Greg Walden introduces no-cost jobs plan that delivers water to Prineville, allows clean energy production at Bowman Dam, creates new water conservation opportunities

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a jobs plan in the House of Representatives that delivers needed water to Prineville for job creation, clears the way for carbon-free energy at Bowman Dam, and creates new water conservation opportunities in central Oregon.

The Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act (H.R. 2060), introduced last night, is a no-cost piece of legislation.

“This small act could be huge for central Oregon,” Rep. Walden said. “The commonsense solutions in this plan have the potential to support hundreds of new jobs in a part of the state that needs jobs as badly as anywhere in the entire country. Its no-cost price tag for the taxpayer is the kind of bill that Congress should be passing in the current economic environment. I look forward to working with the House Natural Resources Committee to move this bill along the legislative process.”

Job-supporting water for Prineville

The legislation would allow the city of Prineville to utilize 5,100 acre feet of water to meet future growth needs and allow it to attract new job-creating business opportunities similar to the Facebook servers, which recently came online in Prineville.

Prineville does not access water directly from Prineville Reservoir — it uses groundwater. The extra 5,100 acre feet credit in the bill would allow the city to mitigate an increase of groundwater use with a release of up to 5,100 acre feet from the reservoir. Currently, there is about 80,000 acre feet of un-contracted water in the Reservoir.

The extra allocation for Prineville means the minimum release of water from Bowman Dam will increase by up to 7 cubic-feet per second (cfs). In dry years, particularly in the winter, this higher release requirement could benefit fish and wildlife, including the blue-ribbon trout fishery below Bowman Dam.

The water allocation for Prineville will also help the city create jobs and improve business opportunities. The city is currently in talks with multiple technology companies that are interested in locating to Prineville, but have indicated that the availability of water is a key consideration in their final decision.

Crook County’s unemployment rate of 15.3 percent is the highest in the state.

"Prineville should have the necessary tools to assist in creating jobs and attracting new economic opportunities,” Rep. Greg Walden said. “This small amount of water will help do just that."

Crook County Commissioner Mike McCabe: “This bill is vital for our community, both from a residential and industrial perspective. With one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, we need to find sustainable ways to provide water for businesses, cities, and farmers and ranchers. Rep. Walden’s bill is a terrific step to sustaining and creating jobs in Oregon.”

John Mohlis, the executive secretary of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council: “This legislation will give Prineville the assets and resources they need to attract and create good paying jobs for workers in central Oregon. Congress should quickly enact this common sense plan so we can get more folks back to work on the ground in Prineville." 

Charles "Jody" Calica, the secretary-treasurer of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs: “I am confident that the Tribal Council will be pleased to see that Congressman Walden’s bill not only provides some stability for the City of Prineville and the agricultural community, but that it advances our work on steelhead reintroduction by knocking down hurdles to a broadly supported and critical steelhead restoration project in McKay Creek. This is a significant step forward for our steelhead reintroduction efforts.  Steelhead restoration in the Crooked River is a goal that the Tribe and its partners in the region are committed to, and this is a long-term endeavor – Congressman Walden’s proposal should give our partners and other stakeholders the assurances they need to continue to work with the Tribe on doing what is necessary to return healthy, harvestable steelhead populations to the Crooked River system.”

Carbon free energy and new jobs at Bowman Dam

Utilities have expressed interest in developing a small-scale 6 megawatt hydropower facility at the base of Bowman Dam — such a facility could produce enough energy to power up to 4,500 homes, and offset carbon emissions equivalent to the pollution from up to 2,000 cars. The construction alone would create dozens of good-paying construction jobs.

But as the law is written right now, this commonsense project and the good jobs it would provide can’t happen.

In 1988, Congress designated 17.8 miles of the Crooked River as part of the “wild and scenic” rivers system, which is charged with preserving rivers with “outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.”

But when the BLM drew up the maps for the new wild and scenic area on the Crooked River after the 1988 designation, they placed one end of the boundary right down the middle of Bowman Dam.

“There is nothing wild and scenic about a dam,” Rep. Walden said.

Hydropower is not permitted in wild and scenic areas, so an act of Congress is required to fix the mistake and place the boundary line below the dam, where it should have been all along. Doing so will allow the hydropower project — and the jobs it would create — to go forward.

The construction of the hydropower project would employ about 50 construction workers for two construction seasons and provide approximately $140,000 in annual property tax revenue to Crook County.

In a letter sent to Rep. Walden in 2008, BLM State Director Ed Shepard said, “The BLM does not believe that it was the intent of Congress to place the wild and scenic river boundary on the center of the dam or to even include the dam, but rather just below the dam and spillway structures.”

The hydropower facility may also resolve a “total dissolved gas” problem at Bowman Dam. This problem, which occurs at dams around the world, can impair habitat for fish and wildlife. The new facility could potentially alleviate this problem, further improving habitat in the Crooked River.

McKay Creek and other conservation efforts

Rep. Walden’s legislation would help spur the McKay Creek restoration project — which has stalled in recent years — by allowing Ochoco Irrigation District to deliver water to upper McKay Creek patrons.

The restoration project would restore up to 11.2 cfs of water rights instream to McKay Creek.  The project also improves flow during the early summer, a critical period for steelhead emergence and migration.

Prineville Mayor Betty Roppe: “Water supply certainty for the City of Prineville will not only benefit all of our citizens, but enable us to attract new companies and opportunities that will provide much-needed jobs in Prineville, while benefitting the Crooked River environment. All of us are really pleased with Rep. Walden’s leadership.”

The legislation also allows the Ochoco Irrigation District to participate in the Conserved Water program under Oregon State law, whereby a minimum of 25 percent of the total amount of water conserved must be placed instream, forever, as part of the program. Right now, the Ochoco Irrigation District, because of limitations in its contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, is unable to participate in this program.

Redmond Mayor George Endicott, chairman of the Central Oregon Cities Organization: “The Central Oregon Cities Organization strongly believes that Congressman Walden’s legislation is a responsible, balanced step to improve central Oregon’s social, economic and environmental values."