Klamath restoration negotiations delayed

Just delayed, or is it kicking the can down the road? The longer negotiations drag on, the tougher it becomes to actually remove those dams, even with the backing of the Obama Administration. Watch PacifiCorp's comments as the September deadline approaches.

Read the full article here.

Buffett again rebuffs advocates who want Klamath dams out

From the AP: "American Indian tribes and salmon fisherman were rebuffed a second time Saturday in their bid to win support from billionaire Warren Buffett for a proposal to remove four hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River."

The road gets tougher for the dams coming down. It's unlikely that regulators from California, Oregon and the federal government will force PacifiCorp to pull down those dams. And even if they tried, who's going to pay for it? PacifiCorp would tie it up in court for years. Meanwhile, the lower river tribes and the salmon will continue to struggle.

Yet Another Complication in the Klamath

From Jeff Barnard of the AP: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has listed toxins from blue-green algae as another pollutant of the Klamath River behind the hydroelectric dams that Indian tribes, fishermen and conservation groups want removed to make way for salmon.

The algae toxins in the Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs now must be considered along with other pollutants by the California Water Board as it considers whether to grant the Clean Water Act certification needed by the Portland-based utility PacifiCorp to get a new operating license for four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath."

NPR Story on the Klamath Dams

NPR looks at the Klamath controversy and the possible removal of the four Klamath River dams.

Hope in the Klamath Basin

Here's an opinion piece in the Oregonian by two longtime players in the struggle over Klamath water rights and the dams (Troy Fletcher is one of the main characters in the documentary). Interesting paragraph about PacifiCorp's role:

"... the proposed agreement included only commitments between the 26 parties not related to PacifiCorp and its facilities. A separate companion agreement with PacifiCorp is still in negotiation. There have been 16 separate meetings with the PacifiCorp's president or general counsel over the last two years centered solely on PacificCorp's Klamath River hydropower dams."

A hopeful note, because as I mentioned below, without PacifiCorp's participation in an agreement about the dams there's little hope for a lasting settlement, no matter what the other stakeholders agree on.

Deal on Dams on Klamath Advances

The New York Times reports on the landmark $1 billion agreement between the upstream and downstream interests in the Klamath Basin. It's potentially a milestone; just the fact that these groups with such conflicting interests were able to sit down and negotiate such a deal is remarkable.

When I was doing the reporting for the documentary, I heard that the opposing groups were meeting (in secret at that time) and trying to reach some common ground. I admit I thought the prospects were dim they'd get this far.

Yet the cold fact is that it is still basically up to PacifiCorp if the dams are to be removed and key parts of this agreement implemented. And I believe chances of that are slim. There are huge costs, monumental engineering challenges, and many intervening variables; including conflicting government jurisdictions and environmental concerns that still have not been resolved.

I hope I'm wrong. As I pointed out above, I never thought they'd get this far. But there still is a long way to go before we see those dams come down and the historic salmon runs reopened in one of the most beautiful regions of the west.

$1 billion lawsuit claims Klamath dams produce hazardous waste

Here's the latest legal maneuver by Klamath Riverkeeper and the tribes in the Klamath Basin to put pressure on PacifiCorp to remove the dams on the river. The claim is that the series of dams along the river promote the growth of toxic algae. One billion dollars is quite a number.

On the way to Omaha to see Warren Buffett

A group of Klamath tribes and environmentalists stopped in Sacramento, CA on their way to Omaha to try and get PacifiCorp and Warren Buffett to tear down the Klamath Dams.

Klamath tribes ask PacifiCorp to tear down dams

I attended this event in Sacramento and shot some footage. I'll edit it and post it here in the next few days.

New York Times covers the Klamath Dam controversy

The New York Times takes a look at the Klamath River Dam controversy with a well-balanced piece on whether the dams should be taken down and what that means in our new climate sensitive world. The emphasis on the loss of a cheap, clean power resource for rural areas is the story's strongest point and one that PacifiCorp and its proponents is sure to emphasize during the long fight ahead.

The fight over the Klamath River and its water seems to have shifted some from irrigators vs. salmon to power vs. salmon. In the end, it seems that no matter what the other interest is, it's always another interest vs. salmon and the salmon (and the people and culture surrounding them) appear destined to lose.

Dueling studies about the cost of Klamath Dams

Over the last few months three studies were published arguing the financial pros and cons of PacifiCorp removing the Klamath Dams. The latest, by the California Energy Commission, reaffirmed an earlier study arguing that it's cheaper for PacifiCorp to remove the dams than to install new fish ladders and other technology to aid spawning salmon. Read the piece in the LA Times.

PacifiCorp wants to keep dams

Here's the latest on the Klamath Dams saga. It seems that PacifiCorp, part of Warren Buffet's financial empire, is willing to spend the estimated $3oo million it will take to build the fish ladders needed for salmon to get on the other side of the four dams on the Klamath River instead of taking out the dams and restoring the river to its historic flows. Some studies show taking out the dams would cost less than building the fish ladders.

PacifiCorp is not ruling out breaching the dams, but this is still a blow to those (including me) that hoped the high cost of the fish ladder system would cause PacifiCorp to tear down the dams for financial, if not environmental, reasons.

There's a couple of good videos on YouTube of the Klamath Dam controversy. Click on the link or go to the home page and use the keyword "klamath".