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Regional leaders press federal action, call for geomorphic study and emergency planning after Forest Service record of decision on Spirit Lake option
Summary
At a work session on Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake, the Council of Governments presented a draft legislative priorities packet and said the U.S. Forest Service’s draft Record of Decision favors a pressurized tunnel option. Local leaders urged a coordinated federal legislative push, annual dredging asks for the Cowlitz and geomorphic studies, and emphasized evacuation planning and public outreach.
Bill Fasching, director of the Council of Governments, presented a draft community priorities document outlining regional legislative asks to address life‑safety risks downstream from Spirit Lake. Fasching said the Forest Service released a draft Record of Decision this morning and appears to favor a pressurized tunnel option for the Spirit Lake outflow project; he encouraged the county and partner agencies to submit coordinated comments during the 45‑day notice period and to align talking points for federal legislators.
Fasching said a tunnel option could lower lake levels modestly but might not materially reduce catastrophic risk downstream, and pointed to long‑term maintenance costs for engineered solutions. "The tunnel is going to be millions of dollars at least periodically to maintain," Fasching said, urging exploration of a natural outlet where feasible and recommending geomorphic (river‑form) assessments rather than only hydrologic studies.
Sen. Jeff Wilson (speaking in his capacity as a Port of Longview commissioner and state senator) supported coordinated advocacy and urged using the election year to keep federal delegations engaged. Port and local agency representatives urged dredging of the Cowlitz River in targeted locations to restore fish passage and navigation and to examine logistics such as railroad bridges and dredge placement that could affect annual dredging plans.
Local partners, including a Port of Longview environmental manager and members of a local "Rivers Need Room" work group, described targeted work to identify where dredging or other interventions would have the strongest return on investment and to plan community outreach that will help build support for projects. The group recommended county authorization to apply for grants that are only available to counties.
Multiple public commenters emphasized urgency, proposed creative community outreach (including university engineering challenges), and asked that emergency management accelerate evacuation planning and public‑facing outreach on evacuation routes. An emergency‑management professional urged a strategic master plan, pre‑staged resources, an alerting system beyond cellphones, and regional exercises.
Outcome and next steps: COG will help coordinate comment to the Forest Service and support a county grant application for a geomorphic study; county emergency management is preparing evacuation outreach for a future session.
