Grand River Dam Authority News Release

For immediate release: 5/23/13

GRDA announces dumpster locations for annual shoreline cleanup

Langley- The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) and Grand Lake Sail & Power Squadron are once again joining forces to help “lend a hand to Lady Grand.” Scheduled for June 22, the effort is an opportunity for lake area residents to unite in their efforts to keep Grand Lake’s shoreline beautiful and free of trash and debris.

Dumpsters will be conveniently located at four different sites around the lake:

Grove Springs Park – Grove (O’Daniel Street behind McDonalds)
Bernice State Park – Bernice
Church of Christ – Ketchum
Disney State Park – Disney

Dumpsters will be available from 9am to 3pm on June 22. No household garbage or commercial dumping of dock foam is allowed.

For more information, contact Lori Starks, GRDA Programs & Lake Relations Coordinator at (918) 256-0644.

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Photo caption information: The annual Grand Lake shoreline cleanup will be held on Saturday June 22. Dumpsters will be available at four locations around Grand Lake from 9am to 3pm.

“With Memorial Day weekend fast approaching, and many people expected to visit Grand and Hudson lakes, we want to take this time to again share these special safety reminders. As of Thursday afternoon, May 23, floodgates were still open at Grand Lake.  Please keep that in mind when you visit the water and stay clear of those areas. Have a safe, enjoyable weekend!”

Vinita – The Grand River Dam Authority’s request for a variance from mandated Grand Lake elevations, sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in March, is receiving strong support from two United States Senators.

On May 20, United States Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) sent FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff a letter supporting GRDA’s request. Senator Wyden, who has been an advocate for hydroelectric power across the United States, is the Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over FERC.

FERC issues GRDA its license to operate the Pensacola Project (Pensacola Dam and Grand Lake) and that license contains a seasonal rule curve that mandates holding Grand Lake at certain elevations at different times of the year. The license also calls for a three-foot lowering of the lake’s elevation each August in order to seed millet around the lake shore.

In their letter to FERC, Inhofe and Wyden wrote that the Grand Lake “rule curve in the existing license requires lake elevations to be decreased in August from 744 to 741 feet for millet seeding intended to benefit waterfowl and other wildlife. Unfortunately, the benefits to wildlife from this measure are questionable for many reasons.”

Throughout its history, the success of the seeding effort has been questioned many times and the Senators pointed out that adverse effects may outweigh the benefits. “The negative impacts on other public values of lowering the lake for this purpose are extensive and undisputed,” wrote Inhofe and Wyden. A committee of state and federal agencies has previously recommended that the millet seeding program be discontinued in lieu of adjacent site mitigation along the Neosho River west of Miami.

The Senators also requested that FERC grant GRDA the variance no later than June 30, 2013, while also requesting that the Commission consider approving a variance that runs through the end of GRDA’s current license to operate the Pensacola Project (2022).

“Going through an annual rule curve level proceeding every year between now and 2022, when the 30-year term of the current project license expires, is very wasteful and costly, particularly when a relicensing process – that will no doubt deal with the lake level issue – will formally begin within the next few years,” wrote the Senators.

In years like 2011 and 2012, when drought conditions linger and GRDA must also address dissolved oxygen issues and other lake management concerns, a variance that runs through the end of the license would also aid the Authority’s long-term planning and reduce the costs associated with annual variance applications, added GRDA Chief Executive Officer/Director of Investments Dan Sullivan.

“I am thankful for the efforts of Senator Inhofe in addressing Grand Lake water issues,” said Sullivan. “His effort in working on this important issue with Chairman Wyden has demonstrated a bipartisan request to FERC to look for a more long standing solution. We are hopeful that this letter will result in a rule curve that adequately addresses all requirements and provides a framework toward our next re-licensure process. The proven track record of our rule curve variance last year demonstrates that an adaptive approach in conjunction with communication with all stakeholders provides very good results.

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GRDA Police Officer Lissa Brown is one member of the team that will be patrolling the waters of Grand Lake this summer to assist boaters, promote safe outings and enforce lake rules and regulations. If you need assistance while you are on the water, you can radio the GRDA Police on Marine Band 16.

