In May 2007, Okanogan PUD filed for a preliminary permit to study construction of hydroelectric facilities on a new 260-foot tall dam on Shanker's Bend on the Similkameen River in north-central Washington.

The Washington Department of Ecology has earmarked $300,000 to assess the feasibility of constructing Shanker's Bend Dam. The proposal will examine three alternatives ranging from a 90-foot dam to a 260-foot tall dam. The largest proposal would create an 18,000 acre reservoir, half of which would be located in Canada and which would flood Palmer Lake and other Canadian lands.

At the same time, Okanogan PUD is pursuing an original license for Enloe Dam, an existing dam just below Shanker's Bend and just above Similkameen Falls. A draft license application is expected this fall. Enloe Dam was built for hydropower nearly a century ago. After project economics failed to pencil out, the project was closed in the 1950s. Since that time, the PUD has attempted to license the project twice, but in both cases rejected the license due to the federal reservation of authority for fish passage.

At issue with this permit is FERC's jurisdiction to permit a project that lies outside of US boundaries. Also at issue is the PUD's expending public funds (Ecology) without any indication that the project is feasible. And fishery issues are at the forefront, as the PUD has not indicated how it will address fish passage, including historic range, or potential impacts on fishery flows in the Columbia River.

Attached below is the preliminary permit application for Shanker's Bend from Okanogan PUD; and the Department of Ecology's initial assessment of Shanker's Bend. Also attached are comments from American Rivers, Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society, Ecology, Bureau of Land Mgmt., and NOAA.