We, the Undersigned, ask the State of Idaho and Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration to leave Lake Pend Oreille’s lake levels alone and keep the lake at normal pool in accordance with Idaho state law and flood control purposes. No unneeded drawdowns on our water!

Reasons for the Petition

In our view, there are three related but distinct threats to lake levels on Pend Oreille, which affect the region's recreation, wildlife, economy, private property rights and way of life:

The Army Corp of Engineers (COE) is not following the original Charter: Each COE operational plan states that they are operating “substantially” in accordance with Senate Doc. #9 and the 1950 flood control act. Federal law defines “substantially” used in this context as: “’Substantially as follows’ or ‘substantially the same as,’ when used in the prescription and introductory text of a provision or clause, means that authorization is granted to prepare and utilize a variation of that provision or clause to accommodate requirements that are peculiar to an individual acquisition; provided that the variation includes the salient features of the clause, and is not inconsistent with the intent, principle, and substance or related coverage of the subject matter.” Senate Doc. #9 states that normal pool of 2062.5 will be maintained for about six months and then drawn down at such a rate that maximum draw down will occur just before June.  It now rarely hits 2062.5 and is only held at 2062 for only 2 months and the maximum draw down occurs in November; therefore not substantially in accordance with the intent, principle and substance of its charter. We believe the variant operational plan is not consistent with the intent, principle and substance of Senate Doc. #9 and violates state law with respect to private property rights. Action Requested: Demand that the COE develops and approves a modeling plan that is consistent with the intent, principle, and substance of Senate Document#9, state property rights, and is approved by the Lakes Commission.

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA): The MOA has already been adopted by the COE, BPA and the Kalispell Tribe without, in our opinion, proper public notice or proper public input. (Note: In the June 24th meeting, the BPA admitted they had probably done a poor job of informing stakeholders of the public input period). The MOA is not a part of the Senate Doc. #9, the original Colombia River Treaty or the CRTR. The current modeling includes a potential 4.5 foot draw down beginning August 15th.  If they choose any of their models, we will be given limited time to comment on a detailed model that has taken the COE years to study and perfect. Action Requested: Challenge and invalidate the MOA. Include the Lake Pend Oreille stakeholders in the new document and all future meetings and decisions.

The Colombia River Treaty Review goes to the U.S. State Department Sept. 24 with uncertain ramifications for our waterways, and no more public comment permitted. While its impact is unknown with certainty, some very real concerns are: Does it have supremacy over local, state and federal laws? Is it changing the operational purposes of the dams to power, flood and eco-system based functions? Does it cover all the dams in the Columbia River Basin including Albeni Falls Dam? Action requested:  Add a simple statement to the CRTR that states: Nothing herein contained is intended to or shall be interpreted to alter, modify, change or effect any purpose or water rights on any dam in Idaho, and the CRTR does not have supremacy over state and federal laws as it relates to pre-existing laws and water rights.”

We request that the State of Idaho fund the Lakes Commission with adequate funding commensurate with the value of the resources that it is charged with preserving and support the Commission’s statutory authority to receive and direct any mitigation monies involving Lake Pend Oreille, Pend Oreille River, Priest River and Priest Lake.