Municipal and Industrial System, Bonneville Unit, Central Utah Project, Utah: correspondence and documents, 1979

Page 90

the beds and that serious settlement has taken place. Our concern ls for the safety of the public as well as for financial drain of supporting high maintenance, capital intensive, hazardous projects. At this time, we are interested irflcnowing if an independent engineering review has been made of this dam, and if so, are the present drilling program on the dam and drawdown of the reservoir a result of recommen­dations made. We are asking for full disclosure of the facts surrounding present activities at Starvation Dam and Reservoir. The geology of the proposed Jordanelle Dam seems to be less than desirable. There are hot springs in the abutment area, a landslide is in the immediate vicinity of the left abutment and the site foundation is of volcanic origin. Mining companies are concerned about water leakage into mine workings from faults which course through the reservoir area. No seismic study of this dam and reservoir has been made available to the public. It seems to us that there is more that is unknown about the Jordanelle Dam than is known. Is the State of Utah willing to risk the safety of its citizens for a dam and reservoir that will already be plagued with serious water quality problems if built? We noticed in the press that the Red Fleet Dam, formerly Tyzack Dam, has recently been completed. No mention was made of the engineering geology considerations which independent reviewers believe require further evaluation to help assure safety of the dam. We believe the public is entitled to know what these considerations are. We call your attention to the Design Review Report for Tyzack Dam which was prepared in March 1977 prior to beginning construction in June 1977. This report was prepared by Consulting Engineers, International Engineering Company, Inc. with headquarters in San Fransisco. The report is too lengthy to deal with in this letter, but concerns for safety relate to the "soft" materials on both abutments, lack of data, landslide interference with outlet works, sloughing or sliding of slopes after reservoir filling. These safety concerns were raised prior to construction. Were the problems satis­factorily corrected and did the State of Utah exert any influence over the dam safety considerations? In addition, the Uinta Dam site described in the Final EIS on the Unitah Unit has been discarded as unsuitable. To date no announcement has been made that a sound site has been found. Drilling results on the Whiterocks site have not been announced. No final geological information has been furnished on the Upalco dam sites. In summary, a multitude of geological problems are facing the Central Utah Project, and we have mentioned just a few. We believe that you as Governor must provide protection to the public and cause a review of dam safety issues. We seek your help and look forward to your response to our questions. Thank you. Sincerely, Beth Kaeding for CRPfJ]