Moses Lake PUD office to be revamped for security

WANAPUM DAM — The Grant County PUD office in Moses Lake will get a security makeover, and the PUD office in Grand Coulee will be converted to drive-through only. The recommendations come after a security assessment by PUD officials.

The assessment followed some employee changes in the utility district’s security office, said chief financial officer John Janney. It determined the biggest threat to PUD personnel was someone coming in the door, Janney wrote in a memo to PUD commissioners. In light of that, PUD officials will add glass windows to the customer service room at the Moses Lake office, and a new “security entrance” to the Energy Services room. The walk-in lobby at the Grand Coulee office will be eliminated.

The idea is to keep an assailant from jumping over the counter, Janney said. Other suggestions included more security cameras, “duress alarms” (a silent alarm) for employees and lockable doors between the lobby and employee workspaces in all PUD offices.

Public information officer Chuck Allen said there’s no timeline for the project yet.

Utility district commissioners discussed the memo during the regular commission meeting Tuesday at Wanapum Dam. In other business, commissioners received an update on ongoing efforts to check – and increase where necessary – the stability of the riverbanks at Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams. So far one site at Priest Rapids has been identified, and PUD officials said they have set aside $25 million to fix it.

The spot is along the Yakima County side of the river, according to a presentation at the commission meeting, and the project will be the subject of a meeting with engineering consultants Nov. 8. A new embankment will be required, and a contract for construction is scheduled to be advertised for bid sometime after July 2017, with the work scheduled for completion in late 2018, Allen said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees hydropower facilities, and they had established some draft guidelines, according to the presentation. But they have yet to be finalized, and preliminary studies the PUD was doing have been dropped, according to the presentation.

Utility district officials are working to analyze the information they do have, a project they expect to complete by mid-2017. After it’s done, PUD officials will meet with FERC officials to evaluate the results.

Utility district officials, FERC and consultants have been meeting as studies are completed. To date, the results show some work may be required along the spillway at Priest Rapids Dam, and a spot along the riverbank at Wanapum Dam. Cost estimates for those have not been determined.