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Douglas County commissioners and other state and federal officials visit the proposed site of the Milltown Hill Dam east of Yoncalla, in this 2005 photo.
The federal stimulus bill, meant to create jobs and boost the economy through increased spending, could bring a revival of the Milltown Hill Dam project.
Douglas County commissioners today prepared a letter asking Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his support in promoting the project with the federal Bureau of Reclamation.
The agency is set to receive at least $500 million in stimulus money. In conversations with officials at the Bureau of Reclamation’s regional office in Boise, Idaho, and the national headquarters in Washington, D.C., Commissioner Doug Robertson said the agency is looking for projects to fund.
“In order to make this effort viable, we need your support and we need it as soon as possible,” stated the letter to Kulongoski and signed by all three commissioners. “Please help us help ourselves by urging the Bureau of Reclamation to fund this project and provide the fish enhancement, flood control, recreation and economic boost our county so desperately needs.”
The Milltown Hill Dam, to be located on Elk Creek east of Yoncalla, has been on the drawing board for decades. It was part of a series of dams that were to be built throughout Douglas County. The county bought up land on Elkhead Road and was moving forward on the project before stalling in 1998.
The county unsuccessfully sought a waiver of a state law that mandates inclusion of fish passageways on all new dams built in the state. The 1997 Oregon Legislature passed a law giving the state Fish and Wildlife Commission permission to grant a waiver of the requirement if other mitigation efforts provided a net benefit to fish.
Elk Creek is home to coho salmon, winter steelhead and the Umpqua River cutthroat trout.
The project was mothballed after inclusion of fish ladders would have more than doubled the original $44 million cost of the dam. Federal grants and loans would have only covered $31 million of the cost.
The county has already spent more than $10 million on the project. Over the past four years, following the prompting of then-Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman, the county updated several needed studies. But further work was stopped after the Bush administration made it clear it was not willing to finance construction of a project that could now top $100 million.
During Wednesday’s weekly Board of Commissioners meeting, Robertson noted that then-Gov. Vic Atiyeh and then-U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield were extremely supportive when the Galesville Dam was built in 1983. Support from Kulongoski and Oregon’s congressional delegation could go a long way in promoting the project with the Bureau of Reclamation, he said.
“The politics are a bit different, but the economics today, the benefits of local water impoundments cannot be overlooked,” Robertson said.
In addition to the federal money, the state is set to receive $44 million for its clean water revolving fund. That money could also be used to aid the project, Robertson said.
Commissioner Joe Laurance said the stimulus program could provide a “wonderful opportunity” to resurrect the project.
“We were never in opposition to the dam,” Laurance said. “North County simply needs water to have any kind of development and to meet the agricultural needs already there. The problem is one merely of funding, significant funding.”
Milltown Hill could have a leg up on other projects because so much preliminary work has already been completed, Commissioner Susan Morgan said.
“Clearly, one of the criteria that they’re searching very hard for are projects that are ready to go,” Morgan said. “This one has been well-researched and designed and the property is online. I think that if we pass this opportunity by, this is not only a detriment to North County, but it would be a detriment to the county as a whole and to Southwest Oregon.”
The dam would provide an opportunity for new jobs, economic development and improvements in the quality of life for county residents, she said.
“I think the list of reasons to build the dam is very long,” Morgan said.
Opponents of earlier efforts to construct the dam have raised concerns about possible mercury contamination to the water supply. Several mines once operated nearby and mercury contamination has been an ongoing concern at Cottage Grove Reservoir in neighboring Lane County.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
Douglas County commissioners today prepared a letter asking Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his support in promoting the project with the federal Bureau of Reclamation.
The agency is set to receive at least $500 million in stimulus money. In conversations with officials at the Bureau of Reclamation’s regional office in Boise, Idaho, and the national headquarters in Washington, D.C., Commissioner Doug Robertson said the agency is looking for projects to fund.
“In order to make this effort viable, we need your support and we need it as soon as possible,” stated the letter to Kulongoski and signed by all three commissioners. “Please help us help ourselves by urging the Bureau of Reclamation to fund this project and provide the fish enhancement, flood control, recreation and economic boost our county so desperately needs.”
The Milltown Hill Dam, to be located on Elk Creek east of Yoncalla, has been on the drawing board for decades. It was part of a series of dams that were to be built throughout Douglas County. The county bought up land on Elkhead Road and was moving forward on the project before stalling in 1998.
The county unsuccessfully sought a waiver of a state law that mandates inclusion of fish passageways on all new dams built in the state. The 1997 Oregon Legislature passed a law giving the state Fish and Wildlife Commission permission to grant a waiver of the requirement if other mitigation efforts provided a net benefit to fish.
Elk Creek is home to coho salmon, winter steelhead and the Umpqua River cutthroat trout.
The project was mothballed after inclusion of fish ladders would have more than doubled the original $44 million cost of the dam. Federal grants and loans would have only covered $31 million of the cost.
The county has already spent more than $10 million on the project. Over the past four years, following the prompting of then-Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman, the county updated several needed studies. But further work was stopped after the Bush administration made it clear it was not willing to finance construction of a project that could now top $100 million.
During Wednesday’s weekly Board of Commissioners meeting, Robertson noted that then-Gov. Vic Atiyeh and then-U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield were extremely supportive when the Galesville Dam was built in 1983. Support from Kulongoski and Oregon’s congressional delegation could go a long way in promoting the project with the Bureau of Reclamation, he said.
“The politics are a bit different, but the economics today, the benefits of local water impoundments cannot be overlooked,” Robertson said.
In addition to the federal money, the state is set to receive $44 million for its clean water revolving fund. That money could also be used to aid the project, Robertson said.
Commissioner Joe Laurance said the stimulus program could provide a “wonderful opportunity” to resurrect the project.
“We were never in opposition to the dam,” Laurance said. “North County simply needs water to have any kind of development and to meet the agricultural needs already there. The problem is one merely of funding, significant funding.”
Milltown Hill could have a leg up on other projects because so much preliminary work has already been completed, Commissioner Susan Morgan said.
“Clearly, one of the criteria that they’re searching very hard for are projects that are ready to go,” Morgan said. “This one has been well-researched and designed and the property is online. I think that if we pass this opportunity by, this is not only a detriment to North County, but it would be a detriment to the county as a whole and to Southwest Oregon.”
The dam would provide an opportunity for new jobs, economic development and improvements in the quality of life for county residents, she said.
“I think the list of reasons to build the dam is very long,” Morgan said.
Opponents of earlier efforts to construct the dam have raised concerns about possible mercury contamination to the water supply. Several mines once operated nearby and mercury contamination has been an ongoing concern at Cottage Grove Reservoir in neighboring Lane County.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
