Subcommittee considers conveyance of Mount Hood land to The Dalles to expand reservoir capacity
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Summary
H.R. 655 would convey about 150 acres from the Mount Hood National Forest to the city of The Dalles, Ore., to allow expansion of Crow Creek Dam and its reservoir; Forest Service and local officials said the transfer could reduce permitting costs and expedite needed water infrastructure upgrades.
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands took testimony May 1 on H.R. 655, the Dallas Watershed Development Act, a bill that would transfer roughly 150 acres of U.S. Forest Service land in the Mount Hood National Forest to the city of The Dalles, Oregon.
Representative Bentz, the bill’s sponsor, said the transfer is needed to allow the city to expand reservoir capacity and modernize water infrastructure. "The Dallas, Oregon, a city of some 16,000 people, depends on its municipal watershed for 80% of its drinking water," the sponsor said in opening remarks.
Witnesses described a long standing collaboration between the city and the Forest Service and said conveying the federal parcel would eliminate an administrative special use permit and save staff time. Ellen Schulzabarger, Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, told the panel H.R. 655 "seeks to simplify the administrative requirements to operate the city of the Dallas Municipal Reservoir" and that "we support H.R. 655 as the proposed acreage to be conveyed is relatively minor, reduces administrative oversight and serves a specific purpose to meet the city's water management goals."
Rich Mays, mayor of The Dalles, testified the city's master plan calls for improvements to increase reservoir capacity by about 2,100 acre‑feet and said the mix of city and Forest Service ownership around Crow Creek Dam has complicated operations and upgrades. Mays told the committee the city has pursued the transfer for roughly 30 years and would use ownership to implement long‑term watershed management and planned infrastructure projects.
Members asked agency witnesses about administrative cost savings and local collaboration. Schulzabarger said the Forest Service maintains a good working relationship with the city and that small‑scale conveyances to resolve boundary or administrative issues are the type of transaction the agency performs.
The hearing included no recorded committee vote on H.R. 655. The Forest Service asked to work with the committee to ensure any conveyance is not duplicative of existing authorities.
