritizing process to assist the Task Force in making key decisions about where to focus its limited time and resources. The EO Committee also took the first cut at ranking the components. Factors which were used to measure the components were (1) financial contribution to a solution; (2) satisfies the interests of the stakeholders; (3) likelihood of success; (4) commitment, or will to do; (5) shorter timeline; and (6) whether the component would require legislation. The EO Committee presented the results of its ranking and prioritization recommendations at the January Task Force meeting where a facilitated workshop was conducted. The Task Force approved a prioritization of the components at the February Task Force meeting. Following is a summary of those components deemed by the Task Force to be the most viable and, therefore, are the components in which the Task Force will put most of its time and resources into developing.

Water Rights/Potable Water – The focus of this component is to seek opportunities for potable use of Lake Tapps water. Puget Sound Energy owns a pre-water code (1890) right to divert up to 2,000 cubic feet per second from the White River. The Task Force Water/Public Works Committee has been assigned the lead on discussions on how this water right may be used for potable water. Discussions have included whether the water right supersedes existing water code, what groundwater benefits the lake creates through infiltration, and what type of adjudication or basin planning process will be necessary to perfect this water right for potable use.

Ramping Rates – Ramping Rates are the rate at which water is diverted from or returned to the river. The ramping rate impacts the river, the lake, fish habitat, and the economics of the hydroelectric plant. The focus of this component is to conduct additional stranding/trapping studies in the Puyallup River to supplement detailed studies already completed in the White River which could confirm whether ramping and/or how much ramping constraints are necessary. Fiscal impact for this component could be as high as $750,000 over the first 20 years of the license.

Past License Fee Forgiveness – The proposed 1997 license issued by FERC requires the applicant to pay past license fees back to 1992 at a cost of approximately $1.2 million. Changes in FERC policy may eliminate the need to include this provision in the settlement offer.

Negotiated Minimum Instream Flows – The instream flow requirements in the 1997 FERC license are more than those agreed to in a 1986 Muckleshoot/PSE agreement and less than the flows being proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The focus of this component is to achieve a collaborative resolution of the flows issue by creating a flow budget which could be reallocated by the resource agencies (NMFS, USFWS, WDFW, and WDOE) to more closely match the needs of fish while placing a financial cap on PSE cost exposure. The total estimated benefit to this approach would be approximately $800,000 per year over the flow conditions as currently proposed in the FERC license.

Corps of Engineers Flood Control and Fish Trap – The Corps of Engineers has operated a fish trap at the Buckley Diversion Facility since 1948. At the time of the construction of the fish trap, the Corps of Engineers removed PSE’s fish ladder allowing for fish passage above the Diversion and started trucking fish to the upper watershed. If the project were to cease operation, or if the diversion dam were to fail, the Corps of Engineers would lose its method for providing fish passage to the upper watershed. The proposed license requires replacement of the diversion dam at an estimated cost of $12.5 million. The focus of this component is to explore whether there is a federal interest in rebuilding the diversion dam to protect the Corps’ fish passage interest. There is a General Investigation Grant in the 2001 Corps of Engineers budget currently before Congress to study this issue.

State Purchase of Lake Bottom – the lake bottom is owned by Puget Sound Energy. Perhaps the largest threat to the community is the prospect of PSE selling the lake bottom for development. Most of the lake bottom in Washington State is owned by the State. The focus of this component is to explore opportunities for the State to purchase the lake bottom as part of a collaborative solution to preserve the fourth most popular recreational lake in Washington State.

Public or Local Ownership – The focus of this component is to explore the prospect of public ownership as a possible way to save the lake. This effort has been led by a homeowner group, the Save Lake Tapps Coalition, which has been looking at public ownership opportunities for more than a year. The work of the homeowners shows there may be significant cost savings due in part to the tax code and in part to the fact that the project could be operated without an allowed rate of return to stockholders. However, acquisition and operation of the project by a public entity would be a massive undertaking probably only used as a last resort.

Power Value Optimization During Summer – Traditionally, the project has operated with a full lake from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Due to changes in the power market, the summer months offer greater opportunities for energy sale. If the lake can be varied by as 12 inches during the summer without impacting recreational use, an additional $50,000 to $100,000 per year savings could be realized.

Tailrace Barrier Modification or Elimination – The proposed 1997 license requires PSE to construct a tailrace barrier at the bottom of the tailrace (where the water exits the hydroelectric facility and reenters the river) to prevent adult salmon and steelhead from entering the tailrace. The estimated cost is $7 million to the project. The focus of this component is to examine whether this requirement is necessary and, if so, to explore more cost effective ways to keep the fish out of the tailrace.

Wildlife Mitigation Conditions – Seven tracts of land valued in 1990 at over $13 million were included in a Wildlife Management Plan negotiated among DFW, USFWS, and PSE. Subsequently, the Wildlife Plan was included as part of the 1997 proposed FERC license. Since 1990, FERC’s interpretation of appropriate baseline to determine project impacts has been refined. FERC has said that the baseline for reviewing for wildlife mitigation and enhancement is the time of the proposed action and does not require mitigation back to the time the project was constructed.

Viable Lake for Extended Periods – Preserving and enhancing Lake Tapps as a community and regional asset is an important component and ranked high even though Lake Viability itself does not contribute to a financial solution. Many of the other components such as Summer Fluctuations and Potable Water may impact the availability of the lake for recreational use. The Task Force placed a high priority on the Lake Viability component to ensure that community concerns about the length of usable lake and time of year, the protection of lake environmental assets such as wetlands, fish habitat, animal habitat, long term certainty, local control, water quality, and safety are all addressed as part of a settlement. There is also a discussion of the formation of a Lake Management District by the community to provide an equitable contribution for benefits received through settlement.

Boat Management and Recreation Plan - The proposed 1997 license would require PSE to develop a boat management plan at the estimated cost of $50,000. While $50,000 is a very small amount compared to the operations gap, the Task Force has concluded that Boat Management is a local concern and that efforts should be made to find a local sponsor for this effort.

Hatchery Operations – Puget Sound Energy and the Muckleshoot Tribe have a dispute which stems from a 1986 settlement agreement with respect to Puget Sound Energy’s responsibility for paying operation and maintenance costs for the Muckleshoot Hatchery. While this component will not benefit the bottom line of the project, the Task Force identified this issue as a high priority and wants to work with the Tribe to resolve this issue as part of whatever settlement is reached.

In the Motion for Stay of the Licensing Proceedings, the Task Force committed to a timeline that sets a September 2000 milestone for establishment of an agreement in principle. The Task Force is currently focused on developing a process that will bring the stakeholders together on a common vision by then. Because there are so many different issues and stakeholders, it is likely that the agreement in principle will be a composite of various smaller agreements. The Task Force will also be conducting some public opinion work to build a record for deciding which combination of components are most desirable by the region and community.

Save Lake Tapps Coalition
© 1999