Army Corps to use strict VARQ on Kootenai

By KATHY NUSSBERGER

Managing Editor

Last Friday Boundary County Commissioners, Ron Smith, Dan Dinning and Walt Kirby, Bonners Ferry Mayor Darrell Kerby, Moyie Mayor Joe Messinbrink and members of the Kootenai Tribe participated in a meeting with members of the Army Corps of Engineers who plan to use strict VARQ to operate Libby Dam.

"We had about nine or 10 people here from the Army Corps to discuss the current flood levels on the Kootenai River," Smith explained. "Those present included General Greg Martin from the Northwest District and Col. Michael McCormick from the Seattle District, Karen Duram-Aguilera, Director of Programming for the Northwest Division. It is my understanding that Karen Duram-Aguilera is the highest ranking civilian in that organization, so she carries a lot of weight."

Smith explained that a few weeks ago, the Commissioners met with local farmers to discuss the damages from the flooding in the summer of 2006.

"We wrote a letter to the Weather Service and sent a copy to the Army Corps asking them to strongly consider a 1762-feet flood level. Shortly after that letter was sent, we received a letter from Col. McCormick basically saying the Corps would probably not reduce the flood stage from 1764, even if the Weather Service decided too lower it. We got together with the farmers again to decide what to do, and wrote another letter directly to the Army Corps."

Smith said the commissioners decided to write another letter asking the Corps to reconsider their stance in the hope that they would decide to work with the Weather Service in lowering the flood stage to 1762.

"We sent those letters to the congressional delegation including all levels of the state legislation, both Gov. Risch and now Gov. Butch Otter, as well as Bill Bishop with Homeland Security and the Weather Service. We covered all the bases. After all of this was completed, I received a phone call from Col. McCormick saying the Army Corps would be looking at two different avenues of water management which would be to either maintain standard flood management like they have in the past or follow a strict VARQ. However, a couple of days later the Colonel called to say General Martin had decided the Army Corps would use a strict VARQ."

Smith said basically the Corps is saying that last year there were some mistakes made, but if they had followed strict VARQ the damage would have been minimal, so with no variations of intake or output at Libby during 2007, there is only a 2% chance of the flood levels rising to 1764 or higher.

"The current plan is just for 2007 because the information the Corps gathers from its modeling may show a totally different plan for 2008," Smith said. "However, due to the changes the Corps is making for the river flows in 2007, I had to ask at what level, 1762, 1764, etc., they would help us fight floods. They are pretty much telling us numbers don't mean anything. In other words, if the river starts to rise and we believe there will be damage, it doesn't matter whether the river level is 1758, 1760, etc. We will notify the core with the information and they will decide whether it's time to send in reinforcements. The crews sent in last summer went above and beyond to help us prevent any further damages."

Although the commissioners are concerned for the entire county when flooding occurs, a major emphasis is placed on protecting the farmers and their crops.

"I do not want to see our farmers go through what we did last year," Smith explained. "The devastation of the crop losses was only rivaled by the farmers witnessing their property actually sloughing off into the river. We can't go through that again."