2020 Accomplishments and Next Steps

Legal/Advocacy

CWA lawsuit

In early November, we submitted our second brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In our brief, we responded to the appeals made by Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Spring Reservation of Oregon. Those co-owners of the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project are responsible for operations that have resulted in severe degradation of lower Deschutes River water quality. 

This was the DRA’s last brief before the Ninth Circuit. In the coming weeks, PGE and the Tribes will likely respond to our recent brief. Following that, the Ninth Circuit will review the briefs and, most likely, schedule a hearing in early 2021. We will keep you updated with any developments as they happen.

ODEQ action

In mid-August, the DRA filed a pollution complaint with the Department of Environmental Quality concerning dissolved oxygen levels in the lower Deschutes River. For years DEQ failed to apply the trout spawning standard between June 15 and October 15. DRA members this year observed and photographed clear indications of spawning trout into August and filed our complaint based on that direct evidence. But DEQ closed our complaint on September 1, choosing to take no action – not even to investigate.

In mid-October, we challenged the DEQ action with a Petition seeking reconsideration. Citing clear mandates in Oregon’s administrative rules that the agency ignored, we asked DEQ to ensure that dissolved oxygen levels meet the regulatory requirements that support the biological needs of spawning trout. We now await DEQ’s response, and we intend to pursue this issue until the regulatory requirements are met.

Chlorpyrifos 

We continue to carefully watch and actively participate in chlorpyrifos regulations at the state level. We provided comments on the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s proposed rulemaking which attempted to regulate the pesticide’s use. The proposed rules fell well short of the House Committee-approved 2020 chlorpyrifos bill. But for the legislative walk-out, that bill would have been law. 

We will continue to push for a full ban on chlorpyrifos statewide in order to protect fish and wildlife from the pesticide’s deadly affects.

Bowman Dam

In August, the DRA submitted comments supporting Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s recommendation not to grant Ochoco Irrigation District a fish passage waiver for Bowman Dam. OID, who is seeking to modify Bowman Dam, is required to either provide fish passage at the dam or mitigation resulting in a net benefit to fish as compared to fish passage. Our comments, like ODFW’s recommendation, stated that OID’s proposed mitigation was seriously lacking and needed to be improved.

DRA followed this issue and provided testimony at the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting considering the waiver. There, we urged the Commission to deny the waiver until expanded mitigation efforts – focusing on permanently increasing flows and reducing nutrient pollution in the lower Crooked River – were proposed by OID. The Commission denied the waiver by a 5-1 vote. As any changes on the Crooked River will impact the lower Deschutes, we will continue to watch this issue’s development.

Science

In June, DRA released our 2019 water quality report – our sixth annual report. Some interesting changes were observed in 2019 compared to prior years’ results. These findings are detailed and substantiated in the report. While any positive changes are welcome news, Oregon’s water quality standards are still not being met. Absent effective action by state and federal authorities, the DRA will continue to seek enforcement of the Clean Water Act water quality standards as a principle means of improving water quality in the lower Deschutes River. 

DRA’s Macroinvertebrate Hatch Survey Report was released in April. The survey data compiled in the report represent a systematic attempt to document changes in adult insect emergence timing and abundance on the lower Deschutes River. The data, submitted by highly experienced guides and anglers, provides the only ongoing assessment of changes to the lower river’s aquatic insect populations. 

Also, in April, DRA released our first Annual Crooked River Water Quality Report. The Crooked River has been proven to be the largest source of nitrogen-based nutrient laden water in Lake Billy Chinook. The nutrient loaded water leads to recurrent toxic algae blooms in the reservoir. Vastly compounding the damage, operators of the Pelton-Round-Butte Hydroelectric Project (“Project”) selectively mainline those contaminants directly into the lower Deschutes River, thereby inducing nuisance algae growth, and disrupting the cycles of invertebrate hatches that underlay the river’s reputation as a world-class trout stream. The fact of that degradation has been established by multiple studies, including PGE’s own 3-year water quality study. 

DRA staff presented a research poster to the Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Conference in March 2020. The poster focuses on the impacts that nutrient pollution in the Crooked River has on the lower Deschutes after it is selectively withdrawn from Lake Billy Chinook and discharged through the project into the lower river. The poster shows the resulting degraded water quality, shift to pollution tolerant aquatic life, and the disrupted ecological integrity of the river. 

Community

In February, we again threw one heck of a party at our fourth annual Gathering and Auction. It was a fun filled event to highlight our community and support the work to preserve and protect the river. In 2021, we will be going virtual – join us for the live event on February 20, 2021. 

Like countless others, DRA made appropriate adjustments in our operations to weather the Covid-19 situation. From operating primarily remotely to revamping our budget – DRA faced the issue head on and we are a stronger organization for it. 

As part of our Covid-19 shift, we have been hosting bimonthly online events with our supporters. They have been both informative and fun! We look forward to continuing this type of gathering well into the future. 

DRA supporters continued backing our Maupin community through caring for our adopted stretch of highway at a gateway to Maupin.