Portland, OR – Today the 28 parties that have been
negotiating the fate of the Klamath River Dams
released the highly anticipated Klamath
Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA). In coming
weeks Klamath Basin Tribes, counties, conservation
groups, fishing groups, and farming and ranching
organizations will consider the pros and cons of the
Agreement and decide whether or not to support it.
Already, several groups appear eager to support the
Agreement and move forward with resolving what many
have thought was the America’s most intractable
water war.
“Klamath communities are redefining what is possible
in terms of large scale ecosystem restoration. The
key to success is an approach that supports all of
the Klamath’s diverse rural communities,” said Chuck
Bonham of Trout Unlimited.
The KHSA would be complemented by the implementation
of a companion agreement, the Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement (KBRA). Whereas the KHSA
focuses on the fate of PacifiCorp’s lower four
Klamath River Dams, the KBRA significantly increases
water flows for fish, provides greater reliability
of irrigation water delivery, undertakes Basin-scale
habitat restoration, and makes critical economic
investments to ensure the economic viability of
Basin fishing and farming communities into the
future.
“This Agreement represents a major step toward
restoring the health of the Klamath River. We look
forward to working with all Tribal, agricultural,
and fishing communities in the Klamath Basin on
implementing these solutions,” said Troy Fletcher,
negotiator and Yurok Tribal member.
The KHSA provides a pathway that would lead to dam
removal in 2020 following an analysis by the
Secretary of the Interior to determine whether dam
removal is indeed to the benefit of fisheries
resources and in the public interest. In addition,
the safety of dam removal must be scrutinized
through a public environmental review process
consistent with all applicable state and federal
environmental laws.
“Of course we’d like to see the dams removed
tomorrow, but the reality is we must make sure dam
removal is as safe as preliminary assessments
suggest and that it can be done cost effectively,”
said Steve Rothert, California Director for American
Rivers. “For a restoration action that is simply
unprecedented in scale and scope, this is actually a
reasonable timeline.”
The KHSA is based on the Agreement in Principle
reached between PacifiCorp, Oregon, California, and
the federal government in November of 2008. It
provides for funding up to $200 million in dam
removal costs by collecting a surcharge from
PacifiCorp’s Oregon and California customers over
the next 10 years. Earlier this year, the Oregon
legislature authorized the customer surcharge. If
necessary, the State of California would provide up
to $250 million more towards the cost of removal
with the total project costs not to exceed $450
million.
Dam owner PacifiCorp appreciates the approach in the
Agreement as well. PacifiCorp Chairman & CEO, Greg
Abel describes the agreement as a “balanced and
reasonable outcome that best protects the interests
of our customers, while achieving the policy
objectives of the states and federal government, as
well as helping to peacefully resolve numerous
conflicts in the Klamath basin.”
The release of the proposed Agreement marks a
significant shift in attitude for many in the basin.
Over the past 20 years the Klamath has been marked
by bitter and acrimonious debate. The various
communities had targeted one another with lawsuits
and protests, often marked by acts of civil
disobedience, in a failure to truly resolve issues
pertaining to water rights, river flows, and
economic development.
“Once we decided to stop fighting and start talking,
we realized the opportunities provided by
collaboration and coalition building,” said Jeff
Mitchell, council member for the Klamath Tribes of
Oregon. “We haven’t seen salmon in our country for
90 years; this Agreement represents our best chance
of finally bringing the salmon home to the Upper
Basin.”
In coming weeks, participating governments and
organizations will be considering whether to
formally sign on to the Agreement. If a critical
mass can be reached, the groups hope to introduce
legislation to implement the companion agreements by
the end of the year.
Editor’s note: for a copy of the Klamath Hydropower
Agreement and an Executive Summary, go to
www.edsheets.com
See the following documents for more information:
Klamath Dam Removal Agreement Oregon September 30,
2009
CA Klamath Agreement
Draft Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement
September 30, 2009
Joint Statement Regarding Klamath Hydroelectric
Settlement Agreement
PacifiCorp's Statement Regarding Klamath
Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement
Salazar Klamath Settlement Statement September 28,
2009
Summary of Draft Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement
Agreement September 30, 2009
