Bureau studies dam upgrades
<p class="p1">This view from the top looks down the face of Hungry Horse Dam on Thursday. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is considering upgrades to the power plant at the dam. The dam is 564 feet high and its crest is 2,115 feet long.</p>
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is considering upgrades to the Hungry Horse Power Plant, including replacements and repairs to components within Hungry Horse Dam that are operating beyond their intended service life.
The bureau will accept public comments for its preliminary scoping period through Jan. 30.
In a news release, the agency said the proposed upgrades are “intended to alleviate safety concerns, potential limitations on plant operations and increased risk to sustained long-term operation of the plant.”
The dam, completed in 1953, is 564 feet high and its crest stretches for 2,115 feet. Dam construction required more than 3 million cubic yards of concrete.
Lynn Brougher, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Reclamation, said the federal agency began putting together a list of possible upgrades this summer.
They include replacement of cranes, turbines and exciters, upgrading the governors, overhauling fixed wheel gates and the selective withdrawal system, repairing the spillway, hollow jet valves and switch yard, refurbishing the outlet tubes and upgrading the domestic water system.
“What we’re trying to do now is gauge from the public whether there are any issues or concerns we need to assess or any environmental assessments we need to do,” she said. “Because we’re in such a preliminary stage to this, some of those things may or may not be included in the final project.”
The preliminary scoping will lead to a draft environmental assessment, due out next spring or summer. After the assessment is completed, the agency will determine whether the potential environmental impacts require an environmental impact statement, which would consider multiple options and include additional public comment periods.
Brougher said the upgrades would likely include shutting down at least one of the dam’s four power generation units at a time, which could affect the amount of power generated.
Other possible areas of concern include the water levels in Hungry Horse Reservoir and the local impacts of contractors brought into the area to complete the work.
To submit comments or request additional information, contact Chris Vick, Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, 1150 Curtis Road, Suite 100, Boise, ID 83706. Vick can also be reached at (208) 378-6547 or by email at cvick@usbr.gov.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.