YBSA Monthly Report

February, 2012

YBSA Comments on Draft PEIS of the Integrated Plan:  YBSA supports elements of the Integrated Plan (“IP”) because it provides a short-term solution to the water supply problems of the Yakima Basin, while providing needed habitat improvements to help restore the Basin’s fisheries.  YBSA is, however, deeply concerned that the IP water storage element does not provide a sufficient long-term solution to the water supply needs of the Basin, especially in light of current State and Federal funding shortages, and the National need to integrate Northwest wind power.

To more effectively meet the stated long-term needs for water storage and stabilization, YBSA urges an acceleration of the Columbia River Pumped Storage option identified in the IP.  In particular, YBSA believes that funding for a study of the Columbia Pumped Storage option should be made a priority of the IP, and that the study should include a pumped storage electricity production element.  The PEIS’s decision to make that option a mere aspiration does not adequately protect the Yakima Basin’s future, especially if the more severe climate change scenario considered in the IP come to pass. 

The Purpose and Need statement in the PEIS demonstrates the urgent need for action to address water supply issues in the Yakima Basin, problems that will only grow worse as the Basin’s population grows and the effects of climate change alter the amount and timing of precipitation in the Basin

In particular, we note:

• Water supply is already a serious issue in theYakimaBasin.  In dry years, proratable water rights holders already face substantial reductions in their water supply, placing the Basin’s agricultural economy at risk.  As the PEIS correctly observes: “Demand for irrigation water significantly exceeds supply in dry and drought years, leading to severe prorationing for proratable, or junior, water rights holders.”

• Water rights in the Basin are fully subscribed, making it difficult for both municipalities and individual businesses and homeowners to obtain new water supplies for municipal uses.  This places the Basin’s non-agricultural economy at risk.  Ground water adjudication puts all Basin interests at risk by jeopardizing State, Federal and private investment in our needed infrastructure. 

• As the PEIS notes, theYakimaBasinhistorically supported anadromous fish runs of somewhere between 300,000 and 950,000 fish annually.  Habitat degradation over the last century has substantially reduced these numbers. (PEIS at 1-5 to 1-6). Low streamflows and high temperatures in certain reaches of theYakima, as well as excessive streamflows during certain times of year in other reaches, have contributed substantially to the decline of the Basin’s fisheries.   By our calculations the IP further reduces flows in the lower 100 miles of theYakima River.

The Integrated Plan helps but does not fully meet the identified need for surface water supply, and fisheries benefits.  Additional measures are needed in order to meet the need identified in the PEIS, the Integrated Plan by itself is likely to prove inadequate, especially in the long term.  Conservation by itself is inadequate.  The PEIS’s conclusion that additional water conservation measures, by themselves, cannot meet theYakimaBasin’s future needs.

The Columbia Basin Pumped Storage should be a priority.  Initial screening should begin immediately.  Electricity production and the use of wind energy to pump water provides a means of improving pumped storage economic viability.

• Identifying Additional Storage Options Immediately.  A careful analysis of the PEIS reveals that water storage will be inadequate under the IP if any of the planned water storage options are, for any reason, derailed.  It also reveals that if the more severe climate change scenarios emerge, the IP will be inadequate even if all storage options are built as planned
•  

The Phase 1 project identified in the IP is likely to take years to complete.  Accordingly, it is imprudent to wait for a crisis to emerge before thoroughly studying other options.

• Addressing the need for renewable energy integration.  In the past decade, renewable energy (especially wind) has become a major economic force inCentral Washington, but the existing power system is rapidly running out of capacity to reliably integrate wind.  This is a major barrier to continued regional investment in wind and other variable renewable technologies such as solar. 
• Addressing adverse conditions in the lower Yakima.  By shifting lowerYakima irrigation districts toColumbia water so that they do not need to withdraw from theYakima, the pumped storage option would substantially improve flows in the lowerYakima.
• Improved water storage.  As noted above, by moving the lowerYakima irrigation districts away from dependence onYakima water, the pumped storage option can substantially improve the overall water supply picture in the Basin

Economic benefits of improved agricultural productivity are underestimated in the Integrated Plan.

