Bureau of Reclamation still seeking comment on Fresno Dam project

The Montana Bureau of Reclamation has extended the comment period on an environmental assessment for a Safety of Dams modification project scheduled for Fresno Dam in the coming years.

BOR Engineer Steve Darlinton, the project manager for the Fresno Dam Modification Project, said the bureau is always running assessments on dams throughout the U.S. and the last evaluation of Fresno Dam in 2013 indicated that it did need some updates to increase safety.

Darlinton said it's important for people to know that there is no immediate danger posed by the dam, but the threat of a failure has risen above the threshold BOR is willing abide, hence the need for the project.

He said the dam was completed in 1939 and was built on a fairly compressible foundation. The subsequent settlement these past years is the primary issue the project is meant to address, accounting for up to 10 feet of this historic settlement by adding sand and gravel to the structure.

He said BOR will also be adding a trench to help filter foundation seepage, but the settlement is the main problem they're attempting to address with the project.

Darlinton said designs for the project are being developed and will likely be completed by early next year. After that, he said, it will likely take a year to select a contractor, and on-site work is anticipated to begin in early 2023.

He said the project was developed to have as little impact on local irrigators as possible so they opted for a method that would only require the reservoir to be drawn down to 20 feet below full pool, which often happens naturally in the summer months.

From a water supply perspective, he said, the modification project should have no significant effect on local irrigators, but, unfortunately, the project's expense will likely have an effect.

Darlinton said the project is estimated to cost $71 million and local irrigators will be on the hook for 15 percent of that cost, about $10.7 million.

He said this number includes all non-contract work including design and management costs, and the 15 percent can be repaid over the course of 50 years with no interest.

Milk River Joint Board of Control Project Manager Jennifer Patrick said local irrigators are discussing amongst themselves the best way to go about paying this money back and are developing a contract, though official talks with BOR haven't begun yet.

Patrick said the half-century time limit is helpful, but it's still over $10 million piled on to the general hardship of the industry.

"We can go for up to 50 years, but it is a hardship to lump on to irrigators once again," she said.

She said irrigators have not reached a consensus on how to pay back the money so there is no game plan to share just yet.

As for the project's effects on the fisheries, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 6 Fisheries Program Manager Steve Dalbey said his department does have some concerns about how the drawdown will affect things but they are having conversations with BOR about how to mitigate these potential negative effects.

Darlinton said the project's Environmental Assessment has been completed and the public will have until Sept. 10 to provide comment on it, a deadline that was originally set to end this month but was recently extended.

He said while BOR will take any comment about the project into account, he asks that people restrict their comments to the EA for now.

He said BOR hasn't received much in the way of comment yet, but on projects of this type that isn't unusual.

He said most comments come in closer to the deadline so he's not worried about a lack of public engagement just yet.

The project's EA can be found at https://www.usbr.gov/gp/mtao/fresno/, and public comment can be submitted to [email protected].