SEATTLE — U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, has added her voice to the chorus calling for removal of the Electron Hydroelectric Project on the Puyallup River, saying the dam’s cost to salmon is not worth it.
The dam, owned by Electron Hyrdo LLC, a division of Tollhouse Energy LLC of Bellingham, is more than 100 years old. It provides no irrigation, flood control or energy benefits and is a known killer of protected fish, including spring chinook salmon and bull trout.
The dam used to provide electricity for about 20,000 homes, but Puget Sound Energy has canceled its power purchase contract for electricity from the dam, citing the operator’s inability to run the dam according to environmental laws.
“The Electron Dam should come down,” Schrier said in a phone interview.
“No one is even buying electricity from this dam, and are we missing it? No,” Schrier said. “For me, it is just very obvious. It is decimating juvenile salmon runs and you are not really getting any benefit.
“When I think about the cost-benefit analysis, the cost to our salmon populations is tremendous. And we are not living up to our treaty obligation to the tribes.”
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians also has called for removal of the dam. The Pierce County executive, Republican Bruce Dammeier, also recently called for removal of the dam as soon as possible because of its harm to salmon.
Chris Spens, manager of regulatory affairs for Tollhouse, said in an email the owners of the dam are opposed to decommissioning and removal of the dam.
“Electron Hydro LLC has absolutely no intention of participating in any decommissioning effort,” Spens stated.
The often-overlooked dam in the foothills of Mount Rainier dam burst into public light in August after an employee posted an alert on social media that the dam’s owners in late July had used artificial turf as a liner in a construction project at the dam. The turf was taken from a waste pile from a nearby quarry, and was not a material permitted for use in its project.
The material was torn up by the river, sending a cascade of at least 6 cubic yards of crumb rubber and shreds of artificial turf downriver toward Puget Sound.
The spill is under investigation, and the federal Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against the dam’s owners in connection with the spill, seeking at least $10 million in damages under the Clean Water Act and ordering a clean up.