YBSA believes many questions need to be answered prior to the approval of the Integrated Plan such as how would this plan eliminate future droughts that affect both the economy and the environment in theYakimaBasin.

Final PEIS and Integrated Plan for Yakima River Basin Published:  The final programmatic environmental impact statement has been published in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 39, Tuesday, February 28, 2012.  The Bureau of Reclamation will not make a decision on the proposed action until at least 30 days after filing the Final PEIS with the Environmental Protection Agency.

See the complete Integrated Plan information and YBSA’s comments on the Integrated Plan at www.ybsa.org

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
August, 2011

Meeting with Yakima City Council on Pumped Storage/Wind Energy: YBSA met with the Transportation and Utility Committee of the Yakima City Council. The purpose of the meeting was to report on the assessment analysis of a pumped storage/wind energy project to help meet the water needs of the Yakima Basin and assist in the integration of wind resources. The Yakima City Council received a letter from the Yakima Basin Joint Board (Irrigators) requesting the city not support the analysis. YBSA supports the Integrated Plan but believes it’s critical to review all the possible tools in the toolbox to insure sufficient water is available in the Yakima Basin now and in the future.

Salmon Walk: Each September the Salmon start returning to the Yakima River Basin. Salmon walks will be hosted by Bob Tuck again this year. Viewing will occur on both the American and Cle Elum Rivers. Sockeye will be spawning in the upper Cle Elum River above Lake Cle Elum. Contact YBSA at (509) 840-2759 or Bob Tuck at (509) 945-7250 for specific times and locations.
Above are two pictures of salmon spawning from last year. There are videos of last year’s spawning at www.ybsa.org.

Central Washington State Fair: The Central Washington State Fair will start September 23 and run through October 2 at the Yakima County Fair Grounds. YBSA will have a booth at the fair with information about water issues that have occurred in the Yakima Basin. Displays and information on the water supply in the basin for fish, agriculture, and municipal and residential needs will be provided. Stop by and visit or volunteer to help operate the booth.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
July, 2011

YBSA Working With YRBWEP Work Group: Yakima Basin Storage Alliance (YBSA) continues to work with the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) Work Group to address the many problems that exist in the Yakima River Basin. The goals of the Integrated Plan include enhancement of the water supply and increasing fish populations in the Basin. The plan includes surface water storage projects: Wymer Reservoir in the Yakima River Canyon, taping into the inactive storage at Lake Kachess (water from the lake after irrigation water has been removed), constructing a new Bumping Reservoir enlarging the lake, and appraisal work on potential projects to transfer water from the Columbia River to the Yakima Basin possibly pumped storage.

The lack of an adequate water supply affects the economy and fish population of the Yakima River Basin. During dry years, farm income is reduced and crops are at risk. Future municipal and domestic water supplies are threatened because over appropriation of water rights make groundwater rights junior to most surface water users. Fish habitat, food sources and migration are affected as water flows throughout the year are in a state of flux.

Water for agriculture, municipal and domestic needs and fish are all concerns of YBSA. The Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan suggests inclusion of storage projects that are questionable. The increased water supply needed to complete some of the projects included in the Work Plan may never be achieved. The Yakima Basin has been without sufficient water for years and, with climate change information indicating more droughts, inter-basin exchange of water may be a solution that would solve the Yakima Basin’s problem for decades.

EIS Update: Presentations by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and Department of Ecology (DOE) at the July 13th YRBWEP Work Group meeting included a planning report/programmatic EIS update. Three categories will be included in the report: Habitat, Water Supply, and Environment. Presentations on the seven parts of the Integrated Plan will be on the BOR website. The final report on the Integrated Plan will be completed in the spring of 2012. A programmatic overview of the Work Plan will be provided in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). A specific EIS will be done on each project when that project is reviewed. YBSA’s asked if the Work Plan programmatic EIS still be valid when one or more of the specific projects included in the Work Plan no longer are valid and cannot be completed.

