Reducing flood-related damage in the Chehalis Basin is urgent and requires serious consideration to conserve the Basin’s rich ecosystem.
As the Board works to develop the long-term Chehalis Basin Strategy, members are also evaluating the Local Actions Non-Dam (LAND) alternative proposal. The LAND approach would reduce flood-related damage to residents, properties and aquatic ecosystems in the upper Basin through a system of levees, floodwalls and drainage improvements in and around Centralia and Chehalis. The Board is assessing whether LAND could be a possible alternative to the proposed flood-control dam on the Chehalis River.
As part of its deliberations, Board members are evaluating whether to include all, part or none of the LAND alternative as part of the Strategy. Similarly, the Board could also choose to only include the dam, or a combination of both proposals in the Strategy.
Current status: conceptual design
The team leading the LAND alternative approach includes Board members, local residents, and environmental groups. The team completed an initial report in 2024 that concluded if the proposal were adopted and built, the LAND alternative could provide significant flood protection in the upper Basin and possibly lower flood insurance premiums for residents. LAND could also enhance emergency evacuation routes and provide some recreational amenities.
Watch past webinar recordings about the LAND alternative:
Conceptual designs of nine levees are now being refined and will reach the next early design milestone in Summer 2026. After that, the next step is to work out the feasibility of that system and compare it to the proposed flow-through dam as part of the Chehalis Basin Board’s long-term strategy development process.
The team designing the proposed levee system has identified several priority areas that would protect the greatest number of homes and businesses while balancing cost effectiveness, maximizing natural processes, and maintaining emergency routes during times of flood. The precise alignments of the levees, however, will not be known for several years if the Board decides to include the LAND in its recommended long-term Chehalis Basin Strategy.
Questions and answers
On October 9, 2024, representatives for the LAND and the flood retention flow-through dam held a webinar to answer questions about their respective projects. Many of the questions below were raised during that webinar.
Q: Will Ecology be preparing new draft environmental impact statements for the proposed Local Actions Non-Dam Alternative (LAND) project and proposed flood-retention dam and associated temporary reservoir on the Chehalis River? If so, what is the timeline for public review? What is the timeline for action by the Chehalis Basin Board?
A: Both ongoing state and federal environmental reviews are focused on analyzing how the flood-retention dam project proposed to be built on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell is likely to affect the environment. There are no formal environmental reviews currently being done for the proposed LAND project in the Chehalis River basin.
While the Office of Chehalis Basin is not leading the environmental review of the project, we are closely following how the revised draft state environmental impact statement (EIS) is progressing, slated to be released for public review and comment in fall 2025.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has yet to announce when its federal EIS for the project will be ready for public review and comment.
The Chehalis Basin Board is developing a long-term Strategy to reduce flood damages and restore aquatic species throughout the Basin. They plan to have a completed plan by early 2026. That plan will include a decision about whether to move forward with the proposed dam, the LAND, or some combination of both.
Q: In 2023, the Chehalis Basin Board reported that Weyerhaeuser had refused to cooperate with a study the Board approved to address data gaps about the basin-scale impacts of forest practices on hydrology, flooding, and summer low flow levels. Has the company’s position changed? If not, should further planning for the proposed dam be halted until Weyerhaeuser cooperates?
A: Weyerhaeuser’s position has not changed, that any study related to forest practices should go through a special committee facilitated by the state Department of Natural Resources to conduct necessary business and scientific discussions associated with planning, design, and implementation of research and monitoring projects.
The state will continue its environmental review of the proposed dam while the Chehalis Basin Board continues to explore ways to answer important questions about forest hydrology.
Q: Don’t levees, as proposed under the LAND proposal, just transfer flooding downstream and make it worse for others?
A: Levees generally serve as a barrier between land and water to keep homes, businesses, structures, and infrastructure from being adversely affected by floods from streams, rivers, and marine waters. Correctly designed, levees can help alleviate the impacts of flooding while improving aquatic habitat, water quality and other ecosystem services. Our highest aim is to not make flooding worse for anyone. The LAND team is working cooperatively with downstream jurisdictions to minimize any potential impacts from the conceptual levees.
