Residents ask county to stop spill

By ROGER MORRIS Western News Publisher

Two Kootenai River residents asked the Lincoln County Commissioners Wednesday to file suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop proposed spilling at Libby Dam this spring to benefit the endangered white sturgeon.

"If you folks are not interested, John (Johanson) and I will probably go ahead on our own," said Terry Andreessen, who lives between Libby and the dam on the river.

"It comes down to whether county government has a moral responsibility to protect its citizens," Andreessen said.

The latest biological opinion to save the sturgeon ws released last month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It's calling for flows from Libby Dam of at least 35,000 cubic-feet per second, which can only be attained by releasing an additional 10,000 cfs over the dam's spillway. While the bi-op calls for spilling at least three out of 10 years, the federal agency wants to spill three out of the next four years.

In 2003, the state agreed to an experimental spill from the dam but it quickly turned into a longer spill with more volume when weather conditions resulted in an unexpectedly higher runoff filling Lake Koocanusa too quickly. Releases from the dam, including spill, topped out at 42,000 cfs causing property owners to line sandbags along their riverbanks to protect their landscaping and developed property.

Johanson said in 2003 he had to put down sandbags to protect landscaping that took four months to receive permits so he wouldn't harm the endangered bull trout. Andreessen also had sandbags along his riverbank as did Susan Yarger, who lives nearby. Yarger had water bubbling up in her lawn and from the floor drains in her basement.

"John and I have a lot of issues," Andreessen said. "The two biggest reasons are Montana adopted federal water quality standards and this would be in violation of than as well as state water quaility standards.

"The other issue is the bull trout," Andreessen continued. "The bi-op is allowing them incidental take permit because they're admitting that spill will be detrimental to the bull trout."

And there's the issue of the risk of a spill occurring at any time," he said.

"What scares the hell out of me is they're not leaving any room for error (in the reservoir)," Andreessen said. "Just like in 2003, once it starts, they can't stop it."

In 2003, a proposed three-day experimental spill turned into a 7-day race to lower the reservoir to accept the high runoff flows coming in from Canada.

"It's like Russian roulette it we had a weather event," Johanson said.

"What scares me is if we have a year like this and then the we have a week of 100-degree weather," Andreessen said. "It can be Katie-bar-the-door."

Libby commissioner Rita Windom said the county needs to contact the governor's office. "They need to step up to the plate," she said.

Eureka commissioner Marianne Roose said she didn't know if the county would have standing in such a suit but believed the state could.

"I've been to enough meetings and heard enough rhetoric that I believe they are not going to stop here," Andreessen said.

Johanson agreed pointing out that the previous sturgeon bi-op called for spring flows as high as 50,000 to 55,000 cfs at Bonners Ferry.

"With no scientific data to back it up, are we willing to take this kind of risk?" Andreessen asked.

The county commissioners agreed they would talk to both county attorney Bernie Cassidy, contact the governor's office and also contact the Mountain States Legal Foundation. Windom suggested they also talk to U.s. Sen. Conrad Burns, who will be in Libby this weekend for the annual Republican dinner.

Johnanson and Andreessen said they were going to move forward with arranging a meeting in Washington, D.C., with an undersecretary of defense to discuss the problem.