YBSA Monthly Report
June, 2007

Meeting with New Vision and Tri-Dec: Members of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance and Ted Strong met with members of Yakima County Development Association (New Vision) and Tri Cities Development Association (Tri-Dec) in Prosser to discuss the value Black Rock Reservoir is to the economy of the Yakima River Basin.

Planning a Seminar: YBSA would like to hold a seminar or two in the Tri-Cities to present the value power generation and recreation will have when Black Rock is operational. Black Rock, a water exchange project, has the potential to allow the existing water removed from the Yakima River to remain in the river for fish making the Yakima River one of the most productive salmon rivers in the lower 48 states.

Letter to BOR: A letter signed by the chair of Benton, Kittitas and Yakima Counties and Sid Morrison, chair of YBSA, was delivered to the BOR requesting the Storage Study team adhere to their timeline which is to complete the study by December 2008 and to ensure the study complies with Public Law 108-7 Section 214.

Yakima River Basin Water Resources Advisory Committee: Attended the Yakima River Basin Water Resources Advisory Committee where organizations presented their Detailed Implementation Plan. These plans are being developed to identify areas that can be expanded for additional fish habitat. Once the Boards of Commissioners approve the list of projects, funding could become available for some of the projects.

Columbia River Policy Advisory Group: The Columbia River Policy Advisory group met at the Department of Ecology office in Yakima. A presentation on the progress of the Potholes Feed Route Study was made. The Bureau is looking at two options for moving water to the south end of the Potholes project. One of them would be through Crab Creek and the second would be via the French Hills wasteway. These routes would not provide additional water nor would they irrigate additional lands. They are means of augmenting the existing route, the East Low Canal, which is maxed out in the spring.

The BOR then made a presentation on the Odessa Subarea Special Study. The purpose of the study is to explore means of replacing groundwater pumping in the study area (which is located within the Odessa Ground Water Management Subarea designated by Ecology) with more reliable surface water supply from the Columbia Basin Project.

Jim Trull explained the Sunnyside Irrigation District is committed to a set of conservation and water quality projects. He also noted the progress that has been made in irrigation methods and that 95% of the sediment returning to the Yakima River has been eliminated.

Executive Committee Getting Word Out About Black Rock: The Executive Committee met to discuss the methods that could be used to provide information to the greatest number of people on the value and benefits of Black Rock Reservoir. It was decided to produce a number of strategic articles about Black Rock over the next six months using email, website, newspaper, radio, and television to get the word out.

YBSA Monthly Report
May, 2007

Meeting with Gerry Kelso: Members of YBSA discussed with Gerry Kelso the hypothetical Simulations of potential impacts to the Hanford Site Unconfined Aquifer from Black Rock seepage prepared by V.L. Freedman Pacific Nothwest National Laboratory. The study consists of how 27,000 acre/feet of water will move on the Hanford Reservation. The BOR is planning to complete a study on possible seepage from Black Rock Reservoir in the near future. Access to the complete report can be found at www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/storagestudy.

Dedication: YBSA attended the dedication of the Yakama Nation’s Fish Research and Hatchery in Prosser. The facility was designed to monitor and track salmon returns to the Yakima River. The Yakama’s are also using the facility to reintroduce sturgeon to the river.

Advisory Committee Meeting: YBSA attended the Yakima River Basin Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to review detailed implementation plans for water conservation and fish enhancement projects. A list of recommended projects will be presented to the Yakima River Basin Water Resource Agency and the Boards of County Commissioners. The commissioners will hold public hearings and meet jointly to approve the projects.

Report on Global Warming Impacts: As reported by the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife News Bulletin – “A Report Exploring Global Warming Impacts on Columbia Basin”.

“Salmon habitat loss would be most severe in Oregon and Idaho with potential losses exceeding 40 percent by 2090,” according to “Climate Change Impacts on Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife,” a report released Monday by the Independent Scientific Advisory Board.

Mantua, of the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group, said climate change projections for the coming century show a “consistent picture of wet places getting wetter and dry places getting drier. Warmer temperatures will result in more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow. Snow pack will diminish, and stream flow timing will be altered.

The changed climate will bring a changed hydrology. Under natural, pre-dam conditions, peak flows in the Columbia at The Dalles were in early June; the lowest flows in October through April. A warmup would likely mean higher runoff from the available snowpack during late winter and early spring, and less water in the summer.

Some river basins, such as the Yakima, will be “more sensitive than the Columbia Basin as a whole” to that changing hydrology, Mantua said.

“Any action that can help minimize water temperatures increases or augment stream flow during summer and autumn would contribute to this end,” according to the report.

