The Bull Run hydroelectric project

Dam Removal Resources

News release Fact sheet Q & A Maps of Sandy River     Basin Marmot Dam drawings Bull Run project photos

In summer 2007, Portland General Electric began decommissioning its 95-year-old Bull Run Hydroelectric Project in Oregon’s Sandy River Basin, removing two dams. The first, Marmot Dam, is the biggest dam to be removed in Oregon and the tallest removed in the Northwest in 40 years. Decommissioning will make the Sandy a free-flowing river from glacier to gorge and onward to the Pacific Ocean, with multiple benefits to fish, wildlife and public recreation.

Bull Run Hydroelectric Project consists of:

• Marmot Dam, Sandy River — 47 feet high
• Canals and tunnel — takes Sandy River water from Marmot Dam to the Little Sandy River
• Little Sandy Dam, Little Sandy River — 16 feet high
• Wooden-box flume — 15,300 feet long
• Concrete canal and tunnel — delivers water from flume to Roslyn Lake
• Roslyn Lake — stores water above the powerhouse, 160 acres
• 22-megawatt powerhouse — empties the water into the Bull Run River

Fast facts:

• Location: about 40 miles east of Portland, Ore.
• Construction: 1906-1913
• Power capacity: 22 megawatts
• Habitat to be restored:
  • About 6.5 miles of habitat above and below Little Sandy Dam site made accessible to fish upon dam removal
  • About 100 stream miles of habitat opened to unimpeded fish migration above Marmot Dam
• Fish species benefiting: winter steelhead, spring Chinook salmon and coho salmon, all listed as threatened under federal law. The State of Oregon lists coho as an endangered species.
• Cost of decommissioning: $17 million (estimated)

Timeline
May 1999 — PGE announces it will decommission Bull Run hydro project and enters partnership with Western Rivers Conservancy.
Oct. 2002 — Work group signs decommissioning and water rights agreement
Nov. 2002 — PGE files application to surrender the project license
July 2007 — In-water work to remove Marmot Dam begins
Nov. 2007 — Marmot Dam removal complete. Site restoration. Begin canal removal and tunnel closures.
Summer 2008 — Little Sandy Dam removal, draining of Roslyn Lake and lake site restoration
2009 — Complete land transfer to WRC; other project facilities removal and site restoration
2007 to 2017 — Implementation of monitoring and contingencies plan

Decommissioning highlights

• Dam removal method
  Deconstruction was performed with large, pneumatic hammers connected to front-end loaders, equipment similar to that seen ripping up concrete roads and bridge surfaces.



• PGE land donation
  PGE will donate about 1,500 acres of Bull Run project land and other nearby holdings to the WRC without receiving a tax deduction.
  
  This land will form the foundation of a natural resource and recreation area in the Sandy River Basin. Ultimately covering more than 9,000 acres, the area will be owned and managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management.



• Recreation
  The natural resource area will be open for public enjoyment. Access to the Sandy, Little Sandy and surrounding land will be enhanced. The BLM will rely on public input as it plans for the land’s various uses during the next two years.
  
  The Sandy will remain one of the top destinations for steelhead and Chinook anglers and will continue to support Columbia River and Pacific Ocean coho fisheries.
  
  Whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Sandy will be enhanced as removal of Marmot Dam eliminates a barrier to navigation for rafts and kayaks.



• Fisheries and monitoring
  Above the Marmot Dam, about 100 miles of streams will be opened to fish unimpeded by the dam's structures. About 6.5 miles above and below Little Sandy Dam will be reopened to fish for the first time since the dam was built in 1912. Hatchery fish will be stocked downstream from the Marmot Dam site, leaving the wild fish spawning grounds above the site.
  
  The Agreement and Decommissioning Plan include the formation of an Endangered Species Act Monitoring and Implementation Team. Also, PGE will support the implementation of the Fall Chinook Salmon Conservation Program (wild fish collection and spawning) and the Cooperative Aquatic Monitoring and Research Program (ongoing research to determine the impact of dam removal).



• Water rights transfer
  PGE will transfer its hydroelectric water rights for the project to the Oregon Water Resources Department, ensuring the water rights will remain in-stream for the sole benefit of aquatic resources and public recreation.



• Site restoration
  PGE will work to assure site restoration for bank stability, revegetation and noxious weed control in areas disturbed by removal activities. Roslyn Lake’s bed will be restored to its natural contours.



• Historic preservation
  PGE’s Bull Run project is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. PGE is working with the State Historic Preservation Office to protect archaeological resources, as well as salvage or document significant architectural elements.

The Decommissioning Agreement
In January 2002, PGE formed a collaborative decommissioning work group made up of 23 diverse participants, including environmental organizations, state and federal natural resource agencies, local governments and businesses.

This group created a consensus agreement that minimizes the environmental impact of project removal, satisfies Endangered Species Act requirements, provides for the release of sediments stored above the project’s dams, restores the site to a condition suitable for mixed use and donates the PGE lands in the Sandy River Basin for environmental protection and public access.

Agreement signatories

For additional information, please visit our Hydropower and Fish section or contact Mark Fryburg, PGE, 503-464-8481.