Delays putting downstream residents of Weber Dam in unnecessary danger, critics say

YERINGTON - Efforts to protect an endangered trout are putting residents downstream of Weber Dam in danger, say critics of bureacratic decisions that have delayed its repair.

A project to reconstruct the dam - which some expected to be finished this year - does not appear to be close to starting.

Meanwhile, ranchers who use Weber Reservoir for irrigation say they are losing crops, and people living below the dam face the possibility that it could destroy their homes if it buckles under an earthquake.

Environmentalists, however, say work on the dam must include a way to help the the endangered Lahontan cutthroat trout.

Located on the Walker River Paiute Indian Reservation, approximately five miles upstream from the town of Schurz, the dam provides essential irrigation water to ranchers on the reservation.

Noting its state of deterioration and with the intent of replacing the structure by 2000, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation completed design, engineering permitting and bidding procedures for the Bureau of Indian Affairs almost two years ago.

Tribal officials planned to begin construction in April 1999; however, despite Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt's previous endorsement of the project, the Fish and Wildlife Service issued a "jeopardy opinion" in February 1999, saying it would block the migration of the Lahontan cutthroat trout along the Walker River to Walker Lake.

"We told them we could construct a bypass for the fish," said Ken Clouser, western regional coordinator for dam Safety for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "Our department could not pay for it, but that does not mean other funds could not be found. They (Fish and Wildlife) came back and said a fish ladder would not work and wanted the dam removed.

"Removing the dam is not an option and the issue has hung up the process. Depending on the results of the study, which could take up to two years, we will still need to seek some resolution regarding the fish before we can reconstruct the dam."

Delays extend threat to residents and fish

The dam may not be touched until all required studies are completed.

Clouser is concerned with the safety of the current structure and its threat to those living downstream.

He said studies showed that with a full reservoir an earthquake of around 5.8 could cause the 43 foot high, earth-fill dam to give way. As a result, this summer BIA dam safety officials put restrictions on the amount of water allowed to sit behind the structure.

"It is a very dangerous dam, it has a lot of problems. We had to make a choice between crop production and public safety. We chose public safety," Clouser said from his Phoenix office. "Because of the safety issues, in my opinion, construction could be going on during the study to make sure it is safe until the issue is resolved. The people getting squeezed in the middle are the tribal members and farmers."

When thousands of fish died during the summer because of low water in the reservoir, downstream irrigation was stopped and water levels were raised. Full irrigation allotments were eventually met, but Tribal officials claimed crops and livestock suffered because of the restrictions and strongly criticized the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

U.S. Senator Harry Reid and Fish and Wildlife officials say the dam cannot be built until the potential harmful effects on fish are better understood. They want a spawning channel for the Lahontan cutthroat trout, a threatened fish now being stocked in Walker Lake.

"I'm not sure it is right to rebuild the dam, especially without making provisions for the fish," Reid said last summer.

Reid put $200,000 into the 2000 Senate Appropriations Bill for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to study all possible options.

Local geologist Don Strachan says the delays are putting downstream residents under unnecessary danger and economic hardship. He puts the full brunt of the blame on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Reid.

"The people of Schurz have been left to live below a failing dam, leaving them under the threat of cataclysmic flooding, and without adequate irrigation storage for their crops," Strachan states. "Fish and Wildlife, their boss Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Sen. Reid have put the interests of the fish ahead of the safety and welfare of those living downstream. If Reid had not gotten the money, Fish and Wildlife would not have had the resources to prolong the rebuilding of the dam."

Strachan spent the last several months examining the hydrogeology of the Walker River Basin for a group representing the interests of upstream water users during the ongoing efforts to save Walker Lake as a fresh water fishery. It was during this project he became aware of the severe restrictions put on the holding capacity of the reservoir and the delay in rebuilding the dam.

Fish and Wildlife not holding up process

State Fish and Wildlife Supervisor Bob Williams says BIA and tribal officials are the ones holding up the process.

"We have in hand an agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation to do a feasibility study. I am more than anxious to move forward," Williams said last week. "However, we have reached the point in the process where we need to sit down as a team and reach an agreement in principal before we can move forward."

Williams said he has not heard from Bureau of Indian Affairs or the tribe in the past three to four months.

"They have to agree to move forward before we can go any further."

Williams said removing the dam would be the easiest route, but the interests of the tribe must be respected.

"To remove the dam and walk away is irresponsible, so we are asking BIA and tribal officials to look at alternatives as a team," he said. "We are asking all agencies to collectively look at removing the negative effects of the dam on the survival of the Lahontan cutthroat trout in the reservoir and Walker Lake."

"The fact they (BIA) did not complete their environmental compliance puts them in the situation they are in."

BIA and tribal officials agree, sort of.

Chuck O'Rourke, with the Carson City BIA office, said the BIA and the tribe are working together to determine how to move forward with Fish and Wildlife.

"We are in the middle of the environmental study process, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Endangered Species Act is part of this requirement, which is where the Fish and Wildlife comes in. I'm hopeful we will be able to meet with Fish and Wildlife around the first of the year."

O'Rourke said until the dam is repaired the BIA will continue to maintain restrictions on the amount of water allowed to sit within the reservoir, not allowing it to rise above the spillway. He said irrigation was not hampered during this past summer and should not be in the future.

Tribal officials, while cooperating with BIA on the environmental study, do not agree with the restrictions they put on the water level of the dam or the damage suffered by downstream water users. They say irrigation must be a top priority.

In addition, feeling nothing had been accomplished in a year of negotiating, the tribe withdrew in February from participation in any consultations with Fish and Wildlife.

Emphasizing that Strachan did not speak for or represent the tribe in any way, Walker River Paiute Tribe Water Resource Coordinator Elveda Martinez said she is very upset the BIA did not inform the tribe in 1999 that an environmental impact study would be required.

"It seems we wasted a whole year. The environmental study could have been completed by now," she said, estimating it will be about 18 months before the study is finished and they can sit down with Fish and Wildlife. She estimated it would be an additional two to three years after that before the dam project can be started and is concerned with the effect the delay will have on the reservation's economy, emphasizing the tribe has never been happy with the BIA imposed restrictions on the dam.

"I am pretty sure there will be the same effect on the fish each year until the dam is repaired. Irrigation has to be a priority over the fish, but it will hurt our recreation related economy."

Martinez said Reid has indicated he would try to get some financial compensation for economic losses suffered during this past summer.

"We are also looking through the Farm Service Agency for compensation and with the UNR Department of Agriculture in calculating losses in relation to livestock and crops."

Upset with Fish and Wildlife over this and several other issues, the tribal council passed a resolution in July saying the agency could not come on reservation land without permission.

In efforts to increase the amount of water allowed behind the dam, the tribe has also hired an engineering firm to determine the actual amount of water in the reservoir in relation to the sediment.

In the meantime, a deteriorating Weber Dam remains untouched.