Utility says kayak run dangerous

Federal regulators seek comment on whitewater releases on Nisqually River

N.S. NOKKENTVED, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published July 8

OLYMPIA -- Sheer rock walls drop more than 300 feet in places to a stream below that rages only four days a year.

From the river, the canyon is so narrow and the walls so high that some places appear to be closing in above you, said Nels Honeycutt of Skookum Bay Outfitters in Olympia.

"It's one of the most beautiful rivers in this area," said Honeycutt, who has run the La Grande Canyon four times.

Water released from Tacoma Power's La Grande dam down the narrow and scenic canyon of the Nisqually River on four days each year has become a popular but challenging run for serious whitewater kayakers.

Normally, the 1.7-mile reach of the river is mostly dry, the water taken for power generation. Recreational releases on four weekend days in November and December were required as part of a three-year test under Tacoma Power's renewed federal license for the hydroelectric facility on the Nisqually.

The releases ran in 1998 through 2000. But Tacoma Power has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to remove the requirement from its license.

The public has until July 25 to submit comments, protests or motions to intervene to FERC.

Tacoma Power wants to halt the releases out of concern with public safety, cost and liability, said Debbie Young, natural resource manager for Tacoma Power.

Whitewater enthusiasts want the releases to continue.

"We think this is a resource that is worth keeping in place," said John Gangemi, conservation director for American Whitewater, a nationwide whitewater boating advocacy group.

Tacoma Power bases its concern in part on an accident in December that claimed the life of Christopher Ringsven, a 27-year-old kayaker from Snoqualmie who drowned trying to run the canyon.

But if people are killed on the river, it is because of their inexperience, a mistake or lack of knowledge about the river, Honeycutt said. It's wrong to blame the river or the releases. La Grande Canyon is no different from difficult rapids on other rivers, he said.

Tacoma Power fought the releases during relicensing, Gangemi said. And the company now is using the accident to justify halting the releases. The three-year test was not long enough to determine any trends, he said.

One serious accident in three years doesn't make a trend, he said. The runs should be studied for five years, he said.

In addition, since a flood in 1997 rearranged rocks in the river and Tacoma Power changed a man-made structure in the canyon, the run should be re-evaluated to determine whether a different flow would be better.

Supporters of the releases note that three people were killed in boating and swimming accidents on the reservoir -- Alder Lake -- during the summer of 2000, according to FERC records.

But about 100,000 people use Alder Lake Park annually, Young said. In the three years of the releases, 162 kayakers ran the canyon. Proportionately more people are killed kayaking, she said.

"It's a very high-risk sport," she said.

Gangemi argued that the cost to Tacoma Power is inconsequential. The utility releases flows of 800 or 1,000 cubic feet per second during one weekend in November and one in December. But that is at a time when Tacoma has to hold back spill to accommodate the releases, he said.

The winter runs when days are short add to the danger of boaters being caught on the water in the dark. Boaters would like to change the releases to June -- a time of plenty of water and a time with little effect on fisheries, he said.

The run takes most people three to five hours, Gangemi said. Part of that time is spent on the difficult descent into the canyon.

Once on the water, the run takes a little more than two hours, Honeycutt said. Even with the cold water, a dry suit keeps you warm. Dunkings still are cold on the head -- brain freeze, he called it.

"After the first time you don't notice it," Honeycutt said. "But you try not to go upside down too much."

Despite releases signed by the boaters, Tacoma Power still is concerned about liability, Young said.

"We're supplying the water specifically for whitewater boating," she said. And Tacoma provides access across its property and provides a take-out site for the boaters.

Either way, Tacoma Power hopes to get an answer from FERC in time to make plans for any required releases in the fall, Young said.

If the releases continue, those who have done it say the run is only for expert kayakers. Once you get on the water, there's really no other way out.

"You just gotta go down," Honeycutt said.

N.S. Nokkentved covers the outdoors for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5445.

To get involved

Send an original and eight copies of written comments, protests or motions to intervene by July 25 to David P. Boergers, secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426. For more information, call FERC at 202-208-0022.

On the web:

Tacoma Power.

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