Artist rendering of Flood District's proposed flood retention dam on Chehalis River.
The Centralia City Council on Tuesday officially voiced its approval of a proposal to build a floodwater retention dam on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell — a move projected to particularly spare Centralia and Chehalis from floodwaters in case of an event similar to the 2007 flood.
The council approved a resolution of the formal comments in support of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project, while putting an emphasis on the inclusion of aquatic species restoration in the final project.
“The City of Centralia takes the position of firmly supporting the concept of a Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project with the understanding that watershed and fisheries restoration must be conducted in conjunction with the project,” the letter from the City of Centralia, signed by Centralia Mayor Susan Luond, to the Department of Ecology stated.
The push for a flood damage reduction project was sparked by the devastation created by the 2007 flood in Lewis County which closed down Interstate 5 for several days in the worst natural disaster the region has seen in recorded history, according to past Chronicle reporting. The Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority commissioned a study that found the total economic loss caused by the 2007 flood was $938 million, about a third of which was due to the closure of I-5, according to Lewis County.
According to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement about 1,200 structures would be protected by the dam from a catastrophic flood and the project would protect roughly 13 percent of the City of Centralia’s acreage, which includes many residential areas.
The Centralia City Council approved its formal comments on the draft EIS just as the period for formal comments on the SEPA draft ended on May 27, the day after the council meeting on Tuesday evening.
The city cited reasons such as flood protection benefits with the protection of about 900 valuable structures and management of climate change patterns, which will occur whether the project is constructed or not.
“The most glaring flaw is that the document fails to explain that the ‘no action’ impact of climate change on aquatic species is dramatically greater than any negative impact in the upper reach of the river on aquatic species,” the Centralia’s letter states.
In April, the Quinault Indian Nation formally announced its opposition to a proposed dam on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell, citing “unavoidable” impacts on salmon species and too much focus on flooding in the Centralia and Chehalis area at the expense of the rest of the basin.
The Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority issued a statement in early May which endorsed the proposed flood-retention dam near Pe Ell as a part of a basin-wide solution to catastrophic flooding.
“The impacts from climate change and construction of the project should be clearly defined so as to not bias opinion,” Centralia’s letter stated. “The document minimizes the benefits and overstates the negative environmental impacts of the proposed facility.”
Councilor Kelly Smith Johnston said that she felt it was important to include a sentence or two acknowledging that the City of Centralia has already made a commitment to reducing its negative impact in the city’s comprehensive plan by making a commitment to avoid building in flood areas.
City Manager Rob Hill said he would add in some language to identify Centralia’s efforts and commitment to mitigate flood damage and the council unanimously approved the formal comments on that basis.
