Concern about catastrophic flooding potential in the Green River floodplain this fall has brought focus to the infirmity of the Howard Hanson Dam and other danger factors that hang ominously over the communities downstream in the Green River Valley.

Several government agencies have joined to sound the alarm and provide some support for the potential victims to make whatever preparations are possible and in any event be prepared to evacuate if worse comes to worse.

Pre-eminent among these agencies is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In a public meeting in Auburn some weeks just past, Col. Anthony Wright, the corps’ district commander, noted some of the danger factors in the upper stretches of the river in addition to the danger of possible failure at the dam.

Among others he alerted the public to the significant danger posed by loose logs, “torpedoes” the colonel called them, in the upper river that can be swept along by a flood surge and literally destroy levees and other infrastructure. That could lead to an explosive flood surge destroying community areas and likely causing death to some trapped in the deluge.

This sort of information is very properly made public. The damage caused by large wood and other significant debris in a flood surge has been chronicled since any records of flooding have been kept in this region and elsewhere. No question remains.

What did not get said at that meeting nor before or since is the fact, still secret, that the corps has been forced to dump literally hundreds of those very “torpedoes” in the river just below the Howard Hanson Dam. This has been part of a program aimed at “habitat enhancement” for fish in the river.

These programs have been in place for 15 to 20 years and admittedly still have not proven to significantly restore fish-runs, which clearly are being decimated more by ocean conditions and predators. In any event “habitat” can be created far more safely than dumping loose “torpedoes” into a stream, above the 10s of thousands of hapless citizens and their children not to mention the billions of dollars of vital public and private infrastructure.

This program is slated to go on for 50 years until literally thousands of these dangerous missiles have been dumped above the Valley.

Most folks are sympathetic to such environmental concern; but when the cost may be measured in human life, some restraint is in order. That is clearly the case today in the Green River Valley.

Proper review by responsible authorities is paramount and should be prompt. The fact that the corps feels compelled to maintain secrecy about this danger speaks volumes. Sources at the corps tell us there is real distress about this disconnect from their historic mission making these rivers as safe as possible. This seems to be a sort of “PRE-KATRINA” circumstance re-visited.

A proper inquiry will identify just who it is who can stymie the better judgment of the corps and impose this secret danger on an unsuspecting public.

We strongly suggest that the corps draw from resources at Fort Lewis and enlist the personnel and equipment available. This is well within their authority. In fact it is their responsibility.

The Army Rangers and Engineers could be mobilized. Those huge helicopters standing by could be airborne and some part at least of this reckless man-made danger could be abated.

Other government agency personnel and private contractors could be put to work and some of the natural logjams and other hazards could be addressed as well. It bears note here that several other agencies have aggressively “protected” these natural hazards from removal as well, again in the name of “habitat.” Time to revisit that “policy as well.

Chuck Pillon of May Valley has been a strong opponent of placing large woody debris in rivers and streams because of safety hazards.