COMMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, Washington, D. C., May 10, 1957. Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. DEXHEIMER: Reference is made to your letter dated January 28, 1957, to the Honorable Wilber M. Brucker, Secretary of the Army, and to the Chief of Engineers, which transmitted for information and comment the proposed report of the Department of the Interior on the Chief Joseph Dam project, Greater Wenatchee division, Washington. The report on the Greater Wenatchee division is made pursuant to the provisions of Public Law 577, 82d Congress, which authorized the Secretary of the Interior to make a study on means of providing financial and other assistance from the Chief Joseph Dam project in the reclamation of arid lands in the general vicinity of the Chief Joseph project. Construction has been started on the Foster Creek division, the first of the units authorized under Public Law 577. Your report on the Foster Creek project, made in 1953, proposed an allocation of $139,000 of the costs of Chief Joseph Dam to irrigation of that unit by reason of reduction in pumping costs made possible by the Chief Joseph Reservoir. Water for the irrigation of Greater Wenatchee division lands will be taken from the river below the reservoir with no direct benefit from Chief Joseph Dam and Reservoir. The subject report, therefore, is concerned with the Chief Joseph Dam project to the extent that it will provide financial assistance in that all construction costs of the Greater Wenatchee irrigation project which are beyond the ability of the water users to repay shall be repaid from net revenues derived from the sale of power from the Chief Joseph Dam project which are over and beyond those required to amortize the power investment with interest. It is noted that the report, in connection with rate determinations, contains the recommendation that the Secretary of the Interior be authorized to take into account all costs of Chief Joseph powerplant which he determines to be properly allocable to irrigation pumping power and energy. I would like to point out that the allocation of costs of the Chief Joseph project is the responsibility of the constructing agency and any allocations made in connection with these irrigation projects must be considered tentative pending a final recommended allocation of the costs of the Chief Joseph project by the Secretary of the Army. The construction of an irrigation project, essentially as outlined in your report, would have no material effect on operation of the Chief Joseph Dam project or its capability for fulfilling its primary purpose. The opportunity to review your report is appreciated. Sincerely yours, E. C. ITSCHNER, Major General, United States Army, Chief of Engineers. 109 COMMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington, D. C., April 5, 1957. The honorable the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. DEAR MR. SECRETARY: This is in reply to the Commissioner of Reclamation's letter of January 28, 1957, transmitting copies of the proposed report of the Department of the Interior on the Greater Wenatchee division, Chief Joseph Dam project, for our review and comment. The report presents a plan for irrigation development of 7 units along the Columbia River within a distance of about 75 miles below the Chief Joseph Dam comprising the Greater Wenatchee division of the Chief Joseph Dam project on the Columbia River near Wenatchee, Wash. Each of the units consists of an area to be irrigated, a pumping plant to lift water 400 to 750 feet from the Columbia River, and a discharge line to convey water to the unit lands. Power would be provided from generators at the Chief Joseph Dam under the Bonneville Power Administration distribution system. The seven units considered in the plan are North Pateros unit, South Pateros unit, Antoine Creek unit, Howard Flat unit, Brays Landing unit, East unit, and Moses Coulee unit. The combined irrigable area for the 7 units is 10,852 acres of which 9,357 acres are not now irrigated. The report recommends the authorization of 4 of the 7 units Howard Flat, Brays Landing, East, and Moses Coulee. Recommendation for authorization of the other three units is deferred until the landowners of the North Pateros indicate an interest in the plan and the problem of Indian land ownership is resolved in the South Pateros and Antoine Creek units. The 4 recommended units contain a total of 8,661 acres of which 7,221 acres are not now irrigated. The estimated cost of construction (1955 prices) of the recommended units is $8,781,500, consisting of (1) irrigation facilities, $8,158,000,- (2) capitalized operating costs, $545,000, and (3) cost of intake sereens for fish protection, $78,500. The reimbursable estimate is $8,703,500 with the fish protection cost of $78,500 nonreimbursable. .::The water users adjusted payment ability is estimated to be $233,480 annually after a 10-year development period. This results in an estimate for annual repayment of construction charges of $137,145 on the basis of an annual operation and maintenance cost estimate of $96,335. The water users would be expected to pay about 79 percent of the costs and the remaining 21 percent would be paid from power revenues from Chief Joseph Dam. On the basis of a 50-year analysis the benefit-cost ratio is computed to be 5.39 to 1 for total irrigation benefits, and 1.76 to 1 for direct irrigation benefits only. A study of certain lands proposed for irrigation in the Okanogan Valley near the Chief Joseph Dam was made by this Department in 1949 at the request of the Columbia Basin Commission of the State of Washington. One of the conclusions of the study was that: "Land in the areas studied could be developed successfully from an agricultural standpoint, assuming that the cost of delivering irrigation water to the farmland for fruit production would not exceed $30 per acre.” The study also mentioned the use of sprinkler irrigation on the light-textured soils of uneven topography to increase efficiency in water