The Army Corps of Engineers has cleared the way for a north Arkansas water district to dam a tributary of the Buffalo National River to create a drinking water reservoir.

The Searcy County Regional Water District will receive a federal permit to build a 92-acre reservoir on the upper reaches of Bear Creek, about 27 miles from the creek's intersection with the Buffalo, Corps officials announced Aug. 3.

The dam would be the first on a Buffalo tributary since Congress declared the waterway America's first national river in 1972.

The decision to grant the permit was made by Brig. Gen. David Melcher of the Corps' Southwestern Division headquarters in Dallas. Melcher reversed the Little Rock District's denial of the permit last year.

The Bear Creek project "will have no measurable impact on the river," the Corps said in a news release announcing Melcher's decision.

"We're really excited," said Michael Baker, president of the Searcy County Water District. "We feel like they made the right decision based on the facts."

Stewart Noland, president of the Ozark Society, a conservation group that helped spearhead the effort to gain national river status for the Buffalo, said the organization will seek ways to overturn the decision.

"We'll just have to look at how to properly appeal the decision," he said. "I'm not sure what the process entails."

The National Park Service, which operates the Buffalo National River, strongly opposed the Bear Creek dam. George Oviatt, chief of the BNR Natural Resources Division, declined comment on the Corps decision. He said Friday that he hadn't had an opportunity to review the decision.

The Park Service said that damming the reservoir would violate federal law prohibiting any dam or other structure "on or directly affecting the Buffalo National River."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also opposed the dam.

But the Corps said it had determined that the reservoir "will not invade or unreasonably diminish the scenic, recreational and fish and wildlife values present in the area of the Buffalo National River."

The water district applied for state and federal permission to build the 107-foot-tall dam in 1997. The state Department of Environmental Quality eventually gave its blessings, granting the project state water quality certification.

But the Corps' Little Rock District denied an application for a permit to build the dam in May 2000, citing a "less environmentally damaging alternative" -- building a pipeline to pump water from Greers Ferry Lake to Searcy County.

The water district appealed to the Corps' Southwestern District headquarters.

Then the Searcy County group won a powerful ally -- Gov. Mike Huckabee.

"The Bear Creek project will provide a much-needed source of municipal water for this area and I strongly encourage you to issue a permit for this project," Huckabee wrote in an Oct. 3, 2000, letter to Brig. Gen. Melcher.

At Melcher's direction, the Corps took another look at the dam and the water pipeline alternative favored by the Park Service, the Ozark Society and other groups. The Corps determined that the pipeline posed "difficulties," including time and expense.

The pipeline would cost about $6.1 million more than the Bear Creek dam over the 50-year life of the project, too great a burden for Searcy County, the Corps said.

"Searcy County is the second-poorest county in Arkansas, with a per capita income of $8,800," the federal agency said. "Corps officials determined the increased pipeline costs make the alternative not practicable." 

Further, the Corps said, "The differences in environmental impacts between (the dam and the pipeline) are minimal. The Corps found that either proposal would have only minor negative impacts to the aquatic environment and there are only minor differences between the impacts of the proposed reservoir and the pipeline alternative."

Some Searcy County water systems contain radium levels exceeding the federal standards, the Corps said.

The agency said it "balanced the need for a safe, reliable and affordable water supply against the increased cost and delay associated with a pipeline."

The Corps also cited "the overwhelming support for the lake from the citizens of Searcy County and the support of the governor."

Baker said he's not sure when construction on the dam might begin.

The Corps has imposed several conditions on the project. The water district must develop a plan to mitigate the impacts of the reservoir itself, including retaining woodlands around the lake and preserving trees used as habitat by bats and eagles, said Jerry Harris, chief of the Little Rock District's regulatory branch.

The water district also must develop a plan for releasing the water from the reservoir to ease adverse impacts to downstream water flows.

Baker said he's not sure how long it will take the water district to meet the additional conditions.

He said the water district also must secure construction funding, probably a combination of government loans and a temporary countywide sales tax. Voters must approve a local sales tax.

The water district's engineers have estimated that the reservoir would be ready about three years after the construction begins.

The raw water would be pumped to Marshall's water treatment plant. The first customers would be the county's two biggest cities: Marshall, which is the county seat, and Leslie, Baker said.

The Corps has said that the Bear Creek Project would cost about $16.8 million. It would create a reservoir that would yield 3.7 million gallons per day. The project would meet the region's water needs until 2050.

Written by Julie Stewart. Published in The Mountain Echo, August 9, 2001.