Q: Can you please address the state environmental review process under the State Environmental Policy Act and the federal review process under the National Environmental Policy Act?
A: Ecology is using the state review process outlined under the State Environmental Policy Act to analyze the likely adverse environmental impacts of the proposed flood-retention dam project while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is following the National Environmental Policy Act process for the federal review of the project. Ecology anticipates releasing its revised draft state environmental impact statement (EIS) for public review and comment in fall 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has yet to announce the next release date for the federal EIS.
Q: Is the Chehalis Basin Board planning to provide flood damage assistance for homes or apartments? Are there any resources for improving property drainage?
A: Both the LAND and FRE alternatives assume that there will be work to protect or buy out properties at risk of flooding. Deciding how much of that work is needed is one of the decisions the Board will be making as they develop a Chehalis Basin Strategy in early 2026.
The Office of Chehalis Basin has a program to evaluate and, in some cases, pay for floodproofing or elevating homes and businesses at risk of flooding. Residents and business owners can use the resources on the Chehalis Basin Strategy website to learn more, or sign up for a free technical assistance visit to get an expert evaluation of flooding on their property.
Q: Will there will be a committee who will work on the next phase of LAND? If so, who will be on the committee?
A: The current phase of the LAND is being guided by three members of the Chehalis Basin Board – Tyson Johnston, Glen Connelly, and Scott Brummer. There are no plans to create a new committee to guide the work. The original LAND committee members have been invited to participate in parts of the design process to help guide the final product.
Q: Where can one see a projected 2080 flood map?
A: The 2020 Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed dam includes a mapbook as Section 10, which includes detailed maps of mid- and late-century flood conditions. The Flood Control Zone District and Ecology are incorporating more recent climate change information into their analyses, but until the new draft state Environmental Impact Statement is released in late 2025 the maps from the 2020 draft are the best accepted data.
Q: The only reason a dam or LAND are needed is because of short rotation timber harvesting in the headwaters and continued development in the floodplain down river. Why should the public pay for a dam to offset the impacts of Weyerhaueser forest management practices and City and County government development approvals?
A: The degree to which timber harvest practices affect peak flows in the Chehalis, if at all, has not been conclusively answered. There is some evidence that the Chehalis experienced major floods before large-scale logging.
As they develop a comprehensive strategy for the Basin, the Chehalis Basin Board will be considering the best use of local, state, and federal funds. They will also be considering how local development controls fit into programs and projects to reduce flood damages.
Q: I live in the Skookumchuck and it floods there. How will the proposed dam help me and my neighbors?
A: While the proposed flood-retention dam and Chehalis-Centralia Airport levee improvements will help reduce flood-related damage for downstream communities, the project cannot prevent flooding or protect everyone in the Chehalis River basin. The proposed project may have some benefits to Skookumchuck residents near the confluence with the Chehalis River, but it will not affect flooding upstream, such as in and around Bucoda. No single action can solve or address all the flooding issues communities in the basin face during major and catastrophic storm events.
This is why the Office of Chehalis Basin and the Chehalis Basin Board manage and fund large scale, basin-wide, flood mitigation strategies like the flood-retention dam and LAND levees, but also projects and actions that are more site specific such as raising and relocating homes.
Q: It’s important for community members to better understand how the flood-damage reduction projects being proposed for the Chehalis basin will be funded. How will the proposed LAND project be funded? How will the proposed flood-retention dam be funded? Would state or federal funding be used? How about local taxes?
A: How the proposed LAND levees and flood-retention dam projects will be funded has yet to be determined. Options could include a combination of state and federal grants and loans, local economic development funding, bonds, improvement funds, and more. A funding strategy will be part of the Chehalis Basin Board’s deliberations to create a Chehalis Basin Strategy.
Q: What impact would measures such as the levees or diversions proposed under the LAND have on aquatic resources, cultural resources, and ecological processes?
A: The LAND initial report has the most detailed explanation of the potential impacts of the proposed measures. All the proposed measures are conceptual, and their impacts have not been examined as deeply or carefully as the proposed flood-retention dam. If the Chehalis Basin Board includes some or all of the LAND proposals in their long term strategy, more analysis of their potential impacts would be required before and during the permitting process.