The Logan engineering firm, Symbiotics,LLC., whose principal is Dr. Vince Lamarra, states it has been hired by Hook Canyon Energy, LLC, which is owned by Symbiotics,LLC., to secure the licensing for and development of the Hook Canyon Pumped Power project.

The proposed project will pump water out of Bear Lake at night, when the power rates are low, into a man-made reservoir in Hook Canyon (located on the east shore of Bear Lake) and release it back into the lake during the next day when the rates are high. The water will be moving either in or out of the lake 16-20 hours a day. The water will flow at the rate of 18,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). This is approximately the rate of flow of the Virgin River when the homes in St. George were destroyed in the flood of 2005. The water from the Hook Canyon Reservoir will be discharged at a depth of 120 ft. into the lake in front of the Cisco Beach and Rainbow Cove campgrounds. It will produce 1120 megawatts of power that can be sold to the highest bidder anywhere in the U.S., not just Utah.

The Hook Canyon Project is inefficient and will only return 80% of the coal fired power it uses to pump the water up to the reservoir. It consumes 20% or 811GW of power. By our calculations, that is enough power to supply 76,000 households. According to the latest census, there are approximately 74,000 households in Logan, Ogden and Provo combined.This project does not produce new power. It stores power at an 80% return rate, uses coal fired power to operate, puts beautiful Bear Lake and the livelihood of the Bear Lake valley residents at risk and makes Dr. Vince Lamarra and his investors a whole bunch of money.

The Project will pull cold water from a 120ft. depth and store it in a smaller reservoir. In the smaller reservoir the water will become warmer and then be discharged back into Bear Lake at this new warmer temperature. This may change the stratification (temperature layers) of the lake. Fish and other organisms live in different temperatures, and this would be detrimental to them. This has happened at other similar water projects in the United States, as stated in Symbiotics LLC’s Pre-Application Document, sec. 3.2.4..

“The potential for entrainment in the turbines appears to be high for various fish species and is a major concern during project operation. Any of the native species in the lake may be present at the proposed intake location during certain times of the year. However, at the proposed depth of approximately 40 meters the highest entrainment potential appears to exist for Bear Lake sculpin, Bonneville cisco* and Bear Lake cutthroat.”
(Symbiotics Pre-Application Document, 3.3.2.2, emphasis added, *found only in Bear Lake)

Entrainment is the term for fish being swept into the turbines. This will kill the fish and deposit them into the lake the next day. The proposed intake location is near important spawning locations of native fish, some of which are only found in Bear Lake.

The local economy depends primarily on tourism. A Deseret News article written by Mike Wennergren,( Oct. 29, 2007) reports that the Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates 400,000 people visit State Parks around the lake per year. Another 100,000 visit non-fee areas. The construction of this project would dramatically affect this. Our reading of their documents hasn't indicated to us how long it will take to construct this project. Our research has shown smaller projects of this type have taken approximately eight years.The primary work force will be from non-residents and will surely occupy all hotel rooms (there aren’t many available) and campsites normally available to tourism. The damage caused and effort required to get the tourists back after construction will be monumental and expensive.

If the long term concerns, such as changing the color of the lake and destroying the fish population, come to pass, the basic tourist attraction will be gone forever. No amount of promotion will ever convince people that the chance to view an ugly earth and rock dam can replace the blue of the lake. Without the clear blue water, Bear Lake is just a cold lake.

The proponents of this project say the color won’t be affected, but they have no way to guarantee that it won’t. They also say you can’t put a value on BLUE. Anyone who has ever tried to value “good will” in a business transaction knows there is certainly value associated with it. The blue of the lake is no different. Loosing even the smallest amount of blue literally or figuratively is simply unacceptable.

The pumping will cause a 2-3 inch fluctuation in water level every day. Symbiotics says we will barely notice it. If you are looking out into the lake where they take the measurement, they are absolutely right. You wouldn’t notice it at all; you probably wouldn’t notice 12” or even 2 feet. However, if you look at the shoreline, you will notice. The deep part of Bear Lake is on the east side. The south, west, north and Idaho east shore are quite shallow.

When you take 3.2 inches of water out of the lake, the shoreline on the popular beaches will recede up to one quarter mile. Imagine how much fun it will be to walk that extra 1/4 mile to the water and put out your beach chairs and umbrellas. Then you can keep moving them up the beach, foot by foot, as the water slowly returns during the day. This will happen every day, 365 days a year. This is most dramatic in the shallow areas.

Preliminary estimates indicate that Bear Lake will fluctuate 2.6 to 3.2 inches in elevation daily as water is exchanged between the lake and the upper reservoir. The magnitude of the fluctuation would depend on the elevation of Bear Lake with the greatest fluctuations occurring at the lowest lake levels (Table 3-9). The following are several major potential effects of these daily changes in lake levels on the Bear Lake fishery.

• De-watering of fish eggs and larvae;
• Increased loss of fish eggs due to exacerbated effects of wave and ice action; and,
• Disruption of shoreline ice formation reducing lake fishing access.

As per their PAD doc. sec. 3.3.2.2., paragraph 4

Hook Canyon Pad, sec 3.3.2.1.., paragraph 2) "During excavation and construction of the intake/outlet works, the lake bottom in the immediate and surrounding area will be disturbed. Although this disturbance will be limited in area and duration, sediment suspension may impact deep water fishes, benthic invertebrates and their habitats..."

