Grant PUD approves $3 million for plan
Shoreline plan applies to Crescent Bar
EPHRATA - Grant County PUD commissioners approved a $3 million contract with an East Wenatchee, Wash.-based company to help complete and carry out the Priest Rapids Project Shoreline Management Plan.
The plan will include details about protecting and enhancing Crescent Bar.
There are reportedly 1,600 people living on the island during the summer and about 250 people residing there full time.
Crescent Bar lies within the Priest Rapids project, about 10 miles north of Vantage.
During this week's commission meeting, Commissioner Greg Hansen asked staff members how the plan affects future negotiations with Crescent Bar residents. A 50-year lease the PUD has with the Port of Quincy expires in 2012. The lease allows people to reside on the island.
Grant PUD Natural Resources Director Gerry O'Keefe called the upcoming work on the plan a planning exercise. He added the project needs to be done on the commissioners' behalf.
O'Keefe said commissioners should have policies to guide development and resource protection, so there's a policy framework.
He told the commissioners they have an opportunity to make the project area the way they want it.
There were talks this year about raising the water around the island by 3.5 feet, which means part of the trailer park on the island would be flooded, but no decisions have been made.
The proposed water changes are due to the new license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which requires a 75-foot shoreline buffer zone and a flood-control zone, Grant PUD senior policy advisor Joe Lukas said earlier this year.
The requirement for the shoreline management plan is required by FERC as part of the new license.
Grant PUD Land Resources Manager Kelly Larimer said there's two elements to the contract, a land use planning assistance element and a landscape architectural element.
A public education and outreach plan will be developed and implemented in order to inform and engage stakeholders about applicable requirements, according to Rita Bjork, a utility spokesperson.
The contractor, Alliance Consulting Group Inc./Project Groundwork, will assist with the development of recreation facility assessments, programs, landscape designs, engineering, technical and environment review, permitting and associated projects for implementation, she stated.