Scoping Comments: Eighty-Five scoping comments were received and staff is working on answering those comments.

Subcommittee Recommendations: The Watershed Land Conservation Subcommittee continues to develop a Work Plan and the implementation Subcommittee is preparing recommendations for the Work Group.

CRESP: YBSA met with Jim Waldo, Gordon Thomas Honeywell LLP, and discussed the current progress of the Columbia Renewable Energy Storage Project (CRESP). The timeline is being extended because of litigation over Bonneville’s curtailment of wind production due to this spring’s high water-high wind events and the release of Chelan County PUD’s preliminary assessments of pumped storage sites in Chelan and Douglas Counties. The Chelan study shows that cost-benefit ratios for four of the nine sites studied were above 1.0 and two sites showed an even better cost-benefit ratio. YBSA will continue to move forward and develop a plan to examine pumped storage and an inter-basin exchange of water between the Columbia River and the Yakima Basin. Energy production and additional water for the Yakima Basin will benefit fish, agriculture, municipal and residential development, and will ensure that our basin has sufficient water for years of economic growth.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
June, 2011

Letter to the Wind Integration Steering Committee co-Signed by James C. Waldo, GTH, Counsel for the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance: Yakima Basin Storage Alliance sent a letter to Steve Wright and Tom Karrier, co-chairs of Bonneville Power Administration Wind Integration Steering Committee asking the committee to recognize the importance of pumped storage in the federal evaluation of water project economics. We believe pumped storage offers the possibility of solving not only the problems created by integrating variable renewable resources such as wind generation into the grid, but also solving chronic problems such as assuring adequate water supplies for Central Washington’s agricultural communities and improving conditions in the Yakima River Basin for anadromous fish.

Pumped Storage/Wind Integration Provides Many Benefits: Several years ago the communities in the three county area of the Yakima River Basin passed resolutions of support for the concept of using pumped storage out of the Columbia River when water and energy were in surplus to augment the diminishing supply of water from the Yakima River system for consistent municipal supplies, fish, and economic growth. Those resolutions of support were very helpful as we raised $18 million in federal and state funds and completed the study by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) of the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study (YRBWSFS).

That study is a good one, and the only thing that is out of date is the method the BOR used for projecting costs. That method has never found any project in the nation to be feasible, and the federal government is now changing the process to be more accurate by including all benefits, and looking for “least cost” options for meeting the goals.

The problem of insufficient water in the Yakima Basin is the same as it has been for years, and getting worse, particularly with the impact of climate change. We have as much precipitation as ever, but it comes at different times and in different forms than when the Yakima Project was planned and built. At risk is the dramatic amount of water storage we have had in the past in snow at high elevations, slowly melting to refill the five mountain reservoirs. We have the worst water storage ratio compared to the volumes of water needed of any BOR project in the nation. The big economic picture is bad, with banks now refusing to make production loans to many of the farmers that don’t have senior water rights, and only half of our basin acreage has that sort of guarantee.

The new approach we are taking is in reaction to what you are hearing in the news. The advent of government subsidized wind power (much of it to meet California’s need for environmental credits), and the dramatic over-supply of water in the Columbia and Snake Rivers as snow melts all too early, gives us weird patterns of too much energy now and the potential of energy and water shortages in the summer months. Bonneville Power (BPA) is having an impossible time in trying to integrate unpredictable wind power into our northwest grid and sell it to anyone, and actual negative pricing we saw last year will be repeated, with customers being paid by us to take our energy. BPA also has to use “economic redispatch”, a fancy way of saying we will have to turn off your wind machines when we can’t us the power, a great way to be sued by the wind industry because they lose their environmental payments when they aren’t running.

YBSA is embarking on a $75,000 evaluation of pumped energy storage. The investigative work will be done by Jim Waldo, a successful and well-known water and fish attorney, and he is coordinating the interests of all the parties, public and private, that are in the power or fish business. This effort is called the Columbia River Energy Storage Project or “CRESP”. Our goal is to see if we can work together, using outside money as well as ours to lower the cost of building and operating the facilities that serve all of our interests. This goal matches the stated desires of the U.S. Departments of Energy, Interior, and Commerce.

