Water boards request hydrology study of dam

At the Eddy County Commission meeting on Jan. 4, tense discussions broke out surrounding an official request that commissioners require a hydrology study for Monty Schaefer’s proposed alterations to the Rosefield Dam.

At their regular meeting in October, Schaefer told Eddy County commissioners that he plans to extend the spillway by 40 feet and lower it by six inches. At the time, Schaefer argued that these changes would effectively double the capacity for water flowing through the spillway, thus decreasing the chance of flooding.

However, those assurances weren’t enough to dodge skepticism from local water resource boards and neighboring landowners. On Tuesday, Doug Zink and Paul Skadberg of the Foster County Water Board, and Larry Skiftun of the Wells County Water Board, officially requested that the Eddy County Commissioners require Schaefer to conduct a hydrology study for the proposed changes.

Zink and Skiftun surmised that the study would analyze what impact the dam and its larger spillway might have on downstream and upstream property. Their argument centered around who would be held accountable for property damage should the dam fail. Zachary Burmeister, an attorney for the Foster and Wells County Water Boards, told commissioners over the phone who he would sue in such an event.

“If that case landed on my desk, I’d sue the county generally, the county water resource district, and I’d sue Monty just because it’s on his property,” said Burmeister.

Skiftun and Burmeister further contended that if a hydrology study determined that Schaefer’s dam was “up to spec,” such a disaster would be an “act of God,” thus protecting the county from being sued.

However, Schaefer, also in attendance on Tuesday, argued that hydrology is already being reviewed by the state - as part of the ongoing permitting process that would allow him to make changes to the spillway.

“The state has a dam safety engineer, that’s her job ... on these permits she reviews the hydrology and if it’s out of line they won’t grant the permit,” Schaefer told the commissioners.

Skiftun countered by saying that the hydrology review during the permit process is “just a high-level study,” and not as detailed as they’re requesting.

Aaron Carranza, director of the regulatory division at the N.D. Department of Water Resources, confirmed with the Transcript Wednesday that the state is already reviewing the potential impact on upstream and downstream infrastructure in the event the Rosefield Dam fails.

The dam is currently classified as “low-hazard,” but if the review process, which according to Carranza will consider comments from the Wells and Foster County Water Boards, as well as the Red River Valley and Western Railroad Company, determines enough risk to downstream or upstream infrastructure and/or property, the dam could be upgraded to “medium-hazard.”

At that point, a more rigorous process, requiring a professional engineer, would be needed before Schaefer can complete any changes to the Rosefield Dam’s spillway.

As he showed an aerial photo of a flooded property from 2009, Zink presented a hypothetical scenario.

“Let's just say Mark has a heart attack and needs to get the hell out of here, and this is going on, how’s he get out of there? ... Wouldn’t you guys sitting here feel a lot better if you had an engineering study or a hydrology study that says this dam’s not going to affect that?”

The tone of the conversation ramped up immediately after, as Schaefer questioned the likelihood of the Rosefield Dam failing. Zink responded by telling Schaefer, “If you’re saying that it’s not going to happen, just sign a piece of paper that it’s not going to and we’ll go away.”

With temperatures in the room rising, Eddy County County Commission Chairman Glenda Collier asked if anyone had more information to share. With nothing else said, commissioners decided against making a decision on the matter until more information is gathered from State’s Attorney Ashley Lies, Interstate Engineering, and the N.D. Department of Water Resources.

Also discussed at the commission meeting was the overall caseload for Eddy County in 2021. State’s Attorney Lies told commissioners that the number of criminal cases were “way down,” going from 158 total cases in 2020, to just 85 in 2021. Meanwhile, Wells and Foster county had 104 and 108 cases in 2021, respectively.

While explaining the reason for having lower case numbers than neighboring counties, Lies suggested that it may be a matter of “getting some of the deputies more comfortable with making arrests and more experience out there.”

Later, commissioners also heard from Ben Aeseth and Mike May of Interstate Engineering regarding the Lake Washington Road Project. Aeseth informed commissioners that in order to chip seal the road, which has to be completed by Sept. 1, a biologist would need to ensure that nests from the Piping Plover, a “near-threatened” bird species, wouldn’t be in danger.

An official cost estimate and more detailed plans were then presented to the commissioners. The estimate for the project, including the price of a biologist, is $754,001.33. However, Aeseth also told commissioners that he anticipates more competitive bids thanks to other projects scheduled to occur in the area this summer.

The next county commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 8:30 a.m.