A proposed dam near the Glenn Highway in Glacier View draws community concerns

What you need to know:

• Chugach Electric is studying a proposed 400-foot hydroelectric dam on Caribou Creek near the Matanuska Glacier that could create a 980-acre reservoir and generate 18 megawatts of electricity as part of an effort to diversify Southcentral Alaska's energy supply beyond natural gas.
• Residents flagged concerns at a Glacier View community meeting, warning the project could increase risks from landslides, flooding and river icing while flooding gold mining claims and affecting recreation, homes and livelihoods.
• The project remains in its early stages, with Chugach expected to decide this year whether to advance it to additional research and planning. It still faces environmental reviews, regulatory hurdles and community opposition, while Matanuska Electric Association has not joined the proposal and is asking federal regulators to consider a joint application instead.
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GLACIER VIEW – A hydroelectric project proposed for a rushing creek near the Matanuska Glacier could include a 400-foot dam that would flood a canyon currently used for gold mining claims while creating a new source of electricity for homes in Southcentral.

The proposed Caribou Creek hydro project is one of four similar projects around Southcentral spearheaded by Chugach Electric Association and is in the early investigation and permitting stages, officials said. If built, the project could create an up to 980-acre reservoir behind the dam just north of where the creek flows under the Glenn Highway near Lion Head and control water to produce 18 megawatts of electricity.

The project would need to overcome a series of regulatory and environmental hurdles before they finalize plans or construction begins, officials with the utility and contractor McMillen told residents during a more than two-hour community meeting in Glacier View last week.

Chugach plans to decide this year whether the project is viable and should advance to more research and planning. If it proceeds, officials hope to begin construction by 2033 so they can take advantage of federal renewable energy tax credits set to sunset after that year.

The project is part of an effort by utility companies across the state to find sources to supplement natural gas, which fuels the vast majority of electricity production. Of the approximately 4,400 gigawatt-hours of electricity used across Alaska's Railbelt in 2022, 64% was produced by natural gas, while 12% came from hydropower.

An application filed by Chugach with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this year requests that the project be allowed to fall under state law rather than federal standards throughout its development.

Federal officials extended the comment period this spring after community members and officials with the Chickaloon Tribal Council said they were unable to provide feedback.

Caribou Creek feeds into the East Fork of the Matanuska River above where it meets runoff from the Matanuska Glacier. Long used by recreational and small-scale gold miners, Caribou Creek is also used as a put-in for rafting trips down the Matanuska River and for snowmachine access to the Matanuska Glacier during the winter.

About 50 area residents filled the gym at the Glacier View Community Center on last week, one of the first public meetings in the space since the building stopped hosting Glacier View School when it closed in May.

Residents at the meeting told Chugach and McMillen officials they worry the project could have dramatic environmental impacts, including icing downstream and mudslides in and around the Caribou Creek canyon, which residents said is notorious for the problem. They said those impacts could destroy homes and cost lives.

"I think you guys should really realize right now that the concerns that the local people are telling you, as far as potential tsunamis, landslides, earthquakes, flooding, problems with the bridges, ice goes out — those are all liabilities that this community is telling you about," said Fred Hirschmann, who said he has lived in Glacier View for 14 years. "And if it's ignored, if there aren't enough of what we'd call fatal flaws, I don't know what it takes with what the local knowledge is coming up with."

Others at the meeting said the project would dramatically affect their way of life. Part-time Palmer resident James Aldrich said he has worked gold claims in the canyon since the early 1980s. His current claim, which he has held for about three decades, and at least two others would be entirely underwater if the project moves forward, he said.

"I believe in the Constitution — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," he said during the meeting. "This dam is disrupting my pursuit of happiness big time. I am going to be out of business under 100 feet of water, and that is my main concern about this. Every winter and every summer I go out there, and I'm living in that canyon."

Project officials said they know a dam will affect residents. They said they want to make sure they are working with the community to hear concerns and share updates.

"I want to just say upfront that we know that all of these projects, including Caribou Creek, have impacts, and we do not take these decisions lightly," said Samantha Owen, a regulatory consultant for McMillen. "Believe me, if I could go find a hydroelectric project to build that had no impacts on anyone, my God, that's the project we would build. They're not in existence."

While the project is in the Matanuska Electric Association service area, MEA representatives said they did not know about the meeting and have not signed on to the project. They have asked federal officials to deny Chugach's application so regulators can instead consider one filed jointly with MEA.

"Projects of this significance should be developed through collaboration so local utilities, local communities and the members most directly affected all have a seat at the table," MEA Chief Strategy Officer Julie Estey said in a statement. "Our priority is ensuring that any future energy project is evaluated transparently and delivers clear, lasting benefits to the residents, businesses and communities it will impact."

Chugach officials pledged to share all project findings and documents with area residents. Owen said her team was taking notes on the issues raised and would follow up on all of them.

"Everything that you are bringing out, we will take seriously and look into and make sure we're doing all of our due diligence," she said.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com