Langley – For many lake enthusiasts, Memorial Day weekend is just the beginning of many summer hours that will be spent on Oklahoma’s water playgrounds. Certainly, GRDA’s Grand and Hudson lakes in Northeast Oklahoma will welcome their share of visitors, as large crowds are expected to hit the water for boating, swimming, skiing, tubing, cruising or simply relaxing along the shore.

With that in mind, the Grand River Dam Authority Police Department wants to remind all those lake visitors that “boating safe, boating smart and boating sober” is still the best way to spend time on the water. The following tips can also be helpful to lake visitors as they plan a trip to GRDA lakes this summer:

• Before you leave the dock, know the stability, load capability and handling of the vessel you are operating. Remember, every boat is different.
• All boats must be equipped with certain safety equipment, but this equipment is useless if you don’t know how to use it. Learn how to properly use all the safety equipment on your boat.
• Double-check to see if you have all the required safety equipment on your boat:

― Lights Operating & Satisfactory( if operating vessel at night)
― Horn or Whistle and a bell if the boat is over 26ft in length
― Fire Extinguishers
― Flame Arrestor ( I/O)
― Ventilation (Blowers)
― Oar
― Life Jackets
― Anchor
― Bailing Device
― Registration

• Items needed on a personal watercraft (PWC) include:

― Registration
― Life Jacket
― Kill switch
― Fire Extinguisher
― Horn or whistle
• Check the water conditions and know where hazards like sandbars and stump beds are located.
• Before you leave the dock, check the weather conditions. Don’t get caught on the lake in a storm you could have avoided.
• Airplane pilots file a flight plan. Boaters need a float plan. Tell someone responsible where you are going and when you expect to return.
• Don’t drink and boat! Most lake accidents are alcohol related. Don’t become a statistic.
• Finally, if you need immediate assistance, the GRDA Police recommends you call 911. However, if you are on the boat with no cell phone access, you can use Marine Band 16 to radio for help.

A GRDA Police boat makes its way across Grand Lake. With the busy boating season just around the corner, the department is taking this opportunity to remind all boaters of the importance of life jacket usage and other important boating tips. GRDA reminds all lake visitors to “boat safe, boat smart and boat sober” on the waters this summer.

The GRDA Police joins the USCG and others in continuing to stress the importance of life jackets. In fact, this summer, GRDA will resume the “I Got Caught” life jacket campaign where free t-shirts are given to the those boaters who are “caught” wearing their life jackets on GRDA waters. While that campaign helps promote life jackets, GRDA officers also stress some important tips that everyone should keep in mind.

― BUY your own personal life jacket and use it. One size does not fit all.
― LOOK at the label. It will provide weight, size and use information.
― TRY it on to check the fit. Once the straps and buckles are secured, it should not slip over your head.
― NEVER use water toys in place of an approved life jacket.
― CHECK your life jacket yearly for flotation and fit.
― FINALLY, WEAR A LIFE JACKET to set an example for younger children and to increase your chances of survival in an accident.

GRDA officers are gearing up for another great summer on Grand and Hudson lakes and will be out on the

The GRDA Ecosystems and Education Center, located just west of historic Pensacola Dam, in Langley. The center is the headquarters for the GRDA Police Department, home to the Authority’s state-of-the-art water quality laboratory and also the home to GRDA’s free tours of Pensacola Dam, offered Memorial Day to Labor Day, when the building is open seven days a week.

waters to promote safe outings, assist boaters and enforce lake rules and regulations. For more information on the department and lake safety, or for information on how an officer can assist you, contact the department at (918) 256 0911 or visit us online at grda.com. And to view the 2012-2013 GRDA Lake Guide online, click on the “Lake Information” drop down menu on grda.com, then click on the “GRDA Lake Publications” link. You can also pick up a hardcopy of the guide, along with other important lake area information, at the GRDA Ecosystems and Education Center in Langley. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the building will be open 9AM to 4PM, seven days a week. At other times of the year, it is open 8AM to 4:30PM, Monday-Friday.

