SF Chronicle Adds To Chorus Calling For Removal of Troubled Klamath River Dams

Legislation to remove the four lower Klamath River dams has been introduced into both houses of congress, and with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar due to make a go/no go decision on removal next March, the San Francisco Chronicle weighed in with a thoughtful editorial about what’s really at stake:

The hydropower dams aren’t due to be taken down until 2020, and a final decision by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar may come next March. Last month, he strongly hinted at his preference for removal by noting that preliminary studies showed that removal costs were lower than expected and 4,600 jobs would be produced by demolition and river restoration work.

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Despite Washington’s chilly atmosphere for infrastructure projects, this package has powerful appeal. Fish runs must be safeguarded by federal law, and dam removal would unblock more than 60 miles of restorable habitat. The free-flowing currents are projected to boost salmon stocks by 81 percent and ocean catches by commercial and sport anglers by 46 percent. A degraded river, home to the West Coast’s third-biggest salmon population, has a chance at new life.

The cost of sticking with the four structures would be exorbitant. Relicensing the dams, which date back nearly a century, will require more than $400 million in upgrades, far more than direct demolition. That’s one reason the dam’s operator, the PacifiCorp company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm, favors the tear-down option.

Those opposing the restoration of the Klamath have trotted out a lot of reasons why (including some truly jaw-dropping fibs, like “Coho aren’t native” to the Klamath), but at the core of this lies a pair of very powerful economic truths:

1. If retrofitted (with fish passage and modern goodies), the four lower Klamath River dams would operate at a $20 million annual loss
2. The cost of removing the dams is far less than the cost of keeping them (approximately $290 million vs $400+)

Clearly, these dams are troubled, and they’re one of the key factors choking the life out of the Klamath’s salmon — and to a lesser extent — steelhead populations.