Some possible actions that could be taken on the mainstem to address climate change impacts include: flow augmentation from cool/cold water storage reservoirs; and open back water, slough, and other off-channel habitats along rivers and the estuary to encourage increased flow through these areas to help reduce water temperature and provide cool-water refugia.

Complete report can be found at http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/215708.aspx

Executive Committee Meeting: The executive committee met to discuss how YBSA could better explain the values of Black Rock to the general public. A publication explaining the value of five areas: fish enhancement, water resources (irrigation), municipal needs, power generation, and recreation needs to be developed. The publication would need to be distributed by media outlets to reach the greatest number of people.

The executive committee agreed to email a letter explaining the Black Rock project. The information was derived from the process the BOR used to evaluate the three alternatives included in the Storage Study.

Presentations/Meetings: An update of the Storage Study and the value of Black Rock Reservoir was presented to Yakima Business Network.

Rockey Met with the Harrah City Council and gave them an update.

YBSA Monthly Report
April, 2007

Fisheries Technical Work Group: The Storage Study Fisheries Technical Work Group objectives are to provide the opportunity and flexibility to improve fishery resource conditions throughout the mainstem Yakima and Naches Rivers. They include improve conditions in all seasons and water years not just dry years, closely mimic natural flow patterns, and support fishery enhancement under current conditions and embrace expanding floodplain and habitat improvements.

The output of the proposed approach is an estimate of additional instream flow water volume needed to achieve the objectives in each reach of the mainstem Yakima and Naches Rivers.

Executive Committee: YBSA Executive Committee met a number of times and discussed our workplan for 2007-2008. Our goal is to make a list of needed improvements to create a more normal flow of water in rivers within the Yakima Basin and with the help of the stakeholders identify the needs for fish, irrigation, and municipal growth. With the list of needed improvements, YBSA will develop and promote, along with the development of Black Rock Reservoir, an Environmental Restoration Program for the Yakima Basin

YBSA continues to be concerned about climate change and how it will affect the water resources in the Yakima Basin. The Bureau of Reclamation will do an analysis of its effects on the basins water supply. The BOR along with the University of Washington Climate Impact Group will set the climate change scenarios in a time frame around the 2040’s. YBSA is pleased with the process developed by the BOR.

Ted Strong will assist YBSA by developing a strategy to move forward with a list of needed improvement for instream flow and the environment in the Yakima Basin. Also with Ted’s assistance YBSA will contact interest groups, such as the Northwest Power Planning Council, so YBSA can present an update of the Storage Study.

The Executive Committee felt it was time to request a meeting with the fish and wildlife committee of the Yakama Nation.

YBSA will continue coordinating with the BOR as they develop the Study and to remind everyone the Black Rock Reservoir will allow between 600,000 and 800,000 acre/feet of water to remain in the Yakima River that can be managed for fish and wildlife, that at least 200,000 fish can return annually because more habitat will be available, and drought years will be eliminated with 70% minimum flow for proratable irrigation districts.

YBSA met with a representative of American Rivers and explained how the Black Rock project would make sufficient water available for a more normal flow in the Yakima and Naches Rivers, open up more habitat for fish, provide an opportunity to create passage over all existing reservoirs and increase the return of fish to the Yakima River Basin by at least 200,000.

Yakima Basin Watershed Plan: The Yakima Basin Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) met to develop and approve a Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) to implement recommendations found in the Yakima Basin Wastershed Plan. The DIP is to be completed and approved by WRAC, and presented to the Boards of County Commissioners who must hold public hearings which must be completed by the end of September before they can give final approval. The Department of Ecology grant provides $125,000 for the first year and with approval of the DIP, the same amount for years two and three. In years four and five, the amount is $62,000.

Film Documentary: Members of a Television Station from Denmark were here and filmed and interviewed Charlie de La Chapelle and Ted Strong at the Black Rock site, stopped and filmed a farming operation, and met and filmed members of the YBSA Board of Directors at the Prosser fish hatchery. A documentary will be developed for Denmark Television on the livelihood of Native Americans in the United States including the Yakama Nation and how Black Rock would help fulfill the Yakama’s needs for fish and irrigation.

Yakama Nation Contract with BOR: A contract between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Yakama Nation has been signed. An overview of the Yakama Nation’s project includes guidance and recommendation on Cultural Resources, Geology and Ground Water, Wildlife, Irrigation Impacts and to appoint a liaison to review day to day activities during the development of the Storage Study. The contract with the Yakama Nation begins in the fiscal year 2006 and ends in the fiscal year 2008.

Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study:

Roundtable Meeting 3 (Final Meeting)
Feasibility Analysis and NEPA/SEPA EIS

Roundtable Objectives

Purpose
Help ensure the completeness, effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability of the Storage Study.

Objectives
1. Review/revisit importance, values, measures of success in achieving Storage Study goals
2. Discuss role & treatment of primary & secondary benefits
3. Review alternatives being considered
4. Help refine criteria, tools & techniques for alternatives comparison
5. Comment of findings of alternatives comparison
6. Input to factors, methods & level of detail in upcoming analysis

Comparative Analysis of Alternatives relative to new water supply targets/goals are:
-No action includes the conservation identified in the Yakima River Basin water enhancement program approximately 160,000 acre/feet.
-Wymer storage only would be filled with Yakima River water.
-Black Rock is a water exchange project. Water from the Black Rock Reservoir would serve Roza and Sunnyside Irrigation Districts.

The key criteria used in the analysis are not less than 70% for irrigation in dry years (except SVID and Yakima-Tieton), instream flows agreed upon by Fisheries Technical Work Group and municipal needs of 82,000 acre/feet annually.

The Alternatives Comparative Analysis shows that the Black Rock Project is the only alternative that meets the identified water needs for municipal future water needs (2050) and irrigation not less than 70% for proratables. Instream flow for fish meets or exceeds flow/volume water targets in the spring, summer and winter during average, wet and dry years when Black Rock is operational. Wymer has very little flexibility when managing water for all uses in the Yakima Basin.

Roundtable Wrap Up: The wrap up of the final roundtable meeting with stakeholders produced comments and questions.

Phil Rigdon – We need more water, better timing of flows, better fish passage, more habitat, etc. Money for Black Rock could impact funding for other projects.

Commissioner Bowen – We need to follow Federal Legislation, more water for stream flow and fish, more stream flow helps with ground water recharge and meet the 70% goal for irrigation.

Urban Eberhart – The YARWEP was an interim step to get to storage. Multiple drought years will eliminate agriculture in Kittitas County.

Sid Morrision – Errors in water needs should be on the side of excess. Escess water in Black Rock can provide more power production.

Ron Van Gundy – The big project would solve the water problem and provide the benefit we need. If the big project can’t be built we need to continue with small projects.

John Eastbrook – Dept. of Fisheries is very concerned about climate change. Status quo could not be met in the future. Black Rock does more for instream flow to meet all targets than others.

Derek Sandison – DOE has approved a block of water for Black Rock in 2004. 8 million has been appropriated by the State of Washington to match the Feds for the Storage Study.

Sid Morrision – Operating costs, power generation and wind integration should be part of the answer.

Michael Garity – Benefits of aquifer and ground water storage needs to be evaluated.

Jim Milton – The Yakima River Basin Watershed Plan includes the benefits of storage.

Sid Morrision – Water improvements using Black Rock Reservoir will help meet the Yakama Nation Treaty Rights.

Kim McCartney – Seepage and ground water modeling is continuing and information will be available by June 2007. Additional work is being done on the proposed Wymer project. Drilling has been done at the dam site and pumping plant site to determine the feasibility of the Wymer facility. Review of the old information about Wymer is being updated and will include the possibility of a maximum flood in the Wymer basin

On May 3, 2007 an open house and lunch will be provided at the Prosser Fish Hatchery. Everyone is welcome.

YBSA Monthly Report
March, 2007

BOR Stakeholders Roundtable: YBSA attended the stakeholders roundtable, hosted by the Bureau of Reclamation, to discuss the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study/Feasibility Analysis and NEPA/SEPA EIS. The opening statement at the Roundtable was, “We will follow the Legislation and will look at alternatives based on meeting the goals of the Study”.

Chairman Morrison reminded the members of the stakeholder roundtable that the Study has 3 goals. The goals are water for fish, agriculture, and municipal use.

Discussion was held about the amount of water needed for irrigation (70% is the goal in the study). Comments included: “we don’t want to set a goal larger than we need and we don’t need to use 70% for nonproratable districts”. The large majority of stakeholders present felt the need for a firm water supply as stated in the original goal. The (they felt) would eliminate worry about water shortages in multiple drought years. Yakima County will not adopt a mediocre plan and will not accept anything but the optimum. Kittitas County needs 70% minimum and needs to do what has to be done and not look at just the money. The Black Rock Project will benefit all the people.

Benton County indicated a need to move toward a more normative river, continue to demand no less than 70% of the entitlement during a water short year, and enough water for municipal and industrial growth for the next 100 years.

American Rivers indicated the need to look at nonproductive land, non-structural, and non-storage. They felt that there may not be a need for normative flows in the river.

Numerous stakeholders said, “Don’t talk about how much, how firm, and how flexible but on what we can do with a large amount of water.” They expressed the need to consider how climate change will affect the Yakima Basin.

The Yakama Nation needs water for fish and agriculture, but water isn’t the only item needed for Salmon Recovery. More habitat, fish passage and continued funding for a fish enhancement project (not just to build a reservoir) are also needed.

The Wymer project could provide some benefit for fish and some small opportunities that do not require a large amount of water. Wymer could provide a better supply during normal years.

Items that need to be considered are: The study needs to consider climate change and how to deal with power generation, recreation, and economic development. The cost analysis will be done at the end of the study.

Joe Hubble will host a technical working group meeting on March 19 to evaluate how much water is needed for instream flow.

Sid Morrison and Jeff Tayer suggested the group start 800 a/f in reviewing the need for each reach.

March 29 has been set by the Bureau of Reclamation for the 2nd stakeholder roundtable.

County of Governments: YBSA presented a program at the Yakima County Conference of Governments meeting. The COG membership includes all the cities in Yakima County. The program consisted of how the storage study is progressing, why YBSA believes Black Rock is the best and the only solution that will provide the water needed in the Yakima Basin for the next 100 years, and how the additional water will benefit the economy and people of the Yakima Basin and beyond.

We also distributed YBSA’s Critique of the BOR Storage Study and a packet explaining YBSA’s need to keep the Black Rock Project moving forward.

Instream Flow Technical Work Group: Jeff Tayer and Sid Morrison suggested the technical work group start with 800 a/f of water which would be available with Black Rock operational when reviewing the needed water for each reach.

March 19 the BOR convened a Storage Study Technical Working Group to discuss the purpose for and intended use of instream flow targets and what method to use to compare the alternatives (Black Rock and Wymer) for fish. The discussion revolved around the amount of water needed in the five reaches: Easton, Cle Elum, Upper Yakima, Lower Naches, and Wapato. The Prosser at Tieton reachs were added to the list. The review is to be completed for the 7 regions for three seasons: winter, spring, and summer.

Concern was expressed about how the model was used and that more review of the models is needed. Other comments included using a more normative flow terminology instead of unregulated flows, and do not fail to consider potential for habitat restoration by opening up additional floodplain, link water volume/flow goals to specific conditions, look at fish passage over existing reservoirs, and remember to consider climate change. In order to choose the best alternative, knowledge of the needs of each reach and the things that can be done without adding more infrastructure are necessary.

The amount of water needed includes the needs for fish, agriculture, and municipal uses. The group was reminded that this is a storage study and the BOR has to provide answers to the storage alternatives.

Meeting with Roza Irrigators: Members of YBSA met twice with the irrigation community. The Irrigators are concerned about water rights, cost of project and distribution of costs. Dave Wykoff reminded the Roza Board they need to take climate change very seriously when looking at future water needs. Roza irrigators asked YBSA for some help developing their scoping comments for the Bureau.

Joint Board Meeting: At the Joint Board meeting Charlie and Tom provided language YBSA felt needed to be transmitted to the BOR. Language such as, the storage study as envisioned by Congress, must be completed on schedule, the study needs to provide 70% of water for proratable acreage, needs to meet the goals for both fish production and municipal needs for the next 100 years. The projections of the Washington State Climatologist must be considered as part of these long range requirements. From the Storage Study will come many of the answers we seek about water rights, benefits, and how costs will be shared among a wide array of beneficiaries.

State Migrant Council: Jaime Avalos from Granger, Vice Chairman of the Washington State Migrant Council, invited Tom Carpenter to a meeting in Sunnyside to talk about Black Rock. Tom explained how Black Rock will benefit the Yakima Basin. The members of the Migrant Council voted to continue their support of the Black Rock Project. Jaime has helped YBSA set up and man the fair booth for a number of years and assisted with other projects. Thanks Jaime.

Letters of Thank You: YBSA Board sent letters to all our contributors thanking them for their support and contributions. We couldn’t have reached this point in the Storage Study without their continued support.

Contact with Realtors: A draft letter supporting Black Rock was given to the Yakima Realtors with a request they distribute to other Realtor organizations and other groups.

Stakeholder Roundtable: The 2nd stakeholder roundtable is scheduled for March 29. Activities and discussion at that meeting will be distributed as soon as possible in April

Web Site Update: Met with Joe Schmitt, Ousel Internet Development, Inc., who manages YBSA’s web site and developed a procedure to keep our site current. Look for the new updated web pages at www.ybsa.org.

