The hearing ruled in favor of most of the permits needed to take out the Elwha dam (lower dam) on the Elwha river on the Olympic Peninsula of north western Washington state. This dam needed county permits for removal since it is outside the Olympic National Park boundaries. The upper dam, Glines Canyon dam, is also within the national park.
The 15 permits approved include a number of projects related to taking out the dasm as well as building a water treatment plant for the city of Port Angeles, helping mitigate possible problems for the Dry Creek Water district and dealing with buildings that may be in the way of a re-channeled Elwha river. Work to take out the dams is set to begin in two years.
Elwha dam was completed in 1913 and includes a 33m high concrete gravity section, gated spillways on both abutments, and a power house with four generating units rated at a combined capacity of 14.8MW. Glines Canyon dam was completed in 1927 and includes a 64m high concrete thin arch section, a gated spillway on the left abutment, a thrust block on the right abutment, and a power house with a single generating unit rated at 13.3MW. Elwha dam impounds Lake Aldwell, which has a surface area of 108ha and a storage capacity of 10Bm3 at an elevation of 60m. Glines Canyon dam impounds Lake Mills, which has a surface area of 168ha and a storage capacity of 50Bm3 at an elevation of 180m. Both dams are currently owned and operated by the James River Corporation.
