[env-trinity] Klamath Water Quality Planning

[Byron Leydecker]

Friends,

 

Most of you are aware that, in addition to dams, water quality poses a most
significant challenge to recovery of salmon on the Klamath River.

 

Farming and ranching on more than 500,000 acres in the upper Klamath River
basin seriously pollutes the Klamath. It's so bad that even if we get the
dams out the salmon will continue to suffer tremendously. Under the U.S.
Clean Water Act, the Klamath River is listed as "Impaired" due to excessive
amounts of nutrients and organic matter being dumped into the river, high
water temperatures, low dissolved oxygen concentrations, and the blue-green
algae toxin microcystin.

 

This week and next the Northcoast Regional Water Quality Control Board will
roll out its Klamath Water Quality Restoration Plan, and will hold five
public "scoping" meetings to hear comments from the public.

 

The first meetings are today, March 3. 

 

Here is the schedule:

 

¨      March 3, 12:30 PM, Yurok Tribal Office, Klamath, CA.

¨      March 3, 6:30 PM, Humboldt State U., BSS Building, Room 162, Arcata,
CA

¨      March 4, 6 PM, Tulelake Butte V. Fairgrounds, Floriculture Room.,
Tulelake, CA.

¨      March 5, 6 PM, Willow Creek School, Montague, CA.

¨      March 12, 2 PM, Hearing Room, NCWQCB Office, Santa Rosa, CA

 

 

If you can, attend a scoping session. Tell the water board to insist that
livestock be kept out of streams, that farmers not be allowed to dewater the
Klamath and pump back into the river water that is warm and toxic from heavy
applications of fertilizer and pesticides. 

 

You can read or download various TMDL ("total maximum daily load") and
background information at the NCWQCB’s web site:
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/northcoast/water_issues/programs/tmdls/klamath_river
/. 

Comments may be submitted until 5 PM on March 27th to:
<MStJohn at waterboards.ca.gov>.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Greg King

Klamath Campaign Coordinator

Northcoast Environmental Center

gking at asis.com

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land

415 519 4810 cell

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

 

 

 

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