BOR gives update on Fresno Dam project

Editor’s note: This version corrects that U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for part of the repayment for work on Fresno Dam.

Representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation held a public meeting Wednesday to discuss plans for repairing and updating the Fresno Dam in which they discussed the specifics of what the project would entail and how it would be repaid.

Fresno Dam, a vital part of the Milk River Project including the Fresno Reservoir, is not in immediate danger of failure, but after examining the structure BOR found it in significant need of repairs and updates in order to keep it safe.

The project is in the contractor selection phase and construction is estimated to be complete by October 2026, with repayment for the project beginning the next year.

Project Manager Steven Darlinton said BOR’s findings have been corroborated by independent analyses of the structure and under the Safety of Dams Act they need to do something, especially considering how much the dam has settled over the years.

After laying out the history of the dam and the decision making process BOR used to determine what to do, Darlinton provided their preferred alternative, a buttressed sand filter and drain without excavation and spillway joint replacement.

After analyzing the costs and economic impacts of each method, he said, this appeared to the be best option.

Darlinton said around 3,000 people live in the area that would be affected if the dam failed, so this is an important project, but it will require a tremendous amount of material.

Thankfully, he said, they have access to plenty of that material in BOR-owned lands, and if that ends up not being enough a land owner in the area as well the Hill County government have been amenable to letting BOR use some material from nearby land they own.

He said because of the method BOR is using, impact to local irrigators during the project should be minimal, and luckily the environmental impacts are estimated to be minimal as well.

Less fortunately, he said there is a fishing access site near the dam on the south side of the river that will need to be closed for the duration of the project, but that should be the only recreational access closure needed.

Darlinton said the crest road will need to be closed for non-emergency vehicles for a time as well, but when that closure happens will depend on how the contractor decides to do things.

He said BOR wants to give the contractor as much freedom as possible, as it rarely pays to micromanage them.

After discussing these aspects of the project, BOR Civil Engineer Chris Gomer spoke about repayment for the project.

Gomer said while the project is initially paid for by federal appropriations, the Safety of Dams Act requires 15 percent repayment of the final project costs by project beneficiaries.

In this case area, irrigators are responsible for 84 percent of the repayment, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for 14 percent, both without interest, and municipalities are required to cover the remaining 2 percent, but will be required to pay interest.

He said repayment for this project has the maximum flexibility allowed under law in terms of when the money needs to be paid back by, with any entity or irrigator allowed to select whether to pay their share, calculated by acres for irrigators and acre-feet for municipality, up front, over 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years or 50 years.

The estimated cost of the entire project now sits at $77 million so repayment is estimated at $11.55 million.

Gomer said the repayment is based off of final project costs, so it may change between now and the completion of the project, but it will also be offset somewhat by statutory credits, revenues on the Milk River Project like grazing leases, oil and gas leases in Hill and Phillips counties, water sales and cabin leases at Nelson and Fresno reservoirs.

He said initial application requests for beneficiaries were sent out last month, which include how long applicants want to pay back their share, and are asked to be returned by the end of the month.