Guest Commentary

Why It's Important for Our Supporters to Attend Public Hearings on Klamath Dams

Submitted by Klamath Tribes of Chiloquin, Oregon in Native Condition. Discussion »

Returning Salmon & Steelhead

The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement is the sister agreement to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. In the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement a process is laid out for making decisions about removing the lower four Klamath River dams. A very important step has been taken in this process - the draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding dam removal has been released for comment.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement is an important document, and it would be worthwhile for tribal members to submit comments supporting the removal of these dams and the return of salmon and steelhead to the Klamath Tribal homelands.

Before the dams can be removed, the effects of removal must be studied, and the results of those studies conveyed to the public and to the Secretary of the Interior. The Environmental Impact Statement is the main vehicle for delivering the results of those studies, which started well over a year ago. After weighing the information contained in the Environmental Impact Statement, and information from other sources, the Secretary is scheduled to decide by March of 2012 whether the dams should be removed.

Main Conclusions in the Environmental Impact Statement

The central conclusions of the Environmental Impact Statement are not surprising.

Removing the dams will enable salmon and steelhead to once again migrate to the Upper Basin. Both will benefit from regaining access to the areas above the dams, with steelhead benefiting the most.

Removing the dams will also improve conditions in the Klamath River. For many years the reservoirs have been warming the river up during the fall, causing problems for the fisheries. Toxic blooms of blue-green algae in the reservoirs pose serious threats to human health. Fish diseases have been worsened by the dams, in some years causing extensive mortality in salmon. All of these problems, and many others, will be eliminated or improved when the dams are removed.

Removal of These Dams will Return Salmon and Steelhead to the Klamath Tribal Homelands

Sediments behind the dams were carefully evaluated, because sediments trapped by reservoirs will move downstream when the dams are removed. Studies have confirmed that there is not a problem with toxic substances in the sediments - human health is not at risk. Most of the sediment is very fine-grained and will rapidly be transported to the Pacific Ocean, which means it won't settle out in the river itself. Larger sediment like gravel will be beneficial to the river.

For two to three months after the reservoirs are drained, the fine sediments will be at a high concentration in the river, and will cause some problems for fish. By draining the reservoirs during the winter, however, effects on fish will be minimized. After the fine sediments have flushed out, both the river and its fisheries will begin to improve, and to realize the benefits of removing the dams.

Removing the dams and implementing the KBRA would generate significant number of jobs throughout the Klamath Basin, and in communities dependent on commercial fishing up and down the West Coast. Dam removal alone will employ about 1,400 people. Agricultural jobs will increase, reflecting the stabilizing effect of the agreements.

Completely removing the dams and associated facilities, and stabilizing and restoring the bottoms of the empty reservoirs, will likely cost $292 million. If some of the associated facilities were to remain, the cost would be reduced by $45 million.

PacifiCorp rate-payers in Oregon and California are presently paying a surcharge on the electric bills, which will generate $200 million for the removal. Rate-payers would pay far more then this if the dams were to remain in use because the dams would need a lot of upgrading to meet modern standards.

For More Information

The Environmental Impact Statement is very large (more than 3,000 pages), but short summary documents are available to help convey the contents of the Environmental Impact Statement to those interested in learning more.

Summary documents, the full draft Environmental Impact Statement, and an on-line way to submit comments are available at: www.KlamathRestoration.gov

posted October 17, 2011 7:50 am edt