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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 3, 2006 Permits needed for Savage Rapids dam replacement By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune GRANTS PASS — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is lacking state and federal permits it needs to seek bids for replacing Savage Rapids Dam with a pumping plant. But it still hopes to begin work this spring. Before proceeding, project managers will need a state fill-and-removal permit required for work within the Rogue River as well as a Oregon Department of Transportation review of the project, bureau officials said. Also, a federal fisheries agency has yet to complete a biological opinion on the pumping plant’s impact on the basin’s wild coho salmon, which are list as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. The bureau also must show Jackson County officials, as required by federal disaster officials, that removing the 85-year-old dam won’t raise the 100-year flood plain — even though the dam raises the river’s level by some 30 feet. "I got a chuckle out of that one," said Assistant Manager Julie Webster of the Grants Pass Irrigation District, which owns and operates the dam. "There’s absolutely no way it will, but it’s something that needs to be done." Advertisement Not having the permits in place now has put the bureau’s timeline "two weeks to a month" behind, but not enough to stall the project, said Bob Hamilton, the bureau’s Idaho- based project manager. Hamilton said the plan is to get the design specifics available by the end of the month so contractors can review them and offer bids as quickly as possible. "We’re still proceeding at best-possible speed and we’re still trying to get the specifics on the street," Hamilton said. Hamilton said a contract could be rewarded in April, when work outside the Rogue’s bed can begin. In-stream work is restricted to June 15 through August to protect the Rogue’s native salmon and steelhead. A consent decree the district signed in 2001 dictated that the dam would no longer be used to deliver irrigation water after 2006. The district has since received a one-year extension. Removing the dam and installing the pumps will provide a longterm solution to the current dam’s fish-passage problems while keeping GPID in the irrigation business. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study concluded the dam severely reduces the Rogue’s ability to grow wild salmon and steelhead. The bureau recently completed an environmental study that backed a 1995 conclusion that dam removal was the best and cheapest alternative for solving the dam’s fish-passage and water- delivery issues. The bureau’s design calls for a single large pumping station along the river’s south bank. A large electronic substation would be built to carry the power necessary to run the nine pumps within the enclosed station. The design includes sending water to patrons on the north side of the river through a 30-inch pipe suspended above the Rogue River atop remnants of the old dam. The design has been criticized in the Rogue River community as a potential eyesore. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Permits needed for Savage Rapids dam replacement ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement