Zinke floats plan to raise summer lake level
Energy Keepers Inc., the company that manages the SKQ dam, predicted last week that the water level of Flathead Lake may fall 3 feet below full pool by August.
If realized, the low water level would be "catastrophic," Zinke warned in a June 12 letter addressed to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
"Small businesses which only operate three months out of the year will be forced to close. Tourism will drop as water activities are not available due to inaccessible docks and infrastructure. And farms and ranches will not receive the water they need to bring their product to market," Zinke wrote.
Zinke concludes with a request for the Department of the Interior to authorize greater water releases from the Hungry Horse Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the Hungry Horse Dam, is among the agencies that the Department of the Interior oversees.
The SKQ Dam on the southern end of Flathead Lake is primarily managed by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes through Energy Keepers. Inflows to and outflows from the dam must also comply with flood risk management objectives set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Though neither entity falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, Zinke urged Burgum to "work with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to reduce outflow from the SKQ Dam."
"I understand the lake will not get to pull pool using these measures," writes Zinke. "However, if we can prevent it from dropping to catastrophic levels, it will save small business and local tax revenue that is sorely needed."
In a list of Frequently Asked Questions posted to their website, Energy Keepers suggested that moving water from Hungry Horse Reservoir to Flathead Lake was unfeasable. The streamflow above the reservoir has been lower than normal, and the Bureau of Reclamation must consider obligations like flood risk and endangered species habitat above Flathead Lake's water level.
As the statement from Energy Keepers puts it, "Hungry Horse Dam is not managed to provide a specific elevation at Flathead Lake."
Earlier this year, Zinke re-introduced the Fill the Lake Act. The bill proposes keeping Flathead Lake's water level between 2,892 and 2,893 feet between June 15 and Sept. 15. Those levels are already codified through a 1965 Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but Zinke argued that additional legislation is necessary to prevent what he called a "another failure of management that leads to another catastrophically low pool."
The bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at 758-4433 or hsmalley@dailyinterlake.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
24-07-2025
- The Hill
Ahead of Colorado River Day, US West lawmakers introduce bipartisan conservation legislation
Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced legislation aimed at optimizing water management in the U.S. West on Thursday, the eve of the region's annual Colorado River Day. The Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Reauthorization Act of 2025 would seek to improve forecasting and measurement of water, with the goal of mitigating the impacts of drought conditions. The bipartisan effort comes a day before the Colorado River's renaming anniversary, when the artery took on its current title in place of the Grand River in 1921. 'In the West, water is everything — our economy, our communities, and our way of life depend on it,' Curtis said in a statement. 'This bill brings 21st century tools to one of the oldest challenges we face: knowing how much water we'll have and when,' the Utah senator added. The legislation would reauthorize and update the Bureau of Reclamation's supply forecasting program, which is set to expire in 2026, for another five-year term from 2027 through 2031. Among the key revisions are an emphasis on forecasting tools that inform interstate management, as well as a funding increase from $15 million to $32.5 million over five years. Noting that more than 80 percent of Colorado's annual surface water supply comes from snowmelt runoff, the senators stressed the importance of maintaining accurate measurements of snowpack — the amount of water stored in snow. 'You can't manage what you can't measure,' Hickenlooper said in a statement. 'Snowmelt is Colorado's largest reservoir.' Among the measurement technologies included in the bill are imaging spectroscopy, machine learning, integrated snowpack hydrologic modeling and other tools used to inform reservoir operations and interstate management. The legislation also emphasizes the need to enhance forecasting activities so that they 'are more responsive to changing weather and watershed conditions.' 'By reauthorizing this program, we're embracing new technology,' Curtis said, touting tools like airborne snow surveys and advanced modeling. These innovations, he explained, could provide 'water managers the clarity they need to prepare, allocate, and respond.' Hickenlooper echoed these sentiments, expressing his support for leveraging the technologies available to optimize accuracy. Doing so, the Colorado senator added, could 'unlock a better understanding of how to make the most of our water in an era of extreme drought.'
Newsweek
24-07-2025
- Newsweek
Alaska Governor: Don't Blame Trump Tariffs for Copper Price Inflation
Record-high copper prices have some observers blaming the introduction of tariffs for the recent spike in prices. But pointing the finger at President Donald Trump misses the underlying problem. We need to increase our supplies of, and access to, copper and the other critical materials so vital to our 21st-century infrastructure. And whether we're able to expand access to copper and other important natural resources depends on four simple letters: N-E-P-A. "NEPA" stands for the National Environmental Policy Act, which has constrained the development of mining and refining facilities, and much else along with it, for decades. The law—or, more accurately, courts' and radical leftists' interpretation of the law—has resulted in incessant delays for important infrastructure projects, which get bogged down in never-ending red tape. In Alaska, for instance, the Ambler Mining District offers multiple deposits of high-grade copper totaling 9.3 billion pounds, as well as other critical minerals. Yet the Biden administration, after a years-long NEPA review, rejected permits for a road the state needed to gain access to the district, preventing the development of Alaska's natural resources for the good of all Americans. The Biden administration took this action to block the road last year even though federal law explicitly requires the Department of the Interior to permit access to the District. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP/Getty Images But NEPA doesn't just interfere with energy exploration. It impedes approvals for refineries that process raw ore, and slows down permitting for the bridges, railroads, and highways that companies use to transport finished products. While our adversaries like China have been building projects that can grow their economy, the radical Left has utilized NEPA to keep our infrastructure projects stuck in neutral. Fortunately, two factors should help to bring an end to this foolish regulatory overkill. First, the Supreme Court in a recent unanimous decision ruled that courts should not "micromanage" agencies' approval of environmental impact statements, and should instead give them "substantial deference." For instance, courts should not consider upstream or downstream impacts—such as the oil that might travel on a new railway—when evaluating the impact of a particular project (in this case, the railroad). The Court's ruling will rein in the ability of judges to collude with the environmental lobby in ways that prevent projects from ever getting approved. Second, President Trump, unlike his predecessor, wants to supercharge growth, and is taking numerous steps to move in that direction. Several of his executive orders, including a day-one executive order specifically dedicated to "unleashing Alaska's extraordinary resource potential," have focused on marshaling all our nation's natural resources to release our economy's full potential. The new National Energy Dominance Council will help coordinate these efforts, and the Supreme Court's ruling can cut through unnecessary permitting bureaucracy. In announcing his tariffs, President Trump said he wanted the United States to "once again, build a DOMINANT Copper Industry." With a new mine taking an average of 29 years to develop—the second-longest such process in the world—it will take permitting reforms and an impatience for red tape to see that vision through to success. Here's hoping that President Trump's actions and the Supreme Court ruling will help make it happen. Mike Dunleavy is the governor of Alaska. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
E&E News
22-07-2025
- E&E News
Burgum urges House GOP to target Biden-era energy policies
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urged House Republicans in a meeting Tuesday morning to continue to roll back Biden administration energy policies — and largely glossed over the GOP megabill's energy provisions, according to multiple people in the room. Burgum's early morning speech at Republicans' weekly meeting was an opportunity for members to hear about the Interior Department's energy and natural resources priorities just weeks after Republicans passed their reconciliation bill and as Burgum takes a leading role in President Donald Trump's push to stymie wind and solar. House Republicans are leaving Washington later this week for a six-week recess in which they will work to highlight the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — including its energy and natural resources provisions — while under fire from Democrats who say the bill will increase energy costs and result in project cancellations and layoffs. Advertisement Burgum, meanwhile, is leading the Trump administration's National Energy Dominance Council and working to implement the policies in the megabill. Separately, because of a recent Trump executive order, he is now in charge of personally signing off on any action advancing solar and wind power projects under federal review. 'Priorities were our energy grid, critical minerals, vulnerability — clearly, this administration's priorities are showing that aspect of it — and then unwinding the last four years,' said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who served as Interior secretary during the first Trump administration. 'On the EV side of it, rolling back credits for it and making sure that there's a [specific] place for solar,' Zinke said. 'It's just not going to power the AI side of it.' Members leaving Tuesday's meeting said Burgum pressed the importance of continuing to roll back Biden administration laws and regulations that favored renewables. Congress' Republican majorities have already used the Congressional Review Act and their reconciliation bill to repeal and rescind funds for dozens of clean energy and climate programs that Democrats approved in the last Congress. 'They're going back' and looking at Biden-era policies to target, Zinke said of the Interior Department. 'A lot of what they're doing is unwinding the last four years,' he said. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, said Burgum 'talked about domestic mining and energy independence and making sure that we reverse some of the disastrous pieces of legislation and rules brought in by the last administration.' 'We're working at light speed to try to reverse it,' Stauber said. Some members said Burgum discussed the ways in which the One Big Beautiful Bill Act supported the administration's 'energy dominance' agenda but that he did not dive into any specifics. House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said Burgum 'talked about the wins that were in the bill,' such as 'producing more energy.' He said the secretary's message was 'alluding to the ability to use the resources on our federal lands.' The reconciliation law contains provisions requiring more onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales and provisions to support mining projects. It also includes language to fast-track approvals for certain fossil energy projects. Westerman noted that Burgum highlighted his proposal to develop a 'balance sheet,' or comprehensive inventory, of the United States' federal land and mineral assets. He has said the plan could potentially help maintain or improve the country's credit rating. House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), who hosted the meeting with Burgum, later told reporters that Republicans will use the upcoming August recess to sell the reconciliation bill's wins to constituents. The goal, McClain said, is to 'remind the Democrats that it's the Republicans that are actually unleashing American energy. You know, putting money back into our economy, making us energy-independent again.'
