Condit Dam to fall, at nearly double the cost set in 2006.
My mother used to say “don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today”. That is a lesson learned too late by the owners of the 98-year-old Condit Dam on the White Salmon River.
The 38 metre (125-feet) high dam was earmarked for demolition back in 2006. At that time, the demolition carried a price tag of $17 million. Following repeated delays, the price has escalated. By the time it is breached in October this year, the cost will have hit $32 million.
“This fall we will see two of the biggest river restoration projects in history, and they’re both in Washington,” said Amy Kober, spokeswoman for the environmental group American Rivers. “It’s an exciting river renaissance.”
“Decommissioning the hydroelectric project is now on a fast track” after PacifiCorp received a critical sediment management permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, one of the project’s last major hurdles, said PacifiCorp spokesman Tom Gauntt.
On Monday, the company notified the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it had accepted the terms of its “surrender order,” a document that sets forth the conditions the company must meet to surrender its federal dam license.
“It’s nice to have gotten all the regulatory permitting milestones out of the way,” said Todd Olson, compliance manager for PacifiCorp. “Now that we have accepted the surrender order from FERC, we turn our attention to working with the contractor to implement this project in a safe manner.”
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