News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The switchyards that direct the power from Grand Coulee Dam have been owned by that Bureau of Reclamation project since it was all built, but that just changed. On Tuesday, the Reclamation formally handed over ownership of those assets to the Bonneville Power Administration at a signing ceremony in front of the dam, much of which was used to recognize those in each agency who worked to make it happen, many of them for years. Grand Coulee Power Manager Coleman Smith said he has been working on th...
In 1992, a single male sockeye salmon managed to swim 900 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River to Redfish Lake located deep in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains — the end of his migratory journey. Biologists dubbed the sole survivor, “Lonesome Larry.” By 2010, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council happily reported record-setting runs for sockeye —387,000 had climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam. Last year, 751 sockeye were trapped at Redfish Lake Creek and taken to nearby Sawtooth...
The Biden-Harris administration last week announced a historic agreement to support tribally led efforts to restore salmon populations in the Upper Columbia River Basin. The agreement between the United States, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians will fund efforts to test the feasibility of, and ultimately to reintroduce salmon in blocked habitats in the Upper Basin. The pact includes $200 million over 20 years from the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal p...
The Bonneville Power Administration is in negotiations to take over three switchyards in the Grand Coulee area. “The Bonneville Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation are negotiating the transfer of ownership, operations and maintenance of three Grand Coulee switchyards and the associated switch gear from Reclamation to BPA,” reads a joint statement from the two agencies in response to a Star inquiry. “The agencies have drafted multiple Memoranda of Understanding that will facilitate the transfer,” the statement continues. “It is im...
If you want a glimpse of parched river bottoms behind “would be breached” lower Snake River dams, look at recent photos of European rivers and lakes. On parts of picturesque Rhine River there is often more dry land than flowing water. Europe is in the clutches of another drought — the second since 2018. It is so severe that countries across the continent are imposing water restrictions. There are massive fish kills and desiccated croplands. Shipping is endangered on the Rhine and the Danub...
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray have their priorities backward when it comes to rebuilding Snake River salmon and steelhead runs. Instead of focusing on ripping out dams with fish passages and navigation locks, they should find ways to reopen traditional spawning areas upriver that are blocked by dams without fish ladders. Breaching Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams is costly and counterproductive. Over the last 30 years, northwest electric ratepayers paid $7.6 billion to the Bonneville Power...
Major work on hydroelectric generating units has been completed on "one of the most coveted clean energy assets in the world" at the Grand Coulee Dam. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, along with the Bonneville Power Administration, announced Monday that "the major overhaul of hydroelectric power generating units 22, 23 and 24" inside the third power plant, now known as the Nathaniel "Nat" Washington Power Plant, at the Grand Coulee Dam, had been completed. USBR Public Affairs Specialist Erika A....
How about some good news coming out of our record-breaking (extreme) heat wave? Luckily, we live and work in the Pacific Northwest, and are reaping the benefits from our well-connected power grid, which is supplied with abundant electricity. So far, only smaller sporadic power outages are attributed to the hot temperatures. From Seattle to Western Montana, blazing temperatures registering above 110 degrees gripped the region and even shut down the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene on June 27. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) an...
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson’s $33 billion plan to remove the lower Snake River dams is unwise. However, if he pushes it, he needs to include the impact of breaching dams in his home state, which completely shuts off salmon and steelhead migration. Simpson, a Republican representing eastern Idaho, announced he wants to rupture the four lower Snake River dams — Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite — all in southeast Washington. Those impoundments have fish passage systems to allow adult anadromous fish to conti...
Don Brunell’s recent article titled “Dams are the Northwest’s Flood Busters” (Star, Jan. 21, 2020) relies on fearmongering, rather than facts, to make his point. Brunell takes a circuitous route through disasters in the Midwest, conjuring up images of flooded farms and billions of dollars in losses, before getting to his real point: his belief that restoring the Snake River to improve salmon and steelhead runs isn’t worth the untold natural disasters that would impact all of us living and recreating in its flood plain. Here’s the problem: th...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation Tuesday to provide the Spokane Tribe of Indians compensation for the lands taken by the United States as part of the Grand Coulee Dam development project in the 1930s and 1940s. Having previously passed through the Senate, the bill now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law. The bill was introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R, WA-05) “The Spokane Tribe...
There are dams that should come down and those that shouldn’t. Hopefully, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts its review of the 14 federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, that will become abundantly clear. That review is expected to be ready for public comment in late 2020. Here is the difference. Demolishing the two dams on the Elwha River west of Port Angeles was a good thing. They were built in the early 1900s to bring electricity to the Olympic Peninsula at a time when s...
High voltage power lines cross North Dam Park and a section of the Colorama carnival, as seen from a helicopter Saturday. The placement of one of the taller rides offered by the carnival became an issue on Thursday that nearly shut down the whole carnival when Bonneville Power Administration officials flew in to object to the carnival operating within its right of way. Chamber leaders negotiated for some time before BPA allowed the rest of the carnival to continue after taking down one ride....
