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Consider Yakima County’s needs before relicensing dam, official urges

Associated Press

MOSES LAKE – A Yakima County official is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider the needs of his county before issuing a new operating license for Priest Rapids Dam to the Grant County Public Utility District.

For 50 years, the Grant County PUD has operated the dam on the Columbia River, which at that location forms the border between Yakima and Grant counties. The utility filed a request for a new 50-year license in October 2003, as part of the relicensing process for its Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams.

Having half the dam and its reservoir in Yakima County has not generated benefits for the county, and to allow the inequity to continue for another 50 years would be wrong and unjustified, Yakima County Commissioner Jesse S. Palacios wrote in a May 26 letter to FERC.

“I am asking that you not approve the re-license of Priest Rapids Dam until Grant County PUD and Yakima County meet and arrive at a reasonable agreement,” Palacios wrote.

Everyone benefits from enhanced recreational opportunities in the 60-mile reach of the project, including residents of Yakima County, said PUD spokeswoman Linda Jones.

And Portland-based PacifiCorp provides low-cost power to Yakima County as one of 12 power purchasers served by the dam, Jones said.

Palacios contends rates paid by Yakima County residents are comparable to those paid in King County, not neighboring Grant County. A spokeswoman at the state Utility and Transportation Commission said the average monthly charge for PacifiCorps customers was $46.27, compared to $62.80 for Puget Sound Energy’s 1 million customers in Western Washington. Many homes west of the Cascades are served by self-regulating PUDs and municipal utilities such as Seattle City Light.

Also, Palacio said, the lands surrounding Priest Rapids Dam in Yakima County are federal, used by the military with no public access.

“We are open to continued dialogue,” Jones said. “We have been talking with their commissioners and if there is an agreement that can be reached, we would be open to that.”

The utility and others have until July 11 to respond to letters sent to FERC. The agency expects to make a final decision by July 2006 on the relicensing of the Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams.