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Spi Iyay Ty id o o
Coyote News, est. 1976
Apri I 20, 2011 Vol. 36, No. 08
**
Dept./Seria
Kniqht Library
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1205
U.S. Postage
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Input
sought on
2 projects
By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
Portland General Electric, tribal and
Oregon Bioenergy officials held two
public scoping meetings last week seek
ing input from tribal members regard
ing two potential projects on the reser
vation.
By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
Courtesy of the casino planning team.
3D renditions of the New Indian Head Casino. The existing plaza is to the right in the picture at top. The
museum is at the lower left in the picture below.
‘W e have been working closely with
the Tribal Land Use Committee to
make sure we comply with all tribal
rules and regulations. However, we
have hired outside architects to design
the building and hired general contrac
tors to construct the facility. We will
be making sure that every opportunity
is made available for tribal entities and
tribal members when the general con
tractors begin work.”
Recent concepts for the design of
New Indian Head Casino reflect the
influences of Celilo Falls scaffold- „
ing and the reflection of water from
the Columbia River. Colors for the
design were pulled from actual pho
tos of Indian Head Canyon.
TeleCo begins with office construction
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
The Warm Springs Telecommunica
tions Co. began work last week on re
modeling the old apparel building at the
industrial park.
The building will be the main office
of the telecommunications company,
housing electronic equipment, offices
and customer service area. The main
area of the building has been vacant
for the past several years. The struc
ture needs a new roof, among other
improvements.
The Warm Springs Telecommunica
tions Company (WSTC) last year re
ceived $5.3 million— half by grant and
half as a loan— from U.S. Department
of Agriculture Rural Development.
The company— the tribes’ newest
en terp rise— w ill b rin g high-speed
Internet, telephone and video to the
reservation. About 1,000 local homes
and businesses will have access to the
company’s services.
The enterprise itself will employ 19
Acquisition
April - Hawit'an - Spring - Wawaxam
Casino
project
moves
forward
T h e Gaming enterprise board has
approved moving Indian Head Ca
sino from Kah-Nee-Ta to the High
way 26 location in Warm Springs.
Groundbreaking is expected to hap
pen the first part of next month.
“We’re working very diligently to
make this project a reality,” Kah-
Nee-Ta board chairm an Deepak
Sehgal said. The cost for the project
will be an estimated $12.5 million.
“We are working with a number of
financial institutes to secure the best
deal that we can.”
Sehgal said he hopes to have the
facility open by New Year’s Day
2012, with some hurdles to clear.
Some of the work that lies ahead
will be tackled by project engineer
Travis Wells. This includes all of the
initial engineering for the site prepa
ration, w ater, sewer and power.
Natural Resources has been utilized
for necessary environmental clear
ances.
n r\
On hand for the groundbreaking were TeleCo general manager Adam Haas,
chief executive officer Jeff Anspach, Tribal Councilman Scott Moses, state
director of USDA Rural Development Vikki Walker, TeleCo board director
Sal Sahme, and tribal Secretary-Treasurer Jody Calica.
WSTC is only the ninth tribally-
people. Board members believe the
improved telecommunications on the’ owned telecommunications company in
reservation will bring new business and the U.S., out of a total of 565 feder
ally recognized tribes. The nine tribal
more employment opportunities.
telecommunications companies are
members o f the National Tribal
Telecommunications Association
(NTTA).
Jose Matanane, past president of
the association and former general
manager of the Fort Mojave tele
communications company, was on
hand last w eek for the W arm
Springs teleco dedication.
The Fort Mojave company has
been in operation for about 20
years, em ploys 17 people, and
serves 1,100 customers. Since the
company began, “We’ve seen the
quality of life go up,” M atanane
said.
The monthly service rate at Fort
Mojave is very reasonable, includ
ing a $1 per month rate for those
who qualify for the hardship pro
gram, he said.
The oldest tribal teleco is Chey
enne River Sioux Telephone Au
thority, founded in 1958.
Transmission line
John Sullivan and Todd Jones pre
sented the PGE power transmission line
project, which would run through the
north-end of the reservation along an
existing right of way.
The project would place a 120-foot
to 290-foot tall lattice structure tower
at an interval of less than five struc
tures per mile on tribal land.
“The purpose of the transmission
line is to enhance the reliability of the
grid,” Sullivan said. “This is also going
to provide some access to more renew
able energy as we plan for the future
power needs.”
In this project, PGE ^ntends to par
allel existing transmission line corridors
as much as possible.
“O f course, we’re trying to minimize
the impacts on homes, farms, businesses
and the environment,” Sullivan said.
“We wanted to take this time to listen
to the community members here and
consider any feasible alternatives.”
The transmission line project will
have an aggressive timeline, he said.
PGE would like to have the transmis
sion line in service by 2015.
‘W e’re watching Idaho Power and
PacifiCorp. They’re each having issues
with their projects. The state and fed
eral processes are not complimentary.
We’re trying to get them done parallel,
and we hope to start designing in 2011.”
Biomass plant
Curt Magnall and John Rivers, of
the engineering firm CH2M Hill, then
gave an overview o f the proposed
Warm Springs biomass plant, which
would be located in Lower Dry Creek.
“This is going to be a state of the
art facility,” Magnall said, “designed for
optimum efficiency and reliability. It
will operate 350 days a year, 24 hours
a day. It will be equipped with effec
tive emission control, designed to meet
all regulatory standards.”
Up to 10 fuel trucks an hour would
bring in the wood supply and offload
into the fuel pile. A conveyer replay
ing system would feed the fuel into the
facility. The tribes has agreed to dis
pose of the ash waste.
See WSTC on page 9
See BIOMASS on page 8
Tribes' fisheries recovery effort earns top honors
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
O ver the past decade, the Confeder
ated Tribes and Portland General Elec
tric have invested greatly in fish recov
ery.
The tribes and PGE have spent over
$100 million on fisheries restoration in
the Deschtes basin.
The single biggest project has been
the development and operation of the
fish collection facility at the Round
Butte hydroelectric dam. The facilities
include the unique 273-foot fish col
lection tower behind the dam.
This effort by the tribes, through
Warm Springs Power & Water Enter
prises, and PGE has earned national
recognition.
Most recently, the National Hydro-
power Association presented the tribes
and PGE with the Outstanding Stew
ards of American Waters award.
This award recognizes large-scale
and innovative projects that serve as
models for the hydro industry.
A lso this m onth, the A m erican
Council o f Engineering Companies
named the tribes, PGE, and the engi
neering firm CH2M Hilll, as recipients
of the council’s Grand Award.
This award “recognizes projects that
demonstrate a high degree of innova
tion, achievement, and value.”
Earlier, recognition came from the
Edison Electric Institute, and the As
so ciated G en eral C o n tracto rs o f
America.
The tribes’ and PGE’s fish recovery
and habitat restoration program was
developed as part of dam relicensing
o f 2004. The dams are owned and
operated by the tribes and PGE.
The restoration work has involved
cooperation among more than 20 lo
cal, state and federal agencies, irriga
tion districts and environmental groups.
The facilities at the Round Butte
dam are the single biggest component
of the overall restoration work.
The Round Butte and Pelton dams
were built in the 1960s. Round Butte
created Lake Billy Chinook.
The lake had had no downstream
surface current, until the construction
and operation of the fish collection
tower just a couple of years ago.
With no current, the juvenile fish did
not migrate downstream. Now, they
follow the current to the tower, where
they are collected, released and allowed
to continue their migration. This resto
ration reopens 226 upstream miles to
salmon and steelhead migration.
of Oregon
diversity
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