A letter critical of calls for new safety investigations at the Jordanelle Dam under construction near Park City has been sent by the Salt Lake Water Conservancy District Board of Directors.
The letter, addressed to Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, criticizes Owens' recent call for an investigation following publication of safety concerns by the Wasatch Wave, a weekly newspaper based in Heber City."The district is very concerned at the response you have made to the recent attacks by the Wasatch Wave on the safety of Jordanelle Dam," the letter, signed by board chairman Gerald K. Maloney states. "It is our position that the concern for safety has been the No. 1 priority in design and specifications and construction of the project. The concerns raised are not new. They have been addressed repeatedly each time the issues have been raised."
Owens called the allegations "credible" during a press conference two weeks ago when he called for new investigations. He also said that his personal concerns over safety had been satisfied by previous studies but felt the new allegations deserved more study.
The U.S. Geologic Survey is scheduled to release its independent safety review within the next two weeks. Preliminary drafts indicate the report will back previous findings that the dam site is safe.
The allegations in the Wasatch Wave were based on studies by geologist Leon Hansen. Hansen contends that a major fault runs through the middle of the dam site and that rock formations on the east and west sides of the earth-fill structure are unstable and will not hold the 320,000 acre-feet of water to be stored at Jordanelle.
Jordanelle is considered the backbone of the Central Utah Project. Legislation to provide completion funding for the CUP passed the House of Representatives earlier this year and was scheduled to begin hearings in the Senate in September. Project supporters fear the new investigations will delay Senate action and could prevent the legislation from making it through Congress prior to adjournment in December.
"This district is disappointed and very concerned that you would call for new and numerous investigations into the issue or other actions that could slow down construction of the dam, especially in view of the request made last spring by members of the Utah delegation, yourself included, to USGS, the request being that they review all safety aspects and issues related to Jordanelle," the letter continues.
"We believe that USGS is a professional, non-biased organization very capable of the task requested of them. It appears to us that the issues recently raised by the Wasatch Wave are already being investigated and reviewed by the USGS."
The letter also stresses the need for construction to continue to move forward and opposes any consideration of reducing the amount of water to be stored at Jordanelle.