Condit Hydroelectric Project

It was completed in 1913 to provide electrical power for local industry, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an engineering and architecture landmark.

PacifiCorp decommissioned the project due to rising environmental costs, and the dam was intentionally breached on October 26, 2011.

[5] The facility consisted of Condit Dam 45°46′02″N 121°32′16″W / 45.76722°N 121.53778°W / 45.76722; -121.53778 in Klickitat County, and its impoundment, Northwestern Lake; a woodstave pipeline that transported water to a surge tank and auxiliary spillway; two penstocks; and the powerhouse.

Two horizontally mounted Francis turbines and generators produced electrical power, and the exhausted water rejoined the river about a mile downstream of the dam.

In 1996, the federal government ordered PacifiCorp to alter the dam and add fish ladders to meet environmental codes.

The project operated under annual license extensions until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved decommissioning.

According to Federal Power Act of 1920, hydropower producers are periodically required to apply for license renewal from FERC.

FERC's report also reviewed options to decommissioning the project, which it estimated would cost twice as much as the fish passage system.

[11] The investment needed to comply with the new requirements was estimated at $30 to $50 million, while at the same time reducing the amount of water available for power production.

[10] Also, a new sand bar is expected to form at the mouth of the White Salmon River, interfering with Native American fishing rights, for which PacifiCorp will pay a settlement.

Objections revolved around the loss of lake-front property and water recreation, loss of wetlands and water habitat, and a perception that PacifiCorp was choosing the cheapest way to abandon the project, rather than paying for FERC's preferred solution (a fish passage system), which some believed was the best solution for all parties.

[15] The Klickitat Public Utility District Board of Commissioners investigated acquiring the project from Pacificorp to continue its operation as a power plant.

[16] In July 2006, KPUD and Skamania County announced a new effort to acquire the project from PacifiCorp and preserve the dam.

[18] Most environmental groups involved with the decommissioning plan, as well as the National Forest Service, believed that the long-term benefits of removing the dam far outweighed the short-term damage done by flushed sedimentation.

[10] Some fish and environmental advocates see this case as an important precedent for dam removals to restore free-flowing rivers.