On Jan. 5, Eugene Water and Electric Board commissioners took a step toward removing and partially decommissioning a hydroelectric project on the McKenzie River, a tributary of the Willamette River.
The commission directed their general manager to develop a plan for decommissioning the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project after nearly a year of analysis, public meetings and public input.
Located east of Eugene, Oregon, the project historically produced 11 aMW, or 4 percent of the city's average load of about 272 MW, EWEB spokesperson Aaron Orlowski told NW Fishletter. It was forced to shut down in 2018 after the discovery of seismically vulnerable soils and erosion in parts of the Leaburg Canal, used to divert water for about 5 miles from the dam's reservoir to its powerhouse, Orlowski said.
Under partial decommissioning, parts of the canal would be reconstructed and used as stormwater conveyance, while leaving open the costlier option of removing it, he said.
EWEB CEO and General Manager Frank Lawson prepared a record of decision to bring to the board, Orlowski said. If approved by the board, the staff expects planning and settlement negotiations to take several years. Work to remove the dam and reservoir would not likely begin for at least 10 years, according to an EWEB news release.
At their Dec. 6 meeting, EWEB staff provided commissioners with four alternatives, including a least-cost recommendation to tear out the dam and permanently discontinue electric generation.
The staff expects the recommended alternative to require electric rate increases of between 9 and 10 percent between 2023 and 2040.
EWEB currently gets about 80 percent of its energy from the Bonneville Power Administration at Tier 1 rates, which are reserved for public-power utilities. It plans to petition BPA for additional Tier 1 energy to replace what is lost by removing the dam.
"Investing in electricity generation at the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project is not economically viable, bears substantial regulatory and economic risk, obligates EWEB in a long-term direction with limited future flexibility, and places a further economic and social burden on our customer-owners," Lawson's management recommendation states.
Removing the dam and reservoir would also restore the river's unobstructed flow and improve water quality and conditions for fish, the release notes.
Although the commissioners supported the staff's recommendation at the December meeting, some commissioners expressed support for fully decommissioning the project.
They also expressed concerns about what will happen to the McKenzie Salmon Hatchery, and about the cost and liability of maintaining the canal.
“I don’t take this decision lightly and I don’t think my fellow board members do either,” Commissioner Matt McRae said in a Jan. 5 news release. “I think the decision to move towards decommissioning is the right one. And there are many reasons for this, but for me, the primary reason stems from the immense unknowns and economic risks that the utility faces if we move to repair the project and resume operation,” he said.
