$2 million found for MLIRD dam
Crews installed a temporary cofferdam at the Moses Lake North Dam in October. $2 million has recently been allotted for reconstruction.
MOSES LAKE— The Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District can move forward with the Moses Lake North Dam replacement project.
Governor Jay Inslee announced today that $2 million will be transferred from Pend Oreille County PUD’s Sullivan Lake Water Supply Project to MLIRD for their dam replacement project. The funding can be used for design, permitting, management and construction costs.
Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry and Reps. Judy Warnick, and Matt Manweller and capital budget leadership in both chambers recently submitted a letter of support to the governor for the project.
No emergency funds were available for the project, but the governor can divert funding from postponed projects.
The Sullivan Lake project was delayed because Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) issued late a license surrender order to Pend Oreille County Public Utility District for the Sullivan Lake project. The delay by FERC slowed the Seattle City Light's cold water outlet construction at Sullivan Lake, which has pushed state payments to Pend Oreille County PUD into the next funding cycle, allowing for the diversion of those funds to the Moses Lake project.
For more on this story, pick up Thursday’s Columbia Basin Herald.
- Staff report