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Langley – Wear it.

A GRDA Police Boat makes its way across the waters of Grand Lake. GRDA officers will be out all summer, to assist boaters, promote safe outings and enforce lake rules and regulations. They will also be continuing the “I Got Caught” lifejacket campaign during the summer of 2013.

Two short words, one simple slogan. However, “wear it” may be the most important piece of advice you get this summer if you are headed to the lake because it is intended to remind you to wear your life jacket while boating.

That is an important message that the Grand River Dam Authority shares all year long, but in conjunction National Safe Boating Week (May 18 – 24), it is a good time to reinforce the reasons why life jackets are so important.

According to the latest statistics from United States Coast Guard (USCG), there were 4,588 boating accidents in the United States in 2011 and unfortunately, those accidents led to 758 deaths. Seventy (70) percent of all those fatal boating accident victims drowned and, of those, 84 percent were NOT wearing life jackets.
That is an unfortunate trend that can be changed if boaters would only take the time to wear it.

“The GRDA Police Department has always stressed ‘boating smart, boating safe and boating sober’,” said GRDA Corporate Communications Director Justin Alberty, “and wearing a life jacket is a smart and safe thing to do while you are on the water.”

GRDA carries that message even further in the summer months during its annual “I Got Caught” life jacket awareness campaign. If the GRDA Police catches boaters doing the right thing (wearing life jackets) on Grand and Hudson lakes, they might just pull them over and reward them with a special t-shirt.

“This is a great way to promote life jacket usage while allowing our officers to interact with the public,” said Alberty. “Our hope is that we can “catch” a lot of adults wearing jackets too, as a way to set an example for the children on the boats.”

That is a very important example when you consider some facts about drowning. According to the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC), most drowning accidents

Caught doing the right thing … This crew of GRDA Tour Guides, Ecosystems and Lake Relations personnel is ready for summer on the waters of Grand and Hudson lakes. Donning their life jackets to help remind you to “boat safe, boat smart and boat sober” this summer are, from left, Roy Heginbotham, Dick Jaggars, Mike Bednar, Brylee Harbuck, Jamie Flud, Jacklyn Jaggars, Lori Starks, Jackie Jaggars and Vinita’s Ty Starks.

are 10 feet or less from a safe place and in most situations, the person never intended to enter the water. To untrained bystanders, a drowning person may appear to simply be waving, clowning around or just splashing. The three best ways to prevent drowning while boating include always wearing a life jacket, learning to swim and boating sober. Most people who drowned in boating accidents had a life jacket available but were not wearing it when they entered the water.

Of course, just having a life jacket available is an important first step. And even though GRDA has shared the following tips before, they are good to keep in mind as you get your gear ready for the summer 2013 boating season.

― BUY your own personal life jacket and use it. One size does not fit all.
― LOOK at the label. It will provide weight, size and use information.
― TRY it on to check the fit. Once the straps and buckles are secured, it should not slip over your head.
― NEVER use water toys in place of an approved life jacket.
― CHECK your life jacket yearly for flotation and fit.

As for proper life jacket care and maintenance, the NSBC offers these tips as well:

― Dry it before storing
― Store it in a cool, well-ventilated area
― Keep it where it can be easily retrieved
― Replace it when signs of wear appear
― Don’t alter the jacket
― Don’t dry clean or use harsh cleansers
― Don’t use direct heat to dry or leave in the sun indefinitely
― Don’t use your jacket as a cushion, a kneeling pad or as a boat fender

To properly test your life jacket before use, the NSBC suggests the following: “While wearing your life jacket, walk into water up to your chest in a supervised area. Draw your feet off the bottom, tilt your head back and allow your body to float in a relaxed manner. Your mouth and nose should be out of the water and you should comfortably float with no effort. If the jacket rides up, secure it more tightly to your body. If it continues to ride up, try a smaller size jacket or a different style. A child’s jacket must fit snugly and a child should not ‘grow into’ it!.”

