TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Twin Falls County has approved an agreement allowing Clear Springs Construction LLC to use the Centennial Park Boat Launch to transport hydroelectric equipment by barge up to 7 times over the coming year.
The approval clears the way for Ray and Karen Perron, who own the company, to continue rehabilitating a defunct hydroelectric facility on their property in the Snake River Canyon above Pillar Falls.
County OKs boat launch for Pillar Falls hydropower project
"We are very excited to be able to continue the project," Ray Perron said.
The river is the only viable route to move new hydroelectric turbines to the site because of the steep canyon rim trail. The Perrons had been seeking county approval since November of last year. In March, the county denied their initial application out of an abundance of caution and invited them to hold a series of discussions before reapplying.
"We came up with a very detailed control plan that gets right down to every little nit-picking detail on what we should do when we're on site to ensure that there's no damage to the property, that we're minimizing the interruption to the public," explained Perron.
Commissioner Brent Reinke said the commission wanted to ensure the company's activities would not obstruct the Sheriff's Office rescue abilities or public access to the boat launch.
"The process has really changed between when we started in November to where we are today," added Reinke.
"We've put as many restrictions as we can — for example, those detachments will only take place in the early morning hours, on anything but never on holidays, never on weekends," said Reinke.
As Idaho News 6 previously reported, the history of the site dates to 1982, when Ron Kasel set up a hydroelectric turbine using canal water to generate electricity. The trail to his power project became the public's access to Pillar Falls.
The Perron family bought the property 6 years ago and has been making repairs and improvements since. Karen Perron said the purchase was deeply personal.
For decades, the public has crossed property now owned by the Perrons to reach Pillar Falls by land. The Perrons maintain liability insurance in case someone is injured on the trail. They had expressed concern that a denial of their request to use the Centennial Park Boat Launch would bankrupt their company, forcing them to cancel the insurance and close public access to Pillar Falls.
"With us being able to move forward, we're happy to say that the trail is gonna remain open and accessible to the public, and that's always been our goal, and we're excited to say that," Karen Perron said. "Most of all, we're really grateful for the community and for their support for this."
Crews will detach the boat docks during early weekday morning hours and will be limited to 2 hours of operation at a time. An exact timetable has not yet been set.
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