Pumped energy storage is the same concept as pumped water storage, except this time the water is pumped up out of the Priest Rapids pool, stored, and can be used to generate electricity when needed by running it back into the Columbia. This is a great benefit to fish as well as stabilizing the price of energy. It lets the wind turbines turn, and spilled water that harms fish be held until it helps. For Yakima Basin needs, our water flow would be into the Roza and Sunnyside Canals in the Moxee area, as designed in the BOR YRBWSFS. The benefits are spread throughout the three county area, because existing Yakima Project water is then managed to serve areas in need, like upper Kittitas County (with a moratorium by the state on new residential well permits), the rehabilitation of the Wapato Project (Yakama Reservation) with about 40,000 acres of land with a water right but no reliable supply, and rewatering and cooling the lower stretches of the Yakima River, a vital link in recreating a salmon fishery that takes us back to treaty days.

Now climate change is demonstrating the value of the inter-basin transfer of water, and having lost of capacity to store that pumped water and the energy it contains until it flows back downhill to stabilize regional energy supplies, as well as creating a better environment for fish production.

YBSA emphasizes that this effort is not in conflict with the purposes of the Integrated Work Plan being advanced (with our help) by the Department of Ecology and the Bureau of Reclamation. Rather, it is consistent with the plan being developed by the Work Group. In fact, it may provide significant opportunities that will complement many of the solutions being advanced in the process.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
May, 2011

Pumped Storage Wind Integration: Yakima Basin Storage Alliance believes an opportunity exists to assist in addressing the surplus electricity created by spring Columbia River runoff and wind power generation. Pumping surplus water uphill using excess power, storing water in a reservoir and returning it to the Columbia River will generate electrical power when the wind isn’t blowing. The electricity produced would provide an opportunity to assist in distributing the electricity when transmission lines and markets are available.

A pumped storage project using wind generated electricity could allow the wind industry to receive environmental incentive money. The reservoir would provide a storage battery for energy and benefit fish, agriculture, municipal needs and economic stability with a reliable water supply being left in the Yakima River.

Attached are two articles explaining the existing problem when hydropower and wind generation electricity exceed the ability of our transmission system to deliver the electricity. Pumped storage could be part of the solution by delaying the energy production to a time when it can be delivered and sold.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
April, 2011

YBSA Contract with GTH: YBSA is discussing a contract with James C. Waldo of the Gordon Thomas Honeywell, LLP (GTH) law firm to begin the Columbia River Renewable Energy/Irrigation Storage Project. The Central Columbia River Pumped Storage Project may simultaneously benefit the Pacific Northwest’s renewable energy industry, agriculture, and salmon recovery. The “Columbia Renewable Energy Storage Project” (“CRESP” or “Project”) promises to make major strides toward solving three of the Columbia Basin’s most vexing problems: storing intermittent output from the Pacific Northwest’s large and growing fleet of renewable electric generators (especially wind generators) so that power is available when needed; providing a reliable supply of water for agricultural and municipal uses in the Yakima River Basin; and, returning the Yakima River to its status as one of the Northwest’s premier producers of salmon and steelhead. The preliminary conclusions concerning the potential benefits of CRESP based upon our review of information compiled by Energy Northwest, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bonneville Power Administration, the Corp of Engineers, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and other energy industry experts.

The next logical step in moving the Project from a concept to a reality is a thorough engineering and economic analysis to determine whether, as currently conceptualized, the Project is practicable from an engineering standpoint and will provide benefits sufficient to justify the major capital investment that will be required to construct the Project. If the analysis demonstrates that the Project, as currently envisioned, is economical, it will lay the foundation for moving forward with the Project by, for example, developing appropriate legal structures, identifying needed refinements in project design and analysis, attracting the large amount of capital necessary to construct a pumped-storage project on the scale required, and ultimately for constructing the Project.