It is important to note that GRDA lake rules require all boats to carry a United States Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices (PFDs) or life jackets for each person on board. On vessels less than 26 feet in length, while underway, each passenger 12 years of age or younger is also required to wear a PFD (although ALL passengers are encouraged to wear it ALL the time). Anyone operating or riding as a passenger on a personal watercraft (PWC), water skis, sailboard, surfboard, wakeboard, parasail or similar device is also required to wear an approved flotation device.

“Once upon a time, the excuse was that many life jackets were bulky and uncomfortable to wear,” said Alberty. “That’s not the case these days. Many modern life jacket designs are lightweight and comfortable enough to be worn all day.”

So “Wear It.”

That is the message from the GRDA Police Department, the National Safe Boating Council, the United States Coast Guard and others, including your own family members, who want you to have an enjoyable and safe outing on the waters this year.

“We always like to remind people that life jackets only work if you wear them,” said Alberty. “The best life jacket in the world does you no good if you never put it on.”

For more information on GRDA, the GRDA Police Department and lake rules, visit grda.com. If you need immediate assistance while on the water, the GRDA Police encourages you to dial 911. If you don’t have a cell phone available on your boat you can also radio for help on Marine Band 16. Finally, be sure to drop by the GRDA Ecosystems and Education Center in Langley this summer to pick up more information about the GRDA lakes area. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the building will be open 9AM to 4PM, seven days a week. At other times of the year, it is open 8AM to 4:30PM, Monday-Friday.

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GRDA lineman Jesse Payton demonstrates the importance of being safe around power lines.

Langley—The Grand River Dam Authority and students from Adair’s Bernita Hughes Elementary and Pryor‘s Roosevelt Elementary partnered in the Mayes County Third Graders Go to Work program. Mrs. Kemp’s and Mrs. Pierce’s students toured the historic Pensacola Dam and visited GRDA’s Ecosystem and Education Center on May 10.

GRDA personnel were on hand to give presentations about

GRDA Ecosystems and Lake Management Administrative Assistant Jacklyn Jaggars interviews a future GRDA employee.

electrical safety, hydropower, and the Grand River Ecosystem. After spending the day learning about the variety of positions it takes to successfully operate a utility company, students lined up, resumes in hand, to interview for the GRDA job of their choice.

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Vinita – The Grand River Dam Authority is reinforcing its support of tax-exempt financing as a tool by which state and local governments can finance critical infrastructure, including electric utility systems.

At its May 8 meeting, the GRDA Board of Directors passed a resolution supporting the preservation of tax-exempt bonds; something many other publicly-owned utilities across the nation have also done.

“Whereas the benefits of lower capital costs are reflected in lower electric rates which benefit under-served citizens and promote rural economic development through greater local investments and control,” states one part of the resolution, which received unanimous support by the GRDA Board.

According to GRDA Chief Executive Officer/Director of Investments Dan Sullivan, GRDA is taking this action in response to proposed changes coming out of Washington, D.C.

“As congressional leaders and the White House look for a long-term strategy to cut spending and reduce the federal deficit, they should consider carefully the impact that tax changes on municipal bonds would have on investment in infrastructure, wrote Sullivan in a March 2013 editorial. “While intended to limit the benefit of the municipal bond interest exemption for higher-income taxpayers, proposals to cap the tax-exemption would actually increase the cost of infrastructure investments by state and local governments and other municipal entities, including publicly owned electric utilities like GRDA.”

That would be a difficult problem for these entities, which must rely on tax-exempt bonds as the only real tool to access capital to build critical infrastructure and community projects.

“Such bonds are what made GRDA’s current electrical generation facilities a reality over 30 years ago,” said Sullivan. “Without tax-exempt financing, it would not have been possible to meet the growing needs of our electric customers across Oklahoma.”

With the GRDA Board’s approval of the resolution, the utility joins others across the country, along with the American Public Power Association (APPA) and the Large Public Power Council (LPPC) in bringing greater focus to this issue. Sullivan added that GRDA’s municipal customers may also consider passing similar resolutions.

Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is Oklahoma’s state-owned electric utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. GRDA’s low-cost, reliable electricity – produced by a diverse and beneficial mixture of coal, hydroelectric, gas and wind resources – touches 75 of 77 Oklahoma counties. At no cost to taxpayers, GRDA also manages 70,000 surface acres of lakes in the state, including Grand Lake, Lake Hudson and the W.R. Holway Reservoir.

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Langley – For one long weekend in February, Grand Lake was the center of the bass fishing world. Countless eyes were focused on its 46,500 acres of water as it played host to the prestigious 2013 Bassmaster Classic and the 53 professional fishermen who came from all over the country to cast a line into Oklahoma’s premier water destination.

Those who attended the event certainly know there was a lot going on: early morning launches, late afternoon weigh-ins, anglers in action on the water and more activities and pageantry to go hand-in-hand with the sport’s biggest moments.

For many of those moments, as well as the preparations leading up to them, the Grand River Dam Authority and its employees played an important role. Like other event organizers and volunteers, the GRDA team put in plenty of man-hours before and during the event to help promote a classic experience on a grand lake.

GRDA Fisheries Coordinator Brent Davis (left) answers a question about Grand Lake rules for 2013 Bassmaster Classic participant Jared Lintner (Arroyo Grande, California). Davis’ duties during the event involved everything from traffic control and valet parking to providing information and insuring all fish were returned to Grand Lake.

GRDA Fisheries/Tournament Coordinator Brent Davis is no stranger to bass tournaments. Though the Bassmaster Classic is the most popular event of its kind to visit Grand Lake, Davis has worked with many tournaments, organizations and anglers over the years to insure things go smoothly throughout their tournament experience.

“My job at the Classic was everything from crowd control to valet parking,” Davis said with a laugh, although his duties really went far beyond that, all the way to helping get the fish back into the water.

“We handled the fish, brought them back and returned them safely to Grand. That is very important for GRDA; we want all our fish turned back into the lake at every tournament at the highest possible survival rate. We work very hard at it and have been successful.”

Still, before those fish could ever be caught, the anglers had to get their boats into the water. GRDA was a part of this process by constructing the new tournament complex boat ramps at the Wolf Creek site. Fortunately, the mild winter cooperated when the GRDA Facilities Management Crew poured the concrete for the new ramps in late December. That project, and associated dirt work at the site, was a large part of GRDA’s financial contribution to the new tournament complex which was completed in partnership with other entities likes the city of Grove, Oklahoma Department of Parks and Tourism, Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Long after the Classic has passed, the complex they helped to build will continue to benefit the area.

“By building the new ramps, GRDA was able to accomplish many things,” said GRDA Chief Executive Officer/Director of

GRDA Lake Relations Coordinator Lori Starks welcomed the public to GRDA’s booth the Grove Boat Show, held during the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake.

Investments Dan Sullivan. “As part of the new fishing tournament complex, these ramps – which are built on GRDA property – will help enhance public access to Grand Lake. Not only does that meet our lake management mission but the popularity of the Classic, which was such a regional success, has brought a lot of recognition to Grand Lake. That is a great boost for GRDA’s economic development mission.”

Promoting the lakes area supports the local economy, and GRDA employees did their part during the Bassmaster Classic.

GRDA Biologist Steve Nikolai meets the public and promotes GRDA lake programs at the Classic Outdoor Expo in Tulsa, during the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

Employees from several departments, including GRDA Lake Relations, Police Department and Ecosystems Management manned booths at both the Grove Boat Show and the Classic Expo in Tulsa. It was an opportunity to share GRDA’s story, meet the public, promote lake-related programs and talk about important lake issues with long-time residents and first-time visitors.

“We had a lot of visitors stop by our booth,” said GRDA Ecosystems Lab Specialist Roger Simmons. “It was great to hear all the positive things they had to say about the tournament and the lake itself.” Though he is normally found working in the lab at the Ecosystems and Education Center, he was part of the workforce at the Classic Expo in Tulsa. 

