This may be a little long, but if you fish the Cowlitz, it will be well worth reading!
Well, it's been sometime since my last posting on this board. Simply put, I have not had the opportunity, or the time because of the enormous amount of time and effort that has gone into the preparation of the joint appeal by CPR-Fish, Friends of the Cowlitz (FOC) and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe: Make no mistake about it; the results of WDOE issuing Tacoma that permit, as currently written, will have a major negative affect on your sport fishing opportunity on the Cowlitz River for the next 35 years! For the past 6 weeks, both CPR-Fish and the FOC have been working day and night, hand and hand, with their attorney Jonathan Feil and their technical advisor, Cleve Steward, in preparation of their joint appeal before the Pollution Control Hearing Board (PCHB).
As sick as it sounds, WDOE actually joined up sides and forces with Tacoma Power in an effort to save their own face. That meant that WDOE had 2 attorneys from the state and Tacoma had 3 attorneys during this hearing. That's 5 to 1! The PCHB hearing started on June 20, at 8:00 am. Before we could even finish the opening statements, WDOE admitted that they had "flat failed" to address the issue that Tacoma was releasing lethal levels of Total Dissolved Gas (TDG) from its operations of both Mayfield and Mossyrock Dams into the Cowlitz River. This was one of the issues that we had brought forth into our appeal of WDOE issuing Tacoma their 401 Permit. WDOE then submitted Order No. DE 02WQSR-4098, saying that Tacoma has exceeded, and reasonably is anticipated to further exceed and violate the State of Washington water quality standers during periodic high flow events for total dissolved gas.
A little late, but still a big win for both us and the fish! Another issue that we had brought forth in our appeal was the issue that Tacoma had failed to test their project waters for toxics and heavy metals concentrations. Unacceptable concentrations of arsenic had been found at test monitoring stations located near Kelso in 1992-1996. CPR-Fish had asked Tacoma Power in 1997 to test for toxics, heavy metals and oils near the inundated area and town known as Kosmos. Kosmos was an area that was identified to both WDOE and Tacoma, by the FOC, back in 1992 as having black oozing chemicals overflowing from large buried concrete containers inundated when Mossyrock was filled.
Also, Kosmos supposedly had a large lumber mill that also made treated wood (arsenic is used to make treated wood products). WDOE experts testified that they had found unacceptable levels of arsenic for human health, both above Mossyrock, and below Mayfield Dams in 2001 and 2002. For some unbelievable reason, WDOE did not test either Mossyrock or Mayfield reservoirs for either arsenic or PCB's. You've got to ask yourself why weren't the reservoirs checked and tested, especially around the Kosmos mill location for arsenic and PCB's!
In all fairness, WDOE did say that most glacier feed rivers have unacceptable amounts of arsenic for human health. But we still believe that the real arsenic problem may be lying at the bottom of Mossyrock Dam. In the past 38 years, at lease 30 feet of "accumulations" of fine sediment that have been built up and are leading right up to the face of the turbine intakes of the dam. The turbine intakes at Mossyrock are located about 266 feet deep. In the past several years, whenever Mossyrock goes into full generation (about 14, 800 cfs), the outflow becomes really turbid in color, which indicates to us layman that sediment is being pulled from the bottom of the reservoir. How much of that has high concentrations of arsenic is still unknown. The PCHB has already stated "The Washington Pollution Control Act makes it unlawful for anyone to 'throw, drain, run, or otherwise discharge into the water of the State, or to cause, permit or suffer to be thrown, run, drained, allowed to seep or otherwise discharge into such waters any organic or inorganic matter that shall cause or trend to cause pollution of such waters…' RCW 90.48.080. It is not necessary for dams to create pollution."
