[env-trinity] Siskiyou Daily: Klamath dam, restoration agreements could terminate Dec. 31

[Tom Stokely]

Klamath dam, restoration agreements could terminate Dec. 31

	* By David Smith
dsmith at siskiyoudaily.com 
Posted Sep. 25, 2014 @ 9:23 am 


Opposition to the Klamath dam agreements is still going strong as the date for termination of those agreements approaches.
The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement is a long-term compact between numerous groups that sets forth a variety of river restoration activities, and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement makes possible the potential removal of four dams along the Klamath River.
Dr. Richard Gierak, long a vocal opponent of both agreements, recently shared with the Siskiyou Daily News correspondence between himself and Senator Dianne Feinstein regarding the Klamath issue.
Asking Feinstein to reconsider her support for dam removal, Gierak’s letter to the California senator covers a list of concerns familiar to many who have followed the agreements over the past four years.
Those concerns include the potential effects of releasing tons of sediment trapped behind the dams, the loss of reservoirs and their provision of water for fighting wildfires, potential disruption of Yreka’s water supply – the pipe for which runs under Iron Gate Reservoir – and allegations that the act will violate laws from the Federal Endangered Species Act to the United States Constitution.
Open about her support for dam removal, Feinstein’s response letter highlights the pending deadline for congressional authorization of the agreements.
As they are currently written, both agreements will terminate on Dec. 31 if Congress does not pass authorizing legislation.
In May, Feinstein co-sponsored The Klamath Basin Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act of 2014 from Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. The bill would provide the necessary authorization, but Feinstein notes that the bill is currently awaiting consideration by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
According to Craig Tucker, Klamath coordinator for the Karuk Tribe – one of the signatories to the agreements – the agreements will terminate if the authorization is not obtained.
However, the parties involved can convene and set a new termination date if they so desire.
He stated that if a consensus is not reached and the agreements are terminated, dam owner PacifiCorp will have to return to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission process that first prompted groups to seek an alternative solution.
Tucker said that the FERC process would require PacifiCorp to seek a 401 permit from California’s State Water Board in order to fulfill water quality obligations.
Tucker predicted Wednesday that regardless of the board’s decision, the 401 process would likely result in years of litigation.
Whether or not the process reaches that stage depends on the fate of Wyden’s bill, which is listed on the govtrack.us website as having an 18 percent chance of moving beyond committee and a 5 percent chance of passing.
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Read more: http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/article/20140925/News/140929834#ixzz3ELlBr21Q
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