Lower Yakima River Restoration: YBSA believes substantially increased water supplies are imperative for the future well-being of the environment and economy of the Yakima Basin. The lower 100 miles of the Yakima River presents many challenges concerning water quantity and quality, salmon production, and habitat restoration. This reach of the river is listed under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act for non-compliance with temperature and nutrient standards. This condition impairs the designated uses of this reach of the river for salmon spawning, rearing, and migration.

YBSA believes that opportunities currently exist to address these water quality conditions in the lower Yakima River. A collaborative partnership between the agriculture community, individual land owners, and Tribal, State and Federal agencies is needed to address the water problems. YBSA will initiate planning for a project between now and next fall. Specific projects may include restoration of riparian habitat, restoring flows in currently unused side channels, wetland restoration, and other types of projects that will address water quality deficiencies in the lower Yakima River. Our long-term vision is the restoration of the lower Yakima River with respect to salmon production and creating water quality conditions that meet Clean Water Act standards.

Public Scoping Meetings: The Bureau of Reclamation and Washington State Department of Ecology will conduct public scoping meetings for an Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (Integrated Plan), Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP), combined planning report/programmatic environmental impact statement (PR/PEIS) for two days in May.

The schedule for both public meeting includes:
May 3: Hal Holmes Center, 209 N. Ruby Street, Ellensburg, WA
May 5: Yakima Area Arboretum, 1401 Arboretum Way, Yakima, WA

The combined open houses/scoping meetings will be held from 1:30-3:30 pm and 5:00-7:00 pm at both locations.

The scoping meetings will give the public and agencies the opportunity to identify issues and concerns associated with the proposed Integrated Plan and to identify other potential alternatives that could be considered in the EIS. In addition to comments received at the scoping meetings, written comments will be accepted through May 19, 2011. Please submit comments to Candace McKinley, Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Program Manager, 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA 98901-2058, ((509) 575-5848, extension 232; or by email to yrbwep@usbr.gov, buy April 26, 2011. For additional information or questions, please call (509) 575-5848, ext. 613.

YBSA believes the water supply elements are inadequate for the following reasons:

 Climate change forecasts indicate a need for additional irrigation water to sustain future increases for crop consumptive use.
 Forecasts show increased drought frequency and magnitude. This will reduce the water supply available in summer months and carryover.
 Climate change will reduce snowpack storage and further reduce summer water supplies for crops and instream flows.
 Ground water supply problems are not adequately resolved by the package and could lead to ground water adjudication.
 The success of fish passage elements are severely compromised by inadequate volumes of water, which compromises smolt survival around the dams, and transit and production in the lower Yakima River.
 We believe that higher flow volumes in the lower Yakima River are required to improve water quality problems of temperature, phosphorus and other parameters.

YBSA believes the plan needs to address the following:

 The current plan has not been adequately analyzed for costs and benefits.
 The lack of financial analysis will inhibit political support. The public needs to know who is expected to pay and how much.
 There are a number of environmental concerns along with unpriced mitigation in the Plan for water storage, the list of those who openly oppose Bumping and Wymer is daunting, and with ESA, and other restrictive regulations, these two reservoirs will most likely never be built.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
March, 2011

Integrated Plan Concerns: A review of the Proposed Integrated Plan identifies most of the water needs in the Yakima Basin but there is a question if the proposed solutions will accomplish what is needed to correct the problems. The Project that is being proposed is fragmented and will take years to implement. The water needs appear to be greater than the amount that can be provided by the plan. Fish are being short changed and the proratable rights probably would come up short if back to back droughts occur.