We will just have to wait to see what the PCHB rules on this one. Another issue that we brought forth was that WDOE did not include into its 401 Permit the past safe guards that protected flows for winter steelhead sport fishing opportunity. In 1988, WDFW signed an agreement with Tacoma that stated that Tacoma would make its "best faith effort" to protected steelhead sport fishing opportunity from December 1 through February 28 by not allowing flows to exceed 12,800 cfs during 6:00 am 2:00 pm on week days and maintain flows at or below 10,900 cfs during daylight hours on weekends and holidays unless spill was occurring or anticipated. These flows were not incorporated into the Settlement either.
There is a concerted effort by members of the Settlement Agreement to totally eliminate our early winter run steelhead fishery. Those same agencies and NGO's that signed the settlement with Tacoma (American Rivers and Trout Unlimited) also want to eliminate our summer run sport fishery and go to a total wild run of late winter run steelhead for the Cowlitz. I for one, think that we should name these folks "boneheads." During the hearing, it was disclosed that Tacoma had hand picked the members of what was called "Recreational Instream Flow Focus Group." This group consisted of 2 boat fishermen, one fly fisherman, and one bank fisherman, a local land owner, and a disabled person. These were the sole parties who decided what the "recreational flows" needs would be for you and me for the next 35 years. The really sick part of the outcome of that "one and only" recreation flow meeting was that Tacoma actually changed the recommended flows to match a flow chart that was used to show that there would be "no conflict" with flows between recreation and those that were recommended to support the Settlement Agreement flows.
The hearing board showed concern about this issue, and it will be interesting to see how they rule concerning WDOE claiming that recreation for recreational sport fishing in the Cowlitz has not been degraded. There was a tremendous amount of testifying about the degraded fish habit below the Mayfield dam to the I-5 Bridge. Both Tacoma and WDOE claim that both recreation and spawning pretty much stopped at the I-5 Bridge, and that they are not obligated to study any project effects past that area. We have a major disagreement with that, and I believe that we showed that both recreation and salmon spawning was not fully addressed either in the Settlement Agreement or in the conditions in the 401 Permit. We firmly believe that Tacoma's Project has had and continues to have major affects on both habitat and recreation all the way to the mouth of the Cowlitz where it enters the Columbia River. It will be interesting to see how the PCHB will rule on this issue too. Much was said about WDOE failing to set flows that would protect the habitat in the lower river. It was one of the biggest issued that was debated. Tacoma and Ecology had their numerous experts and we just had one, but he was a good one. If the hearing board rules in our favor, there could be promise yet for the future of the Cowlitz River fishery.
There is one issue that I regret we didn't get to bring forth in this hearing, which is the way that Washington Department of Ecology pushed through its minimum flows without a public hearing. The hearing board decides these cases through a "de novo" trial of the facts, which wipes the slate clean and isn't limited to the facts the WDOE considered. So, the board ruled out our complaints that WDOE didn't hold a public hearing. However, Washington statutes (RCW 90.22.020) require a public hearing after publication of notice whenever WDOE establishes water flows or levels for a particular river, and I think they should have followed that course here.
"Flows or levels authorized for establishment under RCW 90.22.010, or subsequent modification thereof by the department shall be provided for through the adoption of rules. Before the establishment or modification of a water flow or level for any stream or lake or other public water, the department shall hold a public hearing in the county in which the stream, lake, or other public water is located. If it is located in more than one county the department shall determine the location or locations therein and the number of hearings to be conducted. Notice of the hearings shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which the stream, lake, or other public waters is located, once a week for two consecutive weeks before the hearing. The notice shall include the following:
(1) The name of each stream, lake, or other water source under consideration;
(2) The place and time of the hearing;
(3) A statement that any person, including any private citizen or public official, may present his or her views either orally or in writing."
I wish that I would have pushed this one issue harder, because it never happened. When WDOE changed the flows on the Cowlitz it did not follow the law, in my opinion. But it may not be too late for someone else to do pick up on this shortfall!
I hope that this has informed the board on what is about to happen to the Cowlitz River and its fishery. We do not expect to hear the Board ruling until sometime in late August or early September. Maybe Tacoma Power and WDOE will reconsider their options and maybe, just maybe, make a settlement offer that we fishermen can live with for the next 35 years!
Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????
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