YBSA Monthly Report
January, 2007

Press Conference: On January 3, 2007 at a press conference, Sid Morrison presented an overview of the Recreation and Energy Studies. The purpose was to inform the public that the value of recreation and energy exceeded the Bureau of Reclamation figures posted in the benefit portion of the Storage Studies cost/benefit ratio. He also invited everyone to a briefing by the two consultants that performed the studies at 2:00 pm, January 8 in the Yakima Convention Center. The briefing included a report on fish and wildlife in the Yakim River and the Black Rock Reservoir presented by Ted Strong.

Recreation and Energy Studies: John Nelson and Larry Felton presented their findings from the Recreation and Economic Development and the Energy Studies. The presentation was made at a public briefing held at the Yakima Convention Center The reports included information that was not included in the Bureau of Reclamation Storage Study. The Recreation Study showed a $2.8 billion increase and the Energy Study a $240 million increase over the BOR calculations. A large crowd attended the briefing, asked questions, and commented on the project.

Critique at Scoping Meeting: YBSA presented a critique to the Bureau of Reclamation at their scoping meeting. The critique included information no in the Storage Study on recreation, power generation, construction/jobs, fishery use/fishery nonuse, and irrigated agriculture which resulted in an increase of more than $6 billion in the benefit category of the cost/benefit ratio. If anyone would like a copy of the critique send your request to klarichcj@charter.net.

Process to complete Storage Study: Discussions were held with Jerry Kelso (BOR) and Derek Sandison (DOE) about the process to be followed in the next 2 years to complete the Storage Study, which would lead to a “record of decision”. The BOR’s notice of intent to prepare a combined NEPA and SEPA report was published in the Federal Register. A scoping process is being conducted to prepare the environmental document for the public to comment on.

Executive Committee Meetings: The YBSA Executive Committee held meetings to discuss our response to the BOR Storage Study at the scoping meeting, and distribution of the information we compiled on the value of the Black Rock Project. YBSA is going to provide additional communication to the public emphasizing the value of the Black Rock Project. We need to continue fundraising to move forward and push for a positive conclusion of the Black Rock Project.

Presentations: Presentations were made to the Sunnyside Rotary, the POM Club, and the Roza/Sunnyside Joint Board.

Sid Morrison participated in the dedication of the Hanford Reach Interpretative Center in the Tri-Cities.

YBSA Monthly Report
December, 2006

Meeting with BOR: YBSA met with the BOR to review and comment on the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study Plan Formulation Phase. BOR and DOE will decide how to proceed with the Storage Study based on comments made at the meetings. The following concerns were expressed by YBSA.

Feasibility Study Stakeholder Meetings December 2006: The Plan Formulation Report does not present the Black Rock alternative in its best light. This is true in terms of meeting study objectives, operational assumptions/criteria, costs and benefits.

Study Assumptions and criteria do not show the true potential of Black Rock for hydrologic/fisheries benefits. The way that the study is set up, Black Rock is essentially a victim of “lowest common denominator” constrained by the limitations (minimum flow criteria) of the Wymer+ alternative.

With its far larger storage, Black Rock could provide more improvements to instream flow than shown in the current analysis. Black Rock takes no water from the Yakima River system: it offers the opportunity to add water to improve fishery conditions.

Black Rock could also provide significant benefits in meeting objectives for lowering stream temperature.

Members of the Alliance indicated that they believed habitat restoration should be looked at and the Black Rock project offers far greater opportunity for such restoration than any other alternative.

Has the influence of projected climate change been considered in the needs and operations analysis? If not, will this factor be included in the next phase of study? [Reclamation responded that climate change has not been factored in at this point, but would be considered in the Feasibility Study analysis].

Black Rock cost assumptions can be improved: additional information will be made available by the YBSA.

The “lost hydropower” cost shown in Reclamation’s analysis is questionable. The Alliance is exploring potential for Black Rock to be operated for pump storage power benefits as well as meeting Storage Study goals. These benefits could more than offset the lost hydropower cost.

It is also relevant that regional economic benefits are not part of this federal-level analysis; these benefits could significantly change the benefit/cost picture for Black Rock. [Reclamation confirmed that regional economic benefits will be considered during the Feasibility Study].

In the next round of analysis, Black Rock needs to be studied from the perspective of exploring the maximum potential of each to achieve Study goals.

