Richland braces for Bateman causeway removal

By Wendy Culverwell news@tcjournal.biz

Richland is bracing for the impact of what removing the Bateman Island causeway will have on the Yakima River Delta and on the Columbia Park Marina and public boat launch.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is finalizing a $13.9 million plan to fully remove the illegally-built land bridge, which is blamed for the warm, brackish conditions that threaten endangered salmon, steelhead and other species at the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers.

Once the causeway is removed, water will flow at a rate as high as three feet per second around the south end of Bateman Island in the spring, according to the city of Richland. That is too strong for the private marina and public boat launch, which are currently shielded by the dirt structure.

The corps cites a far lower figure for the remaining 90% of the time, saying the water flow will be marginal and will have little impact on the marina.

The corps released a draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the plan on Jan. 26 and is accepting public comment through March 10.

Removing the causeway will support salmon habitat. Leaving it will undermine hundreds of millions of dollars being invested to establish fish passage in Cle Elum, remove a dam in Yakima and other projects along the length of the Yakima River, the Army corps said.

Richland, which has monitored plans to remove the causeway for more than five years, is preparing to hire experts in marine law and engineering to represent its interests. That includes protecting the privatelyowned Columbia Park Marina and the city-owned public boat launch, heavily used by fishers, kayakers, standup paddleboarders and other boaters.

Joe Schiessl, deputy city manager and longtime point person on the causeway issue, said Richland embraces the goal of clean water at the delta, but must consider what will happen once the causeway is gone, and water again flows around both sides of Bateman Island.

The marina was not designed for swift currents. Boaters would avoid trying to maneuver around docks in such conditions.

Schiessl briefed the city council about the plan in January, shortly before the corps advertised it to the public.

“These docks are not engineered or built to operate in a river environment,” he said. “If the United States is proposing a project that renders a marina inoperable, that’s an impact, a negative downstream impact, that shall be mitigated.”

The causeway was constructed ap-

Public comments and open house

Written comments may be emailed to: NEPANWW@ usace.army.mil with “Yakima River Delta” in the subject line.

The 30-day comment period ends March 10.

parently without permission in the mid-1940s by a farmer on Bateman Island. The 500-foot structure rests on 37,000 cubic yards of dirt and rocks.

Today, it is considered an illegal encroachment on the riverbed, which is owned by the state of Washington.

The causeway, which has no culverts, partly dams the Yakima River, forcing water to flow upstream and around Bateman to the north before it merges with the waters of the Columbia. The Delta is brown, brackish and silty. The Columbia is a ribbon of deep blue.

The causeway exists in a legal gray area. Hikers and birdwatchers use it to visit Bateman. So do fire trucks. Richland, which controls the island under a 50-year recreation lease with the corps, dispatches wildland fire crews to battle fires that break out roughly once every five years.

Schiessl said a dispute over firefighting strategies between the city and the Department of Natural Re- uBATEMAN ISLAND, Page 16