A3
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2021
Plan for Klamath River dam removal proceeds
Eff ort to help
endangered salmon
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
KLAMATH FALLS —
The largest dam removal
project in U.S. history is
one step closer to becoming
reality.
Federal energy regula-
tors have approved the trans-
fer of operating licenses
for four hydroelectric dams
along the Klamath River in
southern Oregon and North-
ern California, handing own-
ership from Pacifi Corp to
the nonprofi t Klamath River
Renewal Corp.
The group plans to demol-
ish the dams to help endan-
gered salmon, opening
approximately 400 miles of
upstream habitat.
“We view this as a big
win for every stakeholder
in the basin,” Dave Meurer,
a spokesman for the group,
said. “That includes the farm
and ranch community.”
The Federal Energy Reg-
ulatory Commission issued
the order Thursday for J.C.
Boyle, Copco 1, Copco 2
and Iron Gate dams, marking
a key milestone in the eff ort
to revive dwindling salmon
runs in the Klamath Basin.
Removal of the fi sh-block-
ing dams is slated to begin in
2023, with a project budget
of $450 million — includ-
ing $200 million from Pacif-
iCorp ratepayers, and $250
million earmarked from Cal-
ifornia Proposition 1, a $7.5
billion statewide water bond
that passed in 2014.
Jim Root, president of the
renewal corporation’s board
of directors, said the regula-
tory commission’s decision
is a “crucial and signifi cant
step forward” in restoring a
free-fl owing Klamath River.
“I am deeply appreciative
to all of the parties who have
supported this project over
the years, and I wish to espe-
cially note the signifi cant
and sustained eff orts of our
Associated Press
Iron Gate Dam spans the Klamath River near Hornbrook.
tribal partners,” Root said in
a statement.
Getting to this point has
taken decades of work, and
overcoming setbacks that
threatened to derail the plan,
he said.
The four dams were origi-
nally built between 1911 and
1962, with a total generating
capacity of 169 megawatts.
They do not provide any
irrigation storage or fl ood
control.
Eff orts to remove the
dams began in 2010 as
part of the original Klam-
ath Hydroelectric Settlement
Agreement.
At the time, the settle-
ment agreement was tied
to another settlement, the
Klamath Basin Restoration
Agreement, which would
have funded several projects
to provide greater irrigation
water security for basin farm-
ers and ranchers.
Congress, however, failed
to implement the agree-
ments prior to the Jan. 1,
2016, deadline, despite con-
‘WE VIEW THIS AS A BIG WIN
FOR EVERY STAKEHOLDER IN
THE BASIN. THAT INCLUDES THE
FARM AND RANCH COMMUNITY.’
Dave Meurer | spokesman for nonprofi t Klamath River Renewal Corp.
sensus from federal, state,
county, tribal and agricultural
partners.
Instead, an amended ver-
sion of the settlement agree-
ment went forward in 2016
while the restoration agree-
ment was left behind. The
split has frustrated farmers
and ranchers, who remain
entangled in legal disputes
over water usage and future
irrigation allocations.
This year is especially
painful, as extreme drought
prompted the Bureau of Rec-
lamation to shut off water to
most of the Klamath Project
in May.
“If that other settlement
was in place right now,
our farmers in the Klam-
ath Basin would have well
over 300,000 acre-feet of
water, instead of no water,”
said Dan Keppen, executive
director of the Family Farm
Alliance. “We got left hold-
ing the bag on that.”
The Klamath Water
Users Association, which
represents irrigators in the
Klamath Project, has no for-
mal position on the amended
settlement agreement.
However, the group
expressed concern in a memo
last year about whether the
return of salmon to upstream
habitat could result in new
regulatory restrictions that
aff ect water usage, and
whether irrigators might bear
increased operation costs
for the Link River and Keno
dams.
“We can hope that this
detriment would be over-
whelmingly off set by a water
supply benefi t,” the memo
states, “But, it is a strong rea-
son for concern that hope is
all that we can have.”
Meurer said more fi sh
in the river and improved
water quality will ultimately
be good for everyone in the
basin.
“From our perspective,
this can only help solve prob-
lems in the basin,” he said.
The renewal corporation
was created as the entity in
charge of dam removal. The
group fi led a joint applica-
tion with Pacifi Corp in 2016
to transfer the dams’ operat-
ing licenses, while simulta-
neously working with state
agencies to mitigate environ-
mental impacts and ensure
river restoration.
But in July 2020, the reg-
ulatory commission said
it would only approve the
transfer on the condition
that Pacifi Corp remain as a
co-licensee. That was a non-
starter for the utility, owned
by Berkshire Hathaway, to
protect ratepayers and satisfy
public utility commissions in
Oregon and California.
Just when it appeared
the project may have fal-
tered, Oregon and Cali-
fornia agreed to sign on as
co-licensees, pledging to
double contingency in case
the dam removal went over
budget.
The agreement — negoti-
ated by the states, Pacifi Corp,
the renewal corporation and
Northern California tribes
— was hailed as historic and
kept the project on track.
In a statement, the regu-
latory commission said the
transfer order “confi rms that
the (renewal corporation) has
the ability, fi nancially and
otherwise, to undertake dam
removal, and with the states
as co-licensees, the necessary
legal and technical exper-
tise required for such a huge
undertaking.”
The regulatory commis-
sion will now consider the
project’s license surrender
application, which includes
a detailed plan for removing
the dams and environmental
restoration.
State lawmakers and reg-
ulators praised the order.
U.S. Rep. Jared Huff man, a
California Democrat, said the
partnerships between states,
tribes and other collabora-
tors “are ringing in a new era
that recognizes the injustices
of the past and invests in the
future.”
Wade Crowfoot, Cali-
fornia Secretary for Natu-
ral Resources, echoed his
enthusiasm.
“We’re excited and
thankful for the progress,”
he said. “A great deal more
work and steadfast collabo-
ration must occur between
the states, tribes, federal
government and communi-
ties of the Klamath Basin to
achieve long-term prosperity
for all, and we stand ready
for that.”
PROTECT
YOUR FAMILY FROM
UNEXPECTED
EMERGENCY AMBULANCE COSTS.
ONLY
COVERS
HOUSEHOLD
$
59
PER YEAR
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
OFFER ENDS ON JUNE 30!
MEMBERSHIP WEBSITE
TO SIGN UP:
ambulancemembership.com/medix
or call: 503-861-5554