KDRV Staff
November 10, 2009
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Dozens voiced concerns about the controversial Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement at public forums held by Klamath County legislators Tuesday.
The KBRA, which includes the removal of four dams on the Klamath River, outlines water allocations in the Klamath Basin for irrigators, tribes, conservationists and fisheries.
Several who spoke at the two forums said they are stakeholders in the project and were denied the ability to be involved in the process.
Some of the groups involved in draft agreement negotiations include American Indian tribes, California and Oregon state agencies, federal agencies, irrigators and some conservative groups.
The Sprague River Water Resource Foundation say they are among those who say they asked to be part of the KBRA process and were denied.
"We've asked on numerous occasions through the power group to become a positive part of the negotiation process and been denied to this point in time," said Garrett Roseberry with the SRWRF.
State Senator Doug Whitsett (R- Klamath Falls Dist. 28), who is against dam removal, says agreement negotiations are not transparent.
"We don't know what is going on in those meetings all we see is from time to time the drafts agreements," said Whitsett (R- Klamath Falls Dist. 28).
Some farmers and ranchers told the panel the KBRA, which would change water rights in areas of the Upper Klamath Basin, would hurt business.
"The way the KBRA is written right now, predominately, most of the stakeholders have some type of assurances after they go through the process. Right now the upper basin does not," Roseberry said.
According to a member of the drafting committee, the KBRA could be signed by the beginning of 2010.
Whitsett said the Klamath Water Users Association and the tribes collectively decided not to express their views at today's meeting.
Last month, PacifiCorp, the utility that owns the four hydroelectric dams, agreed to terms of the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement draft, or KHSA, for the removal of the four hydroelectric dams.
PacifiCorp was among 28 groups, including the states of California and Oregon, American Indian tribes, federal agencies, irrigators and conservation groups that released the KHSA. The KHSA is dependent on the larger KBRA, which promises increased flows and water for irrigators while restoring critical salmon habitat.
Pressure has been building for years on the Portland-based utility to remove the dams, as salmon runs have declined, farmers have faced water shutoffs, and water quality in the river has declined.
As written, the KSHA gives the U.S. Secretary of the Interior until 2012 to determine if dam removal is in the public interest and if it will restore vital salmon runs on the Klamath River. If approved, it would lead to the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, expected to start sometime after 2020. J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1 and 2 and the Iron Gate dams would all be removed.
PacifiCorp, a unit of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is expected to sign the KHSA draft agreement by the end of the year.
The agreement sets a cap of $450 million for dam removal. Oregon has agreed to a surcharge of $180 million on Oregon customers of PacifiCorp. California must still approve bonds to cover the rest. Meanwhile, PacifiCorp has agreed to spend $500,000 a year for the next 10 years on restoration of coho salmon habitat in California tributaries of the Klamath River.