The following comments were sent to DOE and BOR. YBSA appreciated the chance to voice our observations and concerns to the proposed Integrated Plan. The following are some of the water supply elements that are inadequate to solve the needs of the Yakima River Basin:
1. Climate change forecasts indicate a need for additional irrigation water to sustain future increases for crop consumptive use.
2. Forecasts show increased drought frequency and magnitude. This will reduce the water supply available in the summer months and carryover.
3. Climate change will reduce snowpack storage and further reduce water supplies for crops and instream flows.
4. Ground water supply problems are not adequately resolved by the package and could lead to ground water adjudication which would most likely freeze federal investment.
5. The success of fish passage elements are severely compromised by inadequate volumes of water, which compromises smolt survival around the dams, and transit and production in the lower Yakima River. In fact we are displeased to see the plan further reduces the instream flows in the already degraded lower Yakima River.
6. We believe that higher flow volumes in the lower Yakima River are required to improve water quality problems of temperature, phosphorous and other parameters. We believe that DOE may be required by the courts to resolve these water quality issues.

YBSA believes the plan and process can be improved:
1. The current plan has not been adequately analyzed for costs and benefits which will inhibit national investment. This process must compare previously investigated alternatives by the same metrics, and is best accomplished with a scorecard or matrix.
2. The lack of financial analysis will inhibit political support. The public needs to know who is expected to pay and how much. We note that many items have yet to aired and public hearing are not far off.
3. We believe that the integration of pumped storage provides the financial strength to justify the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, and the political support of a large constituency.
4. Sequencing the elements will lead to a piece meal implementation and breaking up the structure that is essential for everyone around the table to stand together, and we believe, is at odds with Representative Hastings written comments to the workgroup.
5. While we admire the ingenuity of the Department of Ecology in attempting to bring a number of environmental interests through uncertain and unpriced mitigation to support the Plan for water storage, the list of those who openly oppose Bumping and Wymer is daunting, and with the help of the ESA, other restrictive regulation, and the actions of individual citizens, history shows these two reservoirs will most likely never be built after decades of infighting.

Restoration of the Lower Yakima River: The Yakima Basin Storage Alliance (YBSA) believes substantially increased water supplies are imperative for the future well-being of the environment and economy of the Yakima Basin. We have been active in water issues individually for the past 40 years, and collectively since 2001, when we formed, to get Congress to start the Yakima Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study (completed December, 2008).

Water quality, salmon production, and habitat restoration needs to be improved in the lower Yakima River. This reach of the river is listed under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Actor for non-compliance with temperature and nutrient (pH, DO) standards. This condition impairs the designated uses of this reach of the river for salmon spawning, rearing, and migration. YBSA believes that addressing water quality problems in this reach is critical to the long-term restoration of salmon production in the Yakima River Basin.

YBSA believes the opportunities currently exist to address these water quality conditions in the lower Yakima River. However, effective action will require collaborative partnerships between the agricultural community, individual land owners, and Tribal, State and Federal agencies. We believe that YBSA, because of its membership that includes agricultural and business leaders, as well as individual land owners, is uniquely qualified to provide leadership and implement habitat restoration projects on the lower Yakima River.

With fish biologist Bob Tuck’s advice and leadership YBSA plans to initiate project formulation and coordination for the purpose of laying the foundation for project implementation. Specific restoration projects may include restoration riparian habitat, restoring flows in currently unused side channels, wetland restoration, and other types of projects that will address water quality deficiencies in the lower Yakima River.

Our long-term vision is the restoration of the lower Yakima River with respect to salmon production and creating water quality that meet Clean Water Act standards.

Information on a Columbia Renewable Energy Storage Project: See Attached document.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
February, 2011

Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan: YBSA will continue to work with the state Ecology and the federal Reclamation folks on their search for future water supplies in the Yakima Basin itself, we remain skeptical that the environmental conflicts that plagued this same effort during the past 30 years are going away, let alone the growing impacts of climate change, our declining aquifers for well water supplies, and the need for water for fish production.

Columbia Basin Renewable Energy Integration and Storage Project: But now, YBSA has a viable new idea. In Europe, they have said for centuries, “when the wind blows, pump water uphill”. So, when those thousands of wind turbines built along the Columbia River start to turn, all too often Bonneville Power feather the props because the power can’t be integrated into the northwest grid or shipped to California markets. This is a tragic loss of renewable energy and the money it generates. The time-honored answer: pump water uphill when power is virtually free, and run it back downhill when the energy can be sold. It is that simple, but complex to put in place.

We have the blueprint, and it could be called the “Columbia Basin Renewable Energy Integration and Storage Project”. YBSA has hired Jim Waldo, a very successful water attorney with a great record of “putting things together” to organize a number of interested parties in such a project, big players who provide electricity for the northwest, including the new wind power industry. Bonneville has given itself a year to find an answer to the wind integration dilemma which has them currently forced to “environmental redispatch” some wind energy by just plain turning it off, and the use of pumped storage is next on their option list for investment. The same energy balancing opportunity could be extremely useful for hydro power which now just flows to the sea once it leaves Grand Coulee.

At YBSA, we see ourselves as “coordinators” of this effort at this early stage, and we intend to share the prospects with all interested parties, including the state/federal Integrated Work Group that has advanced a lot of effort on fish and wildlife habitat, fish passage, water management, water banking, and quality. Their work on water supply is familiar ground that failed decades ago in Congress, and now faces the additional hurdles of the Endangered Species Act and no federal money, no earmarks.

The amount of pumped storage we need to solve the water supply woes of the Yakima Basin is comparatively small, and we have several years head start with the completed multi-million study of the irrigation use of Columbia River surplus. Pumped storage for energy storage works just as it does for irrigation except that we run stored water to supply the Roza and Sunnyside Canal systems, and the energy folks run it back into the Columbia when electricity is needed.

In other words, we get the benefits of an inter-basin transfer of water to meet our three goals: water for fish, water for people, and water for jobs . . . and the cost of doing this is reduced dramatically by partnering with folks who need the same investment.

March 9th Work Group Meeting: The Work Group meeting will be held Marth 9th from 9:30 am to noon at the Yakima Arboretum. The elements and associated actions included in the proposed integrated plan will be reviewed and the planning schedule and future Work Group meetings will be presented. Items included in the draft plan include fish passage, structural and operation changes, fish habitat enhancement, enhanced water conservation and storage. The storage element includes:

Surface Water Storage
 Wymer Dam New off-channel reservoir (162,500 a/f)
 Lake Kachess Inactive Storage Tap inactive storage volume (up to 200,000 a/f)
 Enlarge Bumping Lake Reservoir Enlarge reservoir to 190,000 a/f
 Columbia River Pump Exchange with Conduct feasibility study; and periodically evaluate
Yakima Basin Storage need for additional supplies

Groundwater Storage
 Shallow Aquifer Recharge Early spring infiltration to reduce reservoir releases
 Aquifer Storage and Recovery Off-season recharge of municipal supplies

Total cost of the plan is estimated to be $5.9 billion. The estimate does not include land acquisition for targeted watershed protection and enhancements. Estimated M&O annual cost is $15 million.

Restoration of Lower Yakima River: The lower Yakima River needs to be upgraded to meet the intent of the Clean Water Act. Temperature and nutrients are out of standards and there is a need to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous in a more natural way. The use of plants and trees would reduce the amount of phosphorous and the reduced sunlight will help. Increases in water flowing in the lower river will assist in reducing temperatures and allowing salmonoids including Sockeye to return in greater numbers. YBSA agreed to assist Bob Tuck in developing a plan to improve the quality of the lower Yakima River.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
January, 2011

YBSA’s Goal: Yakima Basin Storage Alliance (YBSA), a grass-roots organization whose members include: contractors, farmers, bankers, businessmen, engineers, fish biologist, former manager of an irrigation district, former state and local elected and appointed officials will continue our involvement in the development of the Integrated Plan.

YBSA’s board meets monthly to discuss the merits of the language in the proposed plan to provide suggestions from a broad base of interests.

YBSA continues to pursue the best and most cost effective way to provide for instream flow and passage for fish, out-of-stream use to prevent droughts, and water for municipal and industrial growth including the need to address the existing ground water problem.