Meeting with Northwest Power and Conservation Council: YBSA presented information on the progress of the Black Rock Study to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in Portland. A PowerPoint presentation “Someone to Carry Water” by Ted and Theo Strong explained Black Rock would enable the Yakima River to flow more freely and normally and create a hydrologic connection between the river and the flood plains. Anadromous fish are the biggest beneficiary of Black Rock and its ability to support a goal of unregulated flow in the Yakima River providing wetland storation, floodplain connectivity to the river, and habitat complexity.

Water Exchange Project: Black Rock is a water exchange project where each bucket of water taken from the Columbia River will be returned to the Columbia with fish. The project will also provide power generation and recreation without any reduction in water quantity.

Attended the Columbia River Enhancement Program: Department of Ecology is the lead agency and is developing guidelines for conservation projects which would meet the requirement set by the Washington State Legislature.

Meetings to Present Information: YBSA Executive Committee has held a number of meetings to decide how to present the information the Power and Recreation Studies will provide on the value the Black Rock Project will have on the Yakima River Basin and the State’s economy.

Meeting with Kennewick Irrigation District: A project update was presented to the Kennewick Irrigation District’s Board of Directors. Discussions of the value of the Kennewick Pumping Project and the Black Rock Project will have on the Yakima Basin and fish passage.

YBSA Monthly Report
November, 2006

The Planned Formulation Phase of the Yakima Basin Storage Study: Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) promised YBSA that the report on the Preferred Alternatives of the Yakima Basin Storage Study would be available November 14. Once again BOR is late and the report still is not available at the end of November. Every deadline the BOR has set since the start of the study has been late and the cost of the study continues to escalate. YBSA continues to try to put together a work plan for the next two years, but the delayed Preferred Alternatives report makes it difficult to complete our planning process. The BOR has stated the Yakima Basin Storage Study (Black Rock) feasibility report and Environmental Review will be completed by December, 2008. Washington State Department of Ecology has assured YBSA that they believe the BOR will meet the completion date.

YBSA Board Meeting: The YBSA Board of Directors met to plan the 2007 budget and work plan. Concerns were raised about the State’s Columbia River Initiatives, how it will affect the completion of the Black Rock Study and the Black Rock Project. Without the completed preferred alternative report planning has been postponed until December.

Meeting with Department of Energy: Members of YBSA scheduled a meeting with the Department of Energy Director Jay Manning and Derek Sandison our Regional Director. Jay couldn’t attend the meeting but called from somewhere in the Columbia Basin. YBSA expressed our concerns about all the publicity for the Columbia Basin Project being in the forefront with what appears to be little support for Black Rock. Also, our concerns that Black Rock could be delayed for years while we wait for even more studies of other alternatives. The Yakima Basin is in need of additional storage to meet the needs of fish, cool clean water, municipal growth, and agriculture and Black Rock will provide those benefits. Director Manning assured us the State is continuing its support for completion of the Yakima Basin Storage Study (Black Rock) and will continue to push the BOR to meet its stated completion date of December, 2008

Meeting with Port of Sunnyside: YBSA met at the Port of Sunnyside with our consulting firm doing the Recreation and Economic Study of property around Black Rock Reservoir. We discussed the importance of recreation and development showing both short and long term values.

Contributions to YBSA: Port of Sunnyside, Benton County and Yakima County each have contributed $25,000 to the study. Phase one of the report will be available by December 11 and the completed study by the end of December.

Energy Nothwest’s Report: The first draft of Energy Northwest’s Review of Black Rock Power Costs and Benefits is available and the final report is due shortly.

Other Meetings: Meeting with and reports were given to the Port of Benton, City of Yakima Economic Development Committee, Kennewick Irrigation District, Sunnyside Rotary (See Attachment), and a request for funding to the Yakima City Council was presented by Sid Morrision.

THE BOR JUST INFORMED YBSA THAT THEIR MEETING WITH YBSA TO REVIEW THE REPORT ON THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE WILL BE DECEMBER 7 AT 2:00 PM AT THE BOR OFFICE.

THE BOR HAS DELIVERED COPIES OF THE STUDY DEFINING THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES WEDNESDAY EVENING AND WILL BE SENDING OUT A PRESS RELEASE THURSDAY MORNING ANNOUNCING THE REPORT.

YBSA Monthly Report
October, 2006

Recreation and Energy Study: The Recreation and Economic Development Analysis of lands around the proposed Black Rock Reservoir is progressing. A concept plan and a market/financial/economic analysis will be ready to be submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) in November. The Analysis is very important to show the additional value Black Rock will be to the Yakima Basin. A special thank you goes out to the Port of Sunnyside and Amber Hansen for their leadership in development of the study.
Also a power and energy study is being performed by Energy Northwest to identify the increasing range of power generation options. The availability of power generation from Black Rock Reservoir provides another valuable asset and could offset the pumping costs. YBSA is seeking additional funding to pay for these important studies.

