Chehalis Work Group members J. Vander Stoep (left) and David Burnett speak at a presentation at Centralia College Monday night.
Chehalis Work Group members J. Vander Stoep (left) and David Burnett speak at a presentation at Centralia College Monday night.
A raft of flooding studies, maligned by the public for the last decade, are the backbone of the current, multi-pronged effort to mitigate catastrophic flooding in the Chehalis River Basin.
“We can use the information to answer questions we have now,” J. Vander Stoep said Monday evening.
Vander Stoep, an alternate to the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority and a member of the policy-making Chehalis Work Group, and David Burnett, chairman of the Chehalis Tribe and, also, a member of the Work Group, at Centralia College on Monday addressed a crowd of nearly 150 attendees, which included Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia; Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview; and Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen.
Vander Stoep and Burnett’s presentation was a sort of state of the union for flood mitigation efforts.
They provided background on the financial effects of catastrophic flooding, presented the large and small projects currently underway, discussed the possibility of a water retention structure and explained their goal — namely lessening damage, not stopping flooding.
“Just a little reminder, this is not a new problem,” Vander Stoep said about flooding in the state’s second largest river basin.
In their work, Vander Stoep and Burnett, the rest of the Work Group, and the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority are determined to find a solution that is beneficial to the system as a whole.
They won’t allow flooding just to improve fish habitat, won’t kill fish habitat to improve emergency response. They will find a system that does it all, Vander Stoep said.
As part of the comprehensive plan, flood leaders will review a wide variety of proposals for a water retention structure.
“We have groups working on it from all over the world,” Vander Stoep said.
Short-term, “low hanging fruit” flood reduction projects also are underway, Burnett said.
“Some of the projects may be pretty localized, but there were some areas that were hit pretty hard, and with relatively little effort, you can have an immediate impact on a local area,” he said.
The Washington state Legislature on June 29 passed and delivered to Gov. Jay Inslee for signature a State Capital Budget that includes $28.2 million for catastrophic flood relief in the Chehalis Basin.
Gov. Jay Inslee, who signed the budget, previously issued his support for the Chehalis Work Group’s funding request: $9.2 million for the study and design of a dam and other long-term projects to improve Interstate 5; $10.7 million for local flood protection projects; $4.4 million for projects that reduce flooding while benefitting fish; $1.75 million for reducing damage to residences and other structures in the floodplain; $1.2 million for operation of the basin program and for project management; and $950,000 for state agency technical assistance and project permitting.
Former governor Chris Gregoire included full funding in her 2013-2015 Outgoing Capital Budget.
Members of the Work Group include: Vickie Raines, the Flood Authority chairwoman; Karen Valenzuela, the vice chair of the Flood Authority; J. Vander Stoep, an alternate to the Flood Authority; David Burnett, the chair of the Chehalis Tribe; Jay Gordon, the head of the Washington Dairy Farmers Association; and Keith Phillips, an adviser to the governor.
