New cost estimate sinks re-electrification plans By Marcy Stamper After 13 years of planning, permitting and number-crunching for Enloe Dam, a new estimate that puts the cost of rebuilding the dam at more than twice the original amount has sunk the project. Two weeks after receiving a price of $70.4 million to rebuild Enloe, the […]
Enloe Dam
Disagreements continue over sediment behind Enloe Dam
Questions continue to swirl around the sediment backed up behind Enloe Dam — what’s in it and whether the studies done by the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) satisfy clean-water laws.
At a PUD board meeting last month, a former attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the commissioners may be making “several important legal errors” by not taking an in-depth look at the sediment.
Ratepayers press PUD commission to study Enloe Dam sediment
Ratepayers at a town hall meeting this week grew exasperated as they implored the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) commissioners to find out what’s in the sediment behind Enloe Dam, so the utility can make an informed decision about whether to re-energize or remove the dam.
The frustration erupted at a town-hall meeting in Brewster on Monday night (Sept. 24). The only topic on the minds of the 30 attendees was Enloe Dam, the 9-megawatt hydropower project on the Similkameen River near Oroville that hasn’t produced power for 60 years.
Okanogan County PUD signs contract for Enloe Dam design
After decades of deliberation over whether to rebuild Enloe Dam, the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) has signed a contract for the first phase of design for the 9-megawatt hydropower project.
This month, the PUD board of commissioners authorized interim General Manager Don Coppock to sign a $1.8-million contract …
Wrangling over rebuilding or removing Enloe Dam continues
Although the deadline to start construction that would allow power production on the Enloe Dam has passed, arguments over salmon habitat and a potential Congressional extension continue. The long-running battle over the fate of the disused dam is further complicated by …
House of Representatives backs Enloe Dam extension
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill allowing up to six more years for the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) to start construction on Enloe Dam.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-4th District), authorizes the Federal …
Okanogan PUD seeks additional extension for construction of Enloe Dam
With the deadline to begin construction on Enloe Dam in the rear-view mirror, the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) has “respectfully request[ed]” another two years from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get started on the project.
The PUD faced a July 9 construction deadline …
Expedited building process for Enloe Dam upheld after appeal
A state board has upheld the decision for the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) to use a streamlined process to construct Enloe Dam after hearing an appeal on Tuesday (June 6).
State panel’s decision keeps Enloe Dam process going
With the unanimous decision by a state panel to authorize a streamlined design/build process for Enloe Dam, the PUD’s 9-megawatt hydroelectric project on the Similkameen River is closer to becoming a reality.
The eight-person panel with the Washington Department of Enterprise Services approved the …
PUD seeks streamlined contracting process to design, build Enloe Dam
A state panel is reviewing an application this Thursday (April 27) that would allow the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) to work with a single team in a design/build process for Enloe Dam, instead of requiring the standard design/bid/build process.