Back at the lake, the GRDA Police Department was at work in the early morning hours to provide assistance at the launch site. As the anglers hit the water each morning at 7AM, GRDA patrol boats were close by to provide a safe traffic lane from Wolf Creek to the rest of the lake. At the same time, the GRDA helicopter was overhead, providing eyes in the sky as well.

“Our officers enjoyed the opportunity to ensure the safety of the anglers and spectators,” said GRDA Assistant General Manager and Chief of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Brian Edwards. “We had no incidents during the tournaments in spite of the challenging weather. We think the event was a great success. “

Overall, the efforts of many GRDA employees went a long way in helping to make the 2013 event on Grand Lake a successful and memorable event.

“Events like the Bassmaster Classic help to highlight what many have known for years about the Grand Lake area,” said Sullivan. “This area is a wonderful destination, and helping to promote it and preserve it are foundational to GRDA’s mission.  I want to thank the GRDA employees who worked so hard to help make the event such a success.”

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GRDA Superintendent of Rates and Quantitative Analysis Jennifer Weatherford shares the Authority’s 10-year financial forecast with participants at a customer meeting earlier this year. Good communications with customers, and the decisions that came from those communications, played roles in a recent credit update GRDA received from Moody’s on Monday.

Vinita – A recent credit rating update from Moody’s Investor Service is being viewed as positive step in the right financial direction by the Grand River Dam Authority.
Of course, “positive” is a key word; Moody’s affirmed GRDA’s A2 credit rating on Monday, March 11, and moved the rating to positive from a previous stable outlook.

“This is very good news for GRDA,” said GRDA Chief Executive Officer/Director Investments Dan Sullivan. “We feel the positive outlook is the result of a lot of hard work by our staff, as well as key decisions made by our board.”
Moody’s agreed with that assessment, stating in their news release that the change of outlook “reflects a number of improvements to credit quality including the stronger financial performance achieved over the last three years.”

GRDA’s recent proposal to calculate its power cost adjustment (PCA) on a monthly basis was one of the items Moody’s viewed favorably. The PCA is an adjustment GRDA makes to its base rate to reflect the actual costs of fuel used for generation. Since implementing it in the early 1980s GRDA had calculated the PCA twice a year. However, after its January 2013 meetings with its customers, the utility asked the GRDA Board to consider the monthly schedule.

“We wanted to get customer input because the PCA issue is so important to them,” said Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Dougherty. “More frequent calculations should reduce the volatility, which is a plus for our customers. In turn, it can make GRDA financially stronger. That’s something the financial community has recognized.”

GRDA’s location in Oklahoma, along with its contracts for electricity sales to industries, rural electric cooperatives and municipals were also important factors in the assessment.

“We think that the economic strength of the region will support power demand growth from municipal customers over the next few years,” state Moody’s.

According to Sullivan, that demand growth will be met with GRDA’s diverse generation portfolio which includes coal, natural gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. Maintaining the benefits of that portfolio, while also planning for future generation needs, is a top priority today at GRDA.

“Moody’s pointed to our diverse portfolio as a strength, and we certainly see it that way,” said Sullivan. “So we are working not only to preserve that strength but also planning for ways to be even stronger tomorrow.”

That plan must include a way to ensure regulatory compliance as future Environmental Protection Agency regulations impact operations of the GRDA Coal Fired Complex. However, the Authority has already discussed this issue with its customers, as well as the different options for additional generation in the future. Moody’s noted in its assessment that GRDA’s funding strategy for this issue is still being developed.

“It is no secret that we are coming to a crossroads in terms of our future generation mix,” said Sullivan. “However, with our ongoing communications with customers and stakeholders, the efforts of our dedicated workforce and the leadership the board has shown on critical issues, we feel well-prepared for tomorrow and feel like this Moody’s outlook reflects that.”

Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is Oklahoma’s state-owned electric utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Directly or indirectly, GRDA’s low-cost, reliable; electricity touches 75 of 77 Oklahoma counties. At no cost to Oklahoma taxpayers, GRDA also manages 70,000 surface acres of lakes in the state, including Grand Lake, Lake Hudson and the W.R. Holway Reservoir.

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