The Chehalis Basin Flood Authority, a coalition of county and municipal governments that administers state funds for flood control and aquatic habitat improvements in the Chehalis Basin, has voted to endorse the proposal for a dam in the headwaters of the Chehalis River as one aspect of a larger set of long-term actions to address catastrophic flooding in the basin and enhance habitat for salmon and other aquatic species.

The state Department of Ecology is currently taking comments on a draft environmental impact statement that focused mostly on the construction of the dam.

The county and local governments that include representation on the Flood Authority include Lewis County, Grays Harbor County, Thurston County, Centralia, Chehalis, Napavine, Pe Ell, Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, Hoquiam, Montesano, Oakville and Bucoda.

Since the catastrophic flooding of 2009 that inundated large parts of Centralia, huge swaths of farmland and closed I-5 for a week, the state and federal governments have been working with local communities and tribal governments on a solution to at least reduce the damage from historic-level flooding.

Along with the dam and some diking, the solutions have included scores of smaller projects, some already accomplished and some possible in the future, many of them designed to both control flooding and restore natural aquatic habitat.

A Flood Authority statement on its endorsement of the dam says the authority recognizes that a “Basin-wide solution, where all interests are considered through an open, collaborative, and well-represented process, is the only way to deliver meaningful solutions to complex scientific and regulatory issues, like Chehalis Basin flooding and fisheries impact issues.”

The complex collaborative process includes multiple interests. Along with the local governments, key players include the governor’s office, the state Department of Ecology, the Quinault Indian Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis. The tribal entities are part of a process called the Chehalis Basin Board, which has overlapping representation with the Flood Authority.

The Quinault Nation has already said that after studying the draft environmental impact statement it will oppose the dam. It said not enough consideration was given to finding solutions that don’t include a dam.

The Flood Authority said the DEIS evaluated the negative environmental impacts of the proposed dam without considering any mitigation measures that would be designed to offset the aspects of the dam that harm salmon habitat. In its statement, the Flood Authority said members support aggressive mitigation for the proposed dam, alongside an aggressive Basin-wide aquatic species restoration effort.

In 2016, the Flood Authority said, the Washington State Department of Ecology authored a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) that showed that water retention at the top of the river, along with local flood management measures downstream, and construction of the Aberdeen-Hoquiam North Shore Levee, would together comprise the best Basin-wide flood protection for communities and families.

The PEIS also showed that these measures to protect communities and livelihoods could be implemented in parallel with an aggressive aquatic species restoration plan to result in a net positive benefit of both a more vibrant fishery and flood protection for families and communities, the authority said.

Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines, who is chairwoman of both the Flood Authority and the Chehalis Basin Board, said “the Chehalis Basin process has repeatedly shown us that working together is the best way to achieve the most for all of our communities and interests in the Basin.” She goes on to add, “if it wasn’t for the Chehalis Basin process, I very much doubt our county (Grays Harbor County) would have received the $35 million in direct, on-the-ground investment in flood and fish projects we have over the past decade.”

Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund said, “In the past we separately studied and studied solutions for flooding. We also separately studied and studied solutions for fish. We didn’t get the results our citizens and communities want. … Today, with this process (the Chehalis Basin process), we are all at the table and achieving more for flooding and fisheries than ever before.”

Thurston County Commissioner and Flood Authority member Tye Menser said, “while it’s true working together is the best approach, in order for Thurston County to support water retention, any mitigation plan will need to be shown as fully effective and able to sufficiently and technically mitigate impacts from such a structure.”