Tuesday, May 04, 2004
By Brian Mittge bmittge@chronline.com
It's still not called a flood bypass, but Lewis County and Twin Cities leaders have agreed to kick in $84,000 for a closer look at a "habitat enhancement" project near Centralia's Mellen Street that they think could drastically reduce flooding, especially in Chehalis.
Centralia, Chehalis and county government will split the cost for the study by Pacific International Engineering of what is now called the "River Mile 66 Habitat and Flow Conveyance Feature." The goal is to help flood waters move around a choke point near the Mellen Street bridge and the point where the Skookumchuck River drains into the Chehalis River near Fort Borst Park.
The project would also create off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile fish, a feature local supporters hope will help ease the project through the complex permitting process and also open up new sources of grant funding.
"It's a known bottleneck," said Centralia City Councilor Ted Shannon, who sits on the county's flood executive committee. "It could be a win-win situation for the environment, and for 100- or 500-year floods." He said that work around rivers is so ecologically sensitive these days, the environmental enhancement part of a project needs to be promoted as the primary goal.
"You might as well start from the beginning with an environmental project that also helps flooding," Shannon said.
Chehalis City Councilor Chad Taylor said the council unanimously supported the project because it believes it is a crucial part of the flood control scenario for Chehalis.
The Lewis County Commission approved the cooperative agreement Monday.
At the end of the study, PIE will have a possible design for the feature, and will have evaluated its environmental effects.
That report will be forwarded on to the Army Corps of Engineers, which has a plan to help solve flooding problems in the Twin Cities with a ring of protective levees and enhancements to the Skookumchuck Dam upstream from Bucoda.
The Mellen Street project was originally considered by the Corps, but wasn't included in its official proposal. Even that plan is stalled right now, however, waiting for approval and funding from Congress.
Local leaders still hold out hope this new study will help convince the Corps to include the "conveyance feature" in its final project. If it is included, the $84,000 could be refunded to the local governments.
PIE will also coordinate with state and federal permitting agencies and with the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, who can comment on the Corps work.
Tribal leaders have staunchly opposed any project that would move more water through the Mellen Street area, saying it stands to reason that less flooding upstream would mean more flooding at their reservation near Oakville.
In the Twin Cities, leaders say flooding downstream would not be increased because improvements to the Skookumchuck Dam would hold back more water during flooding.
Brian Mittge covers politics, the environment and Lewis County government for The Chronicle. He may be reached by e-mail at bmittge@chronline.com, or by telephoning 807-8237.
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