As reported in a previous edition of the Redwood Needles, a multi-partner agreement to remove four antiquated dams on the Klamath River was signed in April. Now another essential step has been taken towards what would be the largest dam removal project in United States history
On October 17 Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell sent a letter to federal dam regulators, signaling formal approval of the April agreement. “The recommendation and determination I am making today are not entered into lightly,” Interior Secretary Jewell wrote. “Rather, I do so in reliance on the most comprehensive and robust analysis of dam removal ever undertaken.”
Under the agreement, PacifiCorp, which owns the dams, will transfer them to a third-party organization that will assume legal liability, with electricity rate payers and California and Oregon tax payers assuming the estimated $292 million costs. Upgrading the dams to meet current standards for fish passage would cost an additional $100 million at least.
Unblocking more than 400 miles of river habitat is expected to revive a salmon run that was once among the largest on the west coast, but has fallen 90 percent from the levels of a century ago. “Dam removal can rewrite a painful chapter in our history, and it can be done in a manner that protects the many interests in the basin,” Jewell wrote, concluding that removal is in the public interest.
According to the April agreement, the dams are supposed to come down in 2020, but the precise schedule will be determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. PacifiCorp filed applications for removal of the four dams and transfer of ownership to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation in September. Regulators will now evaluate those filings.