BOR Meeting: YBSA met with the BOR and were informed by Gerry Kelso, regional director of the Yakima office, that the geology is sound and a safe dam can be constructed at the site. YBSA will meet with the BOR on November 14 for a report which will identify the preferred alternatives to be carried forward for the Feasibility Study and the Environmental Review.

Tri-Cities Meeting: Members of the YBSA Board from the Yakima area met with our board members from the Tri-Cities. Sid and Charlie provided a recap of the Black Rock Study, the State of Washington’s Columbia River Storage proposal, and the Roundtable on Salmon Restoration. Bob discussed a proposed meeting with Tri-Dec and New Vision to review the value Black Rock is to the Yakima Basin. It was also pointed out that the BOR guidelines to build a project have not been met since President Carter’s administration, but many projects have been completed. Thanks Marty for organizing the meeting.

Planned Meeting: Meetings have been arranged with Jay Manning, Director of DOE; the Kennewick Irrigation District; and the Bureau of Reclamation. Requests have been made to American Rivers, the State Environmental Council and others to discuss the development of a package that will provide the best use of the additional water that will be available in the Yakima Basin when Black Rock Reservoir is operational.

The Value of Black Rock: YBSA met with the new director of the Department of the Interior Dirk Hinthorne. We were able to provide him with information on the Development of the Black Rock Study and how important Black Rock will be to the environment, fish and economic value of the Yakima Basin, the Columbia River, and the Pacific Northwest.
Black Rock Reservoir is a multi-use, multi-benefit package. The benefits go beyond water for fish, instream flow, and the environment. The economic future of the Yakima Basin depends on additional water and Black Rock will help provide that water.
YBSA is expanding our goals to include other interests and to work with other groups to get the job done. We need a united effort to complete the Black Rock Project.

YBSA Monthly Report
September, 2006

Executive Committee: The executive committee met and discussed the successful Roundtable for Salmon Restoration, holding another Roundtable on Engineering and Conservation issues in the Tri-Cities, and the material and operation of the YBSA booth at the Central Washington State Fair.

Recreation Study and Questionnaire: The Recreation Study is progressing nicely and the consultant provided us with a collage of pictures of recreation activities around a map of Black Rock Reservoir for the Fair. A questionnaire is being completed by fairgoers to show the need for water type recreation development in the Yakima Basin.

Fair Information: Information available at the Fair include Black Rock Project Overview; Project Details and Other Items of Interest in Black Rock’s size, structure, and purpose; Benefits of the project; and a petition requesting the Bureau of Reclamation continue and expedite the completion of the Storage Study for the Yakima Basin

9/21/06
YBSA meeting with BOR office in Yakima
Sid, Charlie, Jerry, Kim and Norbert

The BOR is investigating Wymer at the request of fisheries interests, Department of Ecology and Irrigation districts. They think that in average years 90k could be stored there after being released from the upper reservoirs. That water would then be available in peak summer months to be released in summer for irrigation supplies. They are also investigating a pump back solution from the mouth of the Yakima at the Columbia River back up to the Roza and SVID near Konnowac Pass; they estimate 600 cfs additional irrigation in the dry years, 1200 cfs in the wet ones

Sid informed the Bureau that our recreational study is proceeding with a questionnaire which will be used in the fair booth this year. And that we have initiated a study of the energy storage feasibility concept and that Energy North West will document this and we would like to have it included in their report

They said they received a letter from the irrigation districts which requested no alternative be removed just because it did not satisfy all the criteria as required in the Federal Legislation authorizing the study. Jerry said the Secretary has instructed the BOR not to investigate those projects that do not yield a positive cost benefit ratio.

Jerry confirmed that no irrigation project had made it through P&G’s Cost/Benefit Ratio since the Carter years, even though many had been built. The difference was that those that were built garnered enough local support to pass Congress. He also said that municipal projects did not have to go through a cost benefit analysis.

Jerry said that the Kennewick pump exchange report is progressing and will be out soon. The benefit to fish will be difficult to assess and that they will have some EDT model numbers out for it in February. Fish benefits will be justified with text.

We discussed the WSJ article from the front page of the Tuesday edition which featured the lack of success in recovering Salmon in the Columbia even though $9 Billion has been spent. Obviously there are national concerns over the ineffective expenditures to recover Salmon. We also discussed the USGS ground water report that was reported in the Yakima Herald on Monday that stated that the ground water use had grown considerably to approximately 400,000 ac-ft. Jerry speculated that ground water adjudication was going to happen to the Yakima Basin soon. Charlie thought Black Rock will go much further to alleviate this problem that any other solution, and the withdrawal of ground water is a measure of how much in deficit our surface water supplies are.

