September 30, 2026
Numerous conservationists and others oppose the Icicle Peshastin Irrigation District's request to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a "fill" permit at Eightmile Lake.
The irrigation district's application to the Corps is the only permit it has sought from any agency so far. Despite some discussion with the Wenatchee-Okanogan National Forest, the irrigation district still appears to insist that it does not need a special use permit from the Forest Service before it replaces its dam within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The irrigation district claims that it retained the right in its 1990 special warranty deed to modify that dam.
A number of environmental groups and several homeowner associations have filed comments with the Corps opposing the fill permit and contend, among other things, that the Forest Service must be involved in this process and must make its own NEPA analysis.
In one omnibus set of comments, 34 groups criticize the Corps for failing in many ways even to acknowledge in its public notice that the application is for a project within a designated wilderness. They also describe in considerable detail how the requested permit would not protect that wilderness. Further, they claim that the irrigation district has relinquished part of its water rights and its proposal exceeds its retained rights. They also request a public hearing on the permit application.
Other comments echo some of these concerns. As one group concludes, in contrast to the Forest Service "the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is neither authorized nor qualified to assess the impact of the proposed Eightmile Lake dam on the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area and its compliance with the Wilderness Act."