Commission recap, 1/14/2025 — Feds conclude dam is safe, in good hands. This and more...

Priest Rapids Dam is “suitable for safe and continued operation,” according to its comprehensive safety assessment, commissioners learned Tuesday.

Carried out by an independent contractor, the assessment is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the same agency that oversees Grant PUD’s commitment to dam safety. The federal agency also issues the utility’s license to operate both Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams.

A FERC dam-safety engineer determined no safety conditions are present that require immediate remedial action and concluded that dam personnel are aware of future projects and analyses needed to keep the dam safe.

“Most of it was ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’” Grant PUD Chief Dam Safety Engineer Zach Ruby told commissioners.

FERC dam-safety inspections occur annually at Grant PUD’s Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams. Inspections by independent consultants occur every five years at each dam, alternating between “comprehensive assessments” and less-detailed “periodic” inspections. Wanapum Dam, about 22 miles up the Columbia River from Priest, will receive its detailed inspection in 2029, Ruby said.

 Projects identified at Priest that are already on the dam’s “to-do” list include:

• Embankment work: On the dam’s Yakima County side, Grant PUD last year completed a new roller-compacted concrete embankment parallel to most of the existing earthen embankment to increase seismic strength. A small portion of that embankment that was not reinforced with concrete will now be reanalyzed to show its risk of failure in an earthquake is low, Ruby said. An embankment is the usually earthen-and-gravel extension that connects the concrete powerhouse and spillway to the shoreline.
• Anchoring: A project to anchor the dam’s spillway more securely to bedrock is planned in 2026 to repair a disbonded joint in the concrete.

Other medium-term projects will also be carried out to ensure the dam’s continued stability, he said, as well as embankment work and other projects at Wanapum Dam.

Grant PUD’s dam-safety personnel will be back at the commission in the coming weeks to seek approval for contracts to begin exploratory drilling and review the soon-to-be-complete seismic risk analysis of the earthen embankment on the Grant County side of Wanapum Dam.

See the full report on pages 25-37 of the presentation materials. Hear the full discussion at 1:57:22 on the commission audio.

Commissioners also:

Observed as Grant County Superior Court Judge Tyson R. Hill swore in Commissioner Judy Wilson to her second, 6-year term representing District 1, which covers the northern half of Grant County, and Commissioner Tom Flint to his fifth, 4-year term representing the county’s A-At Large District, which covers the county’s southern half. Listen to the swearing-in at 2:27:11 on the commission audio.

Heard that the financial team has already begun preparing for the independent audit of the utility’s 2024 financial statements. Representatives from the Moss Adams firm will begin their audit in February/March and expect to present their findings in a final report in April. The audit includes review of internal controls, capital assets and in-progress construction, energy sales to detect and/or prevent errors or fraud in financial statement reports. See the full report on pages 1-13 of the presentation materials. Hear the full discussion at 42:24 on the commission audio.

Heard that a reliability audit of Grant PUD’s electric system and dam operations is scheduled for 2026. The utility’s Reliability Compliance team is working hard to review its federal and regional requirements to ensure employees detect and report any deficiencies before federal inspectors do. Glen Pruitt, Senior Manager of Risk & Compliance, told commissioners that federal inspectors view “self-reporting” as a positive thing that builds on the utility’s already solid record of compliance. “We’re going over everything with a fine-tooth comb,” Pruitt said. “We want to show them what we’re doing, because we’re doing some very positive things.” See the full report on pages 14-23 of the presentation materials. Hear the full discussion at 1:05:57 on the commission audio.