Anglers line the bank of the Cowlitz River just below the Blue Creek boat launch in this 2018 file photo.
In a bipartisan appeal to protect Cowlitz River communities from flooding, three members of the Washington congressional delegation are asking the Trump administration to honor its obligation to monitor the river.
In a Nov. 8 letter to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray urge officials to make funding for monitoring volcanic silt buildup in the river a priority for 2020.
“It is imperative that future work plans include full funding to ensure this critical work is completed,” the letter says. “Failing to address the risk to these communities not only threatens them with the uncertainty of flooding, but fails to give them the peace of mind that monitoring can provide.”
The Corps is mandated by federal law to maintain flood protection levels along the lower Cowlitz River. Neither Congress nor the Trump administration paid for the survey this year, despite the county’s press for urgent action. The county, local cities, Port of Longview and diking districts paid $110,000 to do a river survey in October. Results are expected in late winter. It is the first evaluation of the river channel in four years.
The letter says the representatives are concerned local communities are “being forced to use their own money to fulfill obligations promised by the Army Corps and authorized by Congress.”
Axel Swanson, county chief of staff, said Friday he asked the corps to give the county an initial indication of the flood risk as winter draws closer. Although the last month and a half has been relatively dry, Swanson said the county wants to be as prepared as it can.
“The one thing that’s really driven this concern is not knowing the levels of protection,” he said.
The sediment problem dates to the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, which dumped about 3 billion tons of erodible debris in the upper reaches of the Toutle Valley. Unchecked, it could clog the Cowlitz and raise the risk of flooding.
Herrera Beutler, a Clark County Republican, represents Southwest Washington’s 3rd District. Murray and Cantwell are Democrats. Their joint letter is an example of historic bipartisan cooperation about Mount St. Helens issues on the part of the Washington congressional delegation.
