Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 2, 2000
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Governor meets with Lake Tapps area residents, lauds plan to preserve water levels

SUMNER - Gov. Gary Locke this evening praised residents of the Lake Tapps area for their work in developing a creative plan designed to save the reservoir while also providing additional water for endangered salmon.

At the request of state Rep. Chris Hurst, Locke met today with area residents at Derringer Heights Elementary School in Sumner to express his support for their efforts and to describe what his administration will do to help their plan succeed.

"Much work will have to be done to bring this vision into being, but we now have a goal in sight," Locke told the gathering.

Lake Tapps is a popular recreational area east of Tacoma. Some 15,000 residents live along or near its shores.

In the spring of 1999, a local task force was formed to develop a plan to save the lake. One part of the plan calls for allowing Puget Sound Energy to sell water it does not need, thus producing new revenue to make up for lost electric power sales as it diverts water to protect fish. Without a new source of revenue, the utility said it would have to abandon its permit to operate its hydroelectric plant that uses diverted White River water, a move that eventually could drain much of the popular lake.

Locke announced that the state's Department of Ecology soon will begin the process to issue the utility a preliminary water permit. The preliminary permit would allow the utility company up to three years to show that its water-sale plan is environmentally sound and that neighboring areas have a demand for the water.

The complex process also would mean the state would have to review other pending applications for water rights that have been filed for water from nearby sources.

"There are many parties involved in this issue, from tribes to neighboring cities," said Locke. " But I am confident we can work with together to craft a solution that works for everyone and keeps Lake Tapps alive and well."

Lake Tapps was formed by diking a natural lake in 1910. Storage began in 1911 with construction of a diversion dam on the White River that sent water through a flume to the lake. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 1997 ordered Puget Sound Energy to decrease its diversions from the White River to increase flows for threatened chinook salmon.

"Collaboration instead of litigation. Creative use of resources to benefit everyone. This is how governing by the people should work," said Locke. "I applaud the citizens of the Lake Tapps area who deserve the most credit for getting this done."

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