We are anxious to work on developing a plan that will solve the water problem now and in the future even with climate change.

Draft Basin Study Report Ready in Late February: The draft Yakima River Basin Study Report and supporting technical memoranda are being developed at the present time. The draft Basin Study Report and technical memoranda will be made available in late February for Work Group members and other interested parties to review. The review period will last approximately three weeks. Details on the exact review period will be shared in a follow up email in February, once the draft document is available for review. The documents will be finalized after the review period.

Work Group Meeting Purpose: Work Group meeting during the review period will be held March 9, 9:30 am to noon at the Yakima Arboretum. The purpose of this meeting will be to:
 Discuss the draft Basin Study Report.
 Provide an overview of NEPA/SEPA Scoping, Programmatic EIS and Planning Report process that will further evaluate the Integrated Plan and other appropriate alternatives.
 Share the planning schedule, including Work Group meeting schedule.
 Describe the Implementation Subcommittee work plan and next steps.
 Share findings from advance mitigation/land conservation efforts.
 Update on other communication efforts (e.g., recent meeting with USFS).

Pumped Storage Benefits: YBSA continues to explore pumped storage as a Columbia Basin Renewable Energy and Storage Project. It would provide the Yakima River Basin the ability to acquire a large quantity of stored water, lower costs, and increase benefits of pumped storage. Pumping water during extremely low or negative power prices into a storage reservoir would provide an opportunity to improve a pumped storage project economically. The project would also provide water storage for irrigation and salmon restoration in the Yakima Basin and an opportunity to assist the integration of wind generation into the Northwest power grid using that stored water as a storage battery.

For additional information see www.ybsa.org

YBSA Monthly Report
December, 2010

Integrated Plan Work Group Meeting: Dan Silvers, Department of Ecology consultant, opened the December Integrated Plan Work Group meeting stating, “Don’t worry about the language in the plan, the details are important, but this document is not the last word on the details”.

YBSA agreed moving forward with the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (I.P.) was beneficial to the Yakima Basin. More information is needed on the cost/benefit of each of the 7 elements of the plan. The plan does not provide enough water to meet the needs of instream flow (fish), a minimum of 70% water available during drought years (ag), and water needed to address the problem identified in the USGS report on the decline of instream flow and water levels due to ground water withdrawals.

Other members of the Work Group stated their concerns with the I.P. but wanted to move forward to the next step to develop a final plan and an environmental review.

One dissenting vote came from Jeff Thomas, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He said the plan contains too many uncertainties for improving migratory fish populations and would damage spotted owl habitat at Bumping Lake and sage grouse habitat in the Wymer footprint.
“The fish are still getting the scraps,” Thomas told the group.
He also questioned why the plan doesn’t deal with groundwater issues, which led to a moratorium on new wells in upper Kittitas County. The ban, imposed about the time the work group began meeting, was prompted by new domestic wells that are taking water belonging to irrigators and fish.

David Lester Yakima Herald-Republic Saturday, December 18, 2010

Renewable Resources: The development of pumped storage as an energy storage solution and its capacity designed to integrate variable renewable resources, wind generation, into the electric grid provides us an opportunity to improve the Black Rock project economies and improve the management of water that would improve both water storage and salmon restoration in the Yakima River Basin.

B.P.A. is reviewing the situation where federal hydropower and wind output exceeds load and transmission capabilities. A solution could include pumping water during extremely low or negative power prices by pumping water into a storage reservoir and then provide the ability to generate power at times when power prices are high.

YBSA is embarking on a new approach way beyond the DOE-BOR plan to acquire a large quantity of stored water lowering costs and getting resources to increase benefits to the Yakima Basin. The pumped storage project would provide water storage, salmon restoration, and an opportunity to assist in the integration of wind generation into the northwest grid.

A Columbia Basin Renewable Energy Integration and Storage Project would identify energy-related benefits from the project that have not been previously considered.

YBSA wishes you a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

See updated information that includes video of salmon spawning in the Yakima River Basin at www.ybsa.org