YBSA Monthly Report
August, 2006

The Roundtable on Salmon Restoration: The Roundtable on Salmon Restoration was a huge success thanks to Ted Strong. Phil Rigdon explained the need for a package of improvements to the Yakima Basin which would provide benefits to all resources instream and out. Those improvements included passage to those areas above existing storage reservoirs, more and better access to tributaries of the Yakima and Naches Rivers, and better access to side channels and the flood plain. The improvements along with increased flows in the Yakima River are necessary to benefit anadromos fish. Also, any new storage should include a specific allocation of water for fish management. Others emphasized Yakima Basin need to join together, meet and talk to each other and include all interested parties in those discussions.

Each year the snow pack has receded and will continue to over the next few decades according to the Climate Impacts Group of the University of Washington. The Yakima Basin will continue to have moisture mostly from rain. With more rain and less snowfall less water will be available from snow pack in the Cascades.

Other topics addressed included state water and salmon policy, employment opportunities in habitat restoration, endangered species, conservation, impacts on farming, ecosystem planning and the ecological health of the Yakima River.

The success of the Umatilla Project, which is a water exchange program between the Columbia and Umatilla River, was presented. When one bucket of water is taken from the Columbia River for out of stream use one bucket is returned to the Columbia from the Umatilla River. For nearly seventy years salmon were not present in the Umatilla River and now enough salmon have returned to provide fishing for both Indian and non-Indian fishers.

It was also suggested YBSA share our program beyond the Yakima Basin. The Black Rock Reservoir and other improvements could be used as a model for others.

Both Y-PAC TV and TVW recorded the conference. Y-PAC has shown the program numerous times and TVW’s program has been seen throughout the State of Washington on cable TV. The TV coverage created an awareness of how salmon recovery could occur in the Yakima Basin.

YBSA signed a contract with the Mitchell Nelson Group, LLC to perform a study on recreation and economic development analysis of lands around the proposed Black Rock Reservoir. The study will be completed in three phases: phase one, concept plan to be completed by September 15, 2006; phase two, market/financial/economic analyses to be completed by October 30, 2006; and phase three, master plan to be completed by December 30, 2006. The study is needed to show the benefits that could be derived from a body of water that was located at the Black Rock site. Information from the YBSA’s recreation study will be included in the Recreation Demand and User Preference Analysis being prepared by the BOR. The Recreation Demand and User Preference Analysis will be part of the Black Rock Study and used to develop the cost/benefit ratio of Black Rock.

Special thanks to the Port of Sunnyside for assisting in the financing, preparing the request for proposal, and organizing and hosting the meeting to interview and choose the consulting firm.

Information is also being gathered on the value of Black Rock as a power storage battery. The program would be to pump water from Priest Rapids to the Black Rock site. This would occur when there is an excess of electrical power. Water would be returned to the Columbia River to generate electricity when there is a shortage and need for additional electricity.

YBSA met with the BOR on August 7 for a report on the additional drilling that was completed around the Black Rock Dam site. The results showed there is not an unstable site for a dam. Construction of a dam at the site is OK and there should be no seepage along the abutment. Additional information on seepage will be provided by the Pacific Northwest Lab at Hanford. BOR also stated that Black Rock could provide 800,000 acre/feet for stream flow and Wymer would only hold 175,000 acre/feet.

YBSA organized a meeting with our consulting firm Mitchell Nelson Group, LLC and the firm the Bureau of Reclamation has employed to do the Recreation Demand and User Preference Analysis for the Black Rock study. The analysis being done by Mitchell Nelson will go beyond the survey done by the BOR and include the economic value and a conceptual development plan of potential development around the proposed Black Rock Reservoir. The BOR report will have gathered existing information from five rivers and seven reservoirs in the Yakima Basin and include it in the recreation report which should be completed by the end of September.

YBSA Executive and Finance Committees met and discussed the operation of the Central Washington Fair Booth. Volunteers will be needed in the booth to answer questions on the progress of the Black Rock Study.

YBSA has DVDs which were produced by Y-PAC of the Roundtable on Salmon Restoration. Please call 509-854-1941 or email klarichcj@charter.net if you’re interested in borrowing the DVDs.

Below is a link to some videos of the Roundtable on Salmon Recovery.
http://www.tvw.org/search/siteSearch.cfm?keywords=Yakima%20Basin%20Storage