use and to reduce land-leveling costs. These items for that area are in substantial agreement with the subject report of the Bureau of Reclamation. The study by the Department of Agriculture was not on the lands of the Greater Wenatchee division but on lands of the Chief Joseph project immediately upstream from it in Okanogan and Douglas Counties, Wash. However, the climatic and soils conditions of the two areas appear to be very similar. In this connection, we wish to call to your attention a difference in production estimates in the two reports sufficient to somewhat affect economic feasibility if other factors were equal. Yields of apples are estimated at 550 boxes on class II lands and 450 boxes on class III lands in the Bureau of Reclamation report. In the apparently comparable area studied by this Department, the production of apples on class II land was estimated to be 450 boxes and on class III land to be 405 boxes. No class I land was mapped in either case. We mention this because we feel the difference to be of sufficient importance to be given consideration in connection with your report. The study by this Department was not published but copies were made available to the Bureau of Reclamation as well as to the Columbia Basin Commission. The Soil Conservation Service has advised us that the proposal to use sprinkler irrigation on lands of the Greater Wenatchee division is in line with SCS technical recommendations on similar areas of light soil and sloping land.' Administration of the national forests is not affected by the proposed development. The feasibility of each of the four recommended units appears to be properly and separately analyzed. Each shows a favorable benefitcost ratio and recommendation for authorization appears to be justified, We appreciate the opportunity of reviewing the report.. Sincerely yours,., som? Hi!, E. L. PETERSON, Assistant Secretary. ار COMMENTS OF THE FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION, Washington, April 23, 1957. Subject: Chief Joseph Dam project, Greater Wenatchee division, Washington. Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. SECRETARY: The comments herein with respect to the proposed report of your Department on the Chief Joseph Dam project, Greater Wenatchee division, Washington, are transmitted in response to the Commissioner of Reclamation's letter of January 28, 1957. Transmitted with that letter were copies of the Acting Commissioner of Reclamation's report of December 14, 1956, approved and adopted by the Acting Secretary of the Interior on January 24, 1957, the regional director's report of June 1956, and appended material. The transmittal of these comments by the Commission is in accordance with the established procedures of the Interagency Committee on Water Resources. The Greater Wenatchee division of the Chief Joseph Dam project, Washington, is located in the Columbia River Valley between Moses Coulee on the south and Pateros, Wash., on the north. It consists of seven units which are completely separate land bodies requiring independent irrigation systems. Development of these units would provide a dependable water supply for 10,852 acres of land, of which 9,357 acres are not now irrigated. The cited reports recommend authorization at this time for only 4 of the 7 units. These units; namely, Howard Flat, Brays Landing, East, and Moses Coulee, comprise a total of 8,661 acres, of which 7,221 acres are not now irrigated. The total estimated cost of the 4 units, based on July 1955 prices, is given in the reports as $8,782,000. The Commission has reviewed the reports of your Department and finds that there is no possibility for the development of hydroelectric power in connection with the Greater Wenatchee division project. It notes, however, that construction and operation of the project will deplete the flow of the Columbia River by about 28,000 acre-feet annually. Under ultimate storage conditions the depletion in flows would result, on the average, in a decrease of about 15 million kilowatthours annually in the output of Columbia River plants. Under present streamflow conditions, however, the effect of this depletion on hydroelectric power developments downstream from the project would be negligible. Sincerely yours, S. L. DIGBY, Acting Chairman. 2 COMMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, Washington, D. C., March 19, 1957. Mr. W. A. DEXHEIMER, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. DEXHEIMER: This is in response to your request for comments on the report on the Greater Wenatchee division, Chief Joseph Dam project, Washington. This report has been reviewed with attention to this Department's responsibility and interest in the national water-resources program. Our comments are attached. We appreciate the opportunity to review the report at this stage of its development. We shall be happy to assist the Bureau of Reclamation in working out any health-related measures that may be needed in connection with the project. Sincerely yours, M. D. HOLLIS, Assistant Surgeon General, Chief Engineer. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Washington PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE March 19, 1957. COMMENTS ON REPORT OF THE CHIEF JOSEPH Dam PROJECTGREATER WENATCHEE DIVISION, WASHINGTON (BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR) PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Greater Wenatchee division of the Chief Joseph Dam project is located in the Columbia River Valley between Moses Coulee on the south and Pateros, Wash., on the north. The division comprises 7 units which cover 10,852 acres of irrigable land. The regional director, Bureau of Reclamation, recommends authorization at this time for only 4 of the 7 units-Howard Flat, Brays Landing, East, and Moses Coulee. The report proposes construction of facilities for pumping water from the Columbia River to each of the units through a closed pipe distribution system for irrigation purposes only. The estimated total cost of the project is $11,783,000. 113 |