Hook Canyon PAD, sec. 3.2.4 "The potential impacts to water resources associated with the Project are related to both quantity and quality...In addition, it is possible that the operational design of the Project will have effects on water quality...The Mt. Elbert pumped storage plant has also affected sediment resuspension with consequences for turbidity [muddy, cloudy] and nutrient cycling." (muddy, cloudy added)

Bryce Nielson, Eco Bear Lake, LLC newspaper article: How this may impact Bear Lake

"The deposits of marl along the east shore will be stirred up completely changing the lake chemistry. It has taken thousands of years to settle out resulting in the lake we now have. Stirred up again, it may take another 1000 years to settle out after the pumps are turned off. Daily pumping will only exacerbate the impact.

The stirred up marl, spread throughout the lake by rotational and wind currents would change its color, transparency would be dramatically reduced. With less light penetration, much of the phytoplankton and plants would die due to lack of light."

The Bear lake Regional Commission passed a resolution this week opposing the Hook Canyon Pump Project, a hydroelectric venture proposed at Bear Lake.

The Commission, made up of representatives from communities around Bear Lake, is designed to protect the natural resources of the area.

However, Georgetown Mayor Albert Johnson said it’s not very often that they oppose something. “We haven’t had that many things come forward that we have been in opposition to,” he said. “That’s not a common thing.

However this time Rich County Commissioner Norm Weston, the chairman of the regional commission, said the vote was unanimous.

... "It’s something we couldn’t support given our mission to protect the lake ... You can’t let the need for economic development override the protection of the resources..." Johnson said.

-Karen Lambert, Group Against Pump Project, HJnews.com

Recently the CEO of Symbiotics, LLC, Dr. Vince Lamarra wrote:

"I have read with interest your Editorial Opinion published on March 31 along with the article in today’s paper. Although there are several factual errors in your editorial, what disturbed me was the lack of understanding about the project. Just a little investigating reporting would have shown that the claims by the opponents of the project and their predictions of “gloom and doom” are scientifically implausible. The hook Canyon Pump Storage Project will not effect Bear Lakes blue color or impact its ecology as predicted. To say otherwise is, simply put, misinformation with no basis in fact. I have spent over 30 years collecting scientifically valid, quantitative water quality data on Bear Lake, which has been used to establish the design criteria for this project. In addition, the project is proposing two years of detailed studies to prove their ascertains of no impact."

Dr. Lamarra has an impressive list of achievements, including his "life's work" studying Bear Lake. But, he has created a problem of credibility because his current position is in direct conflict with a statement he made in September 2004. In his own words he has said the lake is a difficult task master and predictions about the lake have been mostly wrong. The following is a direct quote from Dr. Lamarra at the 2004 Bear Lake Eco-Symposium presentation:

"I think having the experience on Bear Lake as we all do gives us a unique perspective in that we have, everybody at this table, including Bryce has made predictions about Bear Lake, and every one of those predictions or most of those predictions are wrong, or have been wrong.

So, as Carly and I were talking earlier today, that gives us a little bit of insight in that everybody in this room will be making predictions about Bear Lake and most of those will be wrong as well.

And so, just understand that Bear Lake is a very difficult task master and I think Bryce will agree, and Carly will agree that every number that comes out of that lake is blood sweat and tears. It is a very difficult lake to work on, and so that’s from, just from a scientists perspective."

The significance is that an additional two year study simply can not provide any more valid data for this project. The 30 years of study is indisputable evidence of that. It’s just not possible to say that another 2 year study will prove the opponent's predictions are scientifically implausible, and this project won't cause irreversible harm to Bear Lake. Dr. Lamarra wants the Federal Government, the Utah State Government, and all of us to trust him when he says he can design this as a benign project that won’t bring the "doom and gloom" the projects opponents predict. What if we are right and he is wrong? Everyone knows the answer, there would be no turning back.

Listen to the audio here.

The Hook Canyon Project is based on the assumption that power production over the next 20 years won't change, and technology will stand still. Symbiotics is promoting this project as necessary for the future good of power generation. If they are so certain of their position let them take on all the risks, but require them to build both reservoirs for storing the water and not cut their cost in half by turning Bear Lake into the lower storage tank. If Symbiotics proposed to hang giant solar panels on another of Utah's most recognized land marks, Delicate Arch, would it be acceptable? To utilize Bear Lake as a storage tank is equally absurd.

Bear Lake is a beautiful, one of a kind natural resource. We think it should be protected. Dr. Lamarra says this is a great project and the risks are worth it. We don’t feel that way. We believe some unique wonders should be left alone. Bear Lake is already at risk from the ravages of extended drought, human practices, and land development that occurred years ago--before such impacts were understood.

We have listed some of the potential risks to the Lake from the Hook Canyon PAD and we encourage you to read the document yourself. They have some answers to the risks, but in those answers they use words such as should, mitigate and minimize. We don’t like the sound of that. What if the project gets approved and it causes the problems we are concerned about. There is no going back and there is no other Bear Lake.

We are not opposed to this kind of power storage. Many pumped storage projects in the U.S. build two reservoirs specifically for this purpose. We could go for that. What about wind farms? Rich County has been identified as a prime location. Pressurized air is another option, Utah has a lot of abandoned mines that could be utilized as the "storage tank" for the compressed air. Let’s look at alternatives before we harm something that is irreplaceable.