Hazards Projected For Test Release At Fort Peck Dam

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Omaha District) will be conducting tests at the Fort Peck Dam in spring and early summer of 2023 in an effort to learn whether endangered pallid sturgeon can successfully spawn in the wild.

The Fort Peck Tribes, U.S. Senator Steve Daines, agricultural interests and area residents oppose the plan.

There are approximately 160 pumps near the dam, providing irrigation for 70,000 acres of cropland over four counties, including Roosevelt, McCone and Valley counties. Irrigators worry that impacts to their mainstream and the side channels will deter crop production.

A letter from the Fort Peck Tribes to the Corps states their opposition to the plan: “While the tribes support the restoration of the pallid sturgeon, Tribes are concerned about how the proposed actions will affect the Fort Peck Reservation’s boundaries, water rights, tribal water supply, and irrigation systems, and tribal inclusion in the planning process.”

Montana’s U.S. Sen. Steve Daines sent a letter to the Corps in May, requesting them to extend the Draft Environmental Impact Statement comment period, provide for more public meetings and closely coordinate with state agencies before proceeding. In his letter, he stated, “Over 100 irrigators remain affected along the Missouri River Corridor will be impacted by this project and there remains unanswered questions and concerns among the community.”

Dick Iversen of the Missouri River Conservation Districts Council has expressed his frustration to area media, saying that his organization’s efforts to present the dangers and downsides of the test plan were ignored.

According to the Corps plan, spring flows would be increased by 1,700 cubic feet per second each day until the peak flow at Wolf Point gauge reaches 16,000 CFS. That flow would be held for three days and then decreased before being increased in May to 28,000 CFS. The peak flow would be held for three days and then decreased to 8,000 CFS until mid-July.