Centennial Dam Activist Summit Nevada Theatre March 1, 20173

Date:
Time: to
Location: Nevada Theatre 

Get educated, involved, and take action locally. Let your voice be heard! Join SYRCL the evening of Monday, March 13, from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Nevada Theatre for the Centennial Dam Watchdog Activist Summit. Learn more about Nevada Irrigation District’s (NID) controversial proposal to build a new dam on the Bear River and have your questions answered. This event will be moderated by Yubanet and broadcast on-air at KVMR 89.5 FM and online.

The summit’s speakers will overview the scope of the project and answer questions regarding the ecological impacts of the dam. Listen to testimony from community members who will not only lose beloved places of recreation, but also their homes to eminent domain. Hear from Nevada City Rancheria spokesperson Shelly Covert what would be at stake if the dam were to be built, such as the loss of significant Native American cultural sites on the Bear River. Panelists will also address the relationship of the Yuba to the Bear River, as well as the growing estimated costs of the project and who would pay for it. Please bring your questions, or submit them ahead of time at info@syrcl.org.

Confirmed speakers are Caleb Dardick, SYRCL Executive Director, Rachel Hutchinson, SYRCL River Science Director, Shelly Covert, Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Council Secretary, Isaac Silverman, Sierra Watch Staff Attorney and SYRCL Board member, as well as Otis Wollan, American River Watershed Institute President.

This event is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Denis Kutch, of the Nevada Theatre Commission, and Terry and Karen Brown.

Background

The Nevada Irrigation District (NID) proposes to build a new 110,000 acre-foot reservoir with a 275 foot-tall dam on the Bear River. This would inundate the last six miles of publicly accessible, free-flowing river on the Bear, completely flooding the Bear Campground, more than 25 homes and 120 parcels, 140 Native American cultural sites, and Dog Bar Bridge, the only crossing of the Bear River between Highway 49 and Highway 174.

The Nevada Irrigation District has applied for a federal permit to construct the dam. The environmental review process is now underway, and the Army Corps of Engineers is soliciting comment from the public under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Corps is particularly interested in receiving comments related to alternatives to the proposed project and the proposal’s probable impacts on the affected aquatic environment.  Letters and emails are due to the Corps April 10.