Okanogan PUD withdraws plan for Loomis-area dam

Published 7:55 pm Thursday, October 6, 2011

OKANOGAN — A north-central Washington utility has dropped plans to build a dam that would have created an international lake on the U.S.-Canada border.

The Okanogan County Public Utility District last week formally requested from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to withdraw its permit to study options for a dam on the Similkameen River.

The utility’s Dan Boettger told The Wenatchee World for a story Thursday that the economy was the biggest factor in the decision.

The PUD had considered three options, one of which would have included building a $1 billion dam that would have created a lake across the U.S.-Canada border.

The utility is still pursuing a license to rehabilitate the Enloe Dam on the Similkameen River. That project is still awaiting FERC approval after six years.