Information on the proposal   (April 2005)

In December of 2004, the Friends of Mount Hood (FOMH) met with representatives of Mt. Hood Meadows and the Forest Service to discuss upcoming projects on the mountain. There was no mention made of the snowmaking proposal at the meeting. However, in the spring Mt. Hood Meadows pushed for permission from the U.S. Forest Service to construct a snowmaking system this summer at the ski area.

The proposal depends on Meadows receiving permission from state and federal agencies. Meadows must prove that its proposal does not violate the safeguards designed to protect our water quality and quantity for wildlife, irrigation, domestic, and recreation uses.

Meadows is seeking two new water rights from the Oregon Water Resources Department:

• a groundwater right to pump 50 gallons per minute from a well during Nov. 1 through March 31;
• a surface water right to extract up to 494 gallons per minute from the East Fork Hood River from Nov. 1 through March 31, subject to leaving a required minimum flow in the stream channel.

• Initial plans are to use up to 15 snowmaking guns, but the project is designed to accommodate 45 guns.
• Over 14,000 linear feet (2.65 miles) of pipe will be buried in trenches to supply the water to the guns.
• Water is to be stored in a steel tank which would be 78 ft. in diameter and 29 ft. tall. This huge water tank is capable of storing one million gallons of water! Most likely old growth trees will have to be cut at the construction site.

FOMH response

This proposal is for a very large snowmaking project!  FOMH is very concerned that the District Ranger of the Hood River Ranger District and the Oregon Water Resources Department are being asked to make decisions on the proposal in June, 2005. If the project is approved, the construction would be completed this summer without any possibility of meaningful review of the potential impacts on the Hood River Basin.

To evaluate the proposal, the Forest Service is using a process know as a Categorical Exclusion (CE). This is a fast track process used for small projects such as trail maintenance. The Forest Service can use an exclusion for projects where there is no potential for significant impact on the environment. The process does not require an environmental analysis with public review. Furthermore, there is not a procedure for an appeal of the decision within the Forest Service. The only recourse is to challenge the decision in federal court, a process that leads to poor decision making when the project is not one that fits the mold of the CE.

FOMH does not regard this proposal as a small project having no potential for significant impact on the environment. We have posed questions that need to be addressed:

• How will water withdrawals for snowmaking affect the beautiful wetlands and flowered meadows in the ski permit area?
• How will the extraction of water from the East Fork affect the irrigation of orchards and other agriculture land in the Hood River Valley?
• How will the extraction of large quantities of water from the East Fork affect salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout downstream?

Proponents of the system argue that essentially all of the water used in snowmaking will be eventually returned to the aquifer or to the East Fork. However, scientific studies done at several ski areas determined that anywhere from 26% to 70% of the water used in snowmaking is lost to evaporation and sublimation, never to return to the system. Moreover, the timing of those return flows would not be flexible or controlled, rather it is likely those flows would return during peak run-off and thereby cause additional problems.

Instead of proceeding with the fast tract evaluation process, FOMH is requesting that the Forest Service commence an enviromental analysis of the project that includes a study of the hydrological impacts of drawing large amounts of ground and surface water for snowmaking. The public should have an opportunity to comment on the study when it is released and before a decision is made on the proposal.

FOMH has obtained expert assistance from Cascade Resources Advocacy Group and an hydrologist to research and respond to Meadows' snowmaking proposal.

Update   (September 2005)

In June, FOMH met with representatives from the Forest Service and Meadows Ski Area to discuss our objections to the snowmaking proposal. Discussions continued during the summer, and this has resulted in all parties agreeing that an environmental analysis is to be undertaken by the Forest Service and that the public will have an opportunity to respond to the study before a decision is made on snowmaking. In the meantime, FOMH has stated that it will not object to Meadows using 2 or 3 snowguns during the 2005-06 ski season if the usage of water by the snowguns is closely monitored.

Links to documents relevant to Meadows' proposal can be found at Snowmaking Information.

Ways to help

• Let us know your email address or home address, in order to inform you of important news on this issue. This information can be sent to mldaily@pdx.edu.
• Help us with a donation so we can continue our work to educate the public and engage experts to research and respond to this snowmaking proposal.
• Write a letter to the editor of The Oregonian to oppose the construction of the snowmaking project without an environmental analysis of the consequences.
• Write a letter or send an email to the Hood River Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National Forest or to the Oregon Water Resources Department. Submit comments to:
  • Doug Jones
    Hood River Ranger District
    6780 Highway 35
    Mt. Hood, OR 97041
    (541)352-6002
    dgjones@fs.fed.us
    
  • Ms. Jeana Eastman
    Oregon Water Resources Departmant
    North Mall Office Building
    725 Sumner Street NE, Suite A
    Salem, OR 97301

FOMH Board members: Karl Anuta, Dennis Chaney, Lou Daily, Helen Herner, Phyllis Kirk, Jack Grauer, Kate McCarthy, Chris Winter, John Wood.
Chairperson: Barbara Wilson, wilsonbn@comcast.net