What is your obligation or commitment to your community? Another Colorama weekend is done and this was a particularly challenging one for those of us at the Chamber of Commerce. In 1994, 38 years into the 63-year history of Colorama, the carnival moved from Coulee Dam onto “carnival flats” in North Dam Park, and the vendor and food fair moved into the picnic area in the same park. Permits to use this land are secured each year from the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and, in recent years, from the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District (CA... Full story
Privatizing BPA nixed Washington state members of the U.S. House of Representatives applauded the Trump Administration’s decision last week to abandon a plan to sell the Bonneville Power Administration’s assets. The Department of Energy’s announcement came after the Washington congressional delegation urged the administration not to privatize BPA. Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) and Dave Reichert (WA-08) issued a joint statement following Energy’s announcement. “On behalf of...
For months, my Pacific Northwest congressional colleagues and I have been raising our voices and working on legislation to prevent increasing forced spill at the lower Snake and Columbia River dams from raising electricity rates in our region by $40 million. That forced spill order, the result of a ruling of a single federal judge in Portland, took effect at the beginning of April. Last week, our work resulted in passing bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3144, introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, myself, and members of Congress from the...
By now most of us have read that plastic, that incredibly useful product that all of us use every day, is fast becoming public enemy number one. We have been using plastics for decades, and as a result, plastic is everywhere: in our fish, in our food, in our oceans, in our waste water treatment systems, and in our public spaces. We use plastics in every part of our lives, from single-use plastics, such as bags, bottles, and straws, to our babies’ toys to our nylon clothes to our paint. Plastic particles and plastic microbeads are used in our s...
Patricia Sterley was born to Bruce and Joan Sterley in Coulee Dam, Washington, March 10, 1949. Pat was the type of person who left an indelible impression on everyone she met; numerous people commented that "there was something very special about that woman." That character quality never left her, but rather seemed to intensify. Pat had an excellent sense of humor and a hearty taste for chocolate, and she was a skilled card player, a really great cook, and a super mom, teacher and mentor. She... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 2/10 - Dispatch reported to police that there was an intoxicated man passed out with a bottle of Fireball on the steps of a residence on Van Tyne Avenue. When police arrived, the man was up and staggering and had a laceration on his forehead. He refused an offer of treatment and requested a ride to the casino, where he could catch transit to Nespelem. - A Moses Lake woman told police that there was a juvenile duct taped to a pole at the Tropical Pig location in Electric City. Police checked on the report but couldn’t find an... Full story
May 28 is now officially Woody Guthrie Day in the state of Washington, and a large celebration of the musician and his works will take place at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center on that date. The event will include performances from 12 different artists, as well as discussions from experts, including author Greg Vandy, who wrote the book “26 Songs in 30 Days” about Guthrie’s legendary place in Americana culture and Grand Coulee Dam history. The event will also include screenings of films, including the stolen film “The Columbia,” a film by E... Full story
by Scott Hunter The towns of Wilbur and Creston, and every place in between, lost electric power service for a dozen hours Saturday night. A wildfire six miles west of Spokane, near Coulee-Hite Road, reportedly affected BPA electrical towers on the Grand Coulee-Bell transmission corridor. Driving across the plains from Spokane was eerie, with no lights on at farms or at the rest area on SR-2 at just after 9 p.m. Creston and Wilbur were also dark, with only vehicle lights and solar-powered garden pathway lights providing any illumination.... Full story
Mary Elizabeth Rhodes Gallinger, passed away peacefully on Monday, Nov. 10, 2014, at Buena Vista Nursing home in Colville, Wash., at the age of 91. She was born on Jan. 12, 1923, to Louis and Edna Garton Rhodes, in Coulee City, Wash. She graduated from Coulee City High School and attended Business School in Everett, Wash. On her return to Coulee City area she went to work at Grand Coulee Dam as one of the first female timekeepers. Mary met Bill Gallinger, while working at the Dam, and they were... Full story
Even the eighth wonder of the world needs rejuvenation sometime. Trouble is, no spa will accept a 3,000-ton turbine. That's why one of the three largest hydroelectric units in the world has been sitting in pieces on the concrete floor inside the largest dam in the nation, like a giant jigsaw puzzle that can only be solved with a 2,000-ton crane. The mammoth water wheel, called G-24, rarely rested in its productive 33-year work life at Grand Coulee Dam in northeastern Washington, apart from... Full story
Coulee Area Park and Recreation District Commissioner Bob Valen asks a tree cutting crew about their plans at North Dam Park Wednesday, where the crew, under contract to the Bonneville Power Administration, was set to cut all the trees in the lower, undeveloped area of the park. The park district managing the area wasn't notified and was including some of the trees in its master plan. Under a 2011 policy change, BPA now directs cutting of all growth higher than 10 feet in its powerline... Full story
The federal corporation that sells the town of Coulee Dam its electricity underbilled the town in the past and now wants the municipal utlity to pay up. Coulee Dam’s town council approved a plan Wednesday to pay Bonneville Power Administration for “undercharging” for electric power over the past few years. Mayor Greg Wilder asked the council for its agreement for him to sign off on paying the BPA back some $47,000 for undercharging since 2012 for providing electricity to the town. He said that the two parties had agreed to pay the amount off i... Full story