For Klamath Dams, There Is No Status Quo: They Have To Come Down
For Klamath Dams, There Is No Status Quo: They Have To Come Down
A Klamath Falls Herald & News editorial points out what so many opponents of the Klamath Basin accords (KBRA & KHSA) want to ignore: Life can’t go on the way it is:
Several weeks ago, the Herald and News printed a commentary from Dean Brockbank, vice president and general counsel for PacifiCorp Energy, which owns the four dams and has determined that shutting them down is better than relicensing them and keeping them running.
A couple of the points he made:
“Probably the most important thing to remember in the debate over whether to remove the dams is that the status quo is not among the options. It doesn’t work in this case to say, ‘I don’t like it so, let’s go back to how things were.'”
Opponents of the agreements often assume their defeat means the status quo will continue, but they’re mistaken. Without the basin agreements in place, the Klamath Basin water issues will quickly return to the legal quagmire of the prior decade, including uncertain water deliveries, potential fish kills, more ESA listings, and communities devastated by water calls and fisheries
The KBRA and KHSA agreements — the collaborative agreements crafted by 42 stakeholder groups — remain the best way to solve the Klamath Basin’s water issues.
1 Comment
Yes, the status quo can not continue. However, it is currently Cal Trout and the others who conspired to saddle dam removal with the costly and controversial KBRA who are preventing the dams from coming down.
The way forward is a return to FERC where – under the normal legal process – the obsolete and money loosing dams will come down via an agreement with PacifiCorp and a FERC order. Cal Trout needs to get out of the way and let that happen.
It is a shame that Cal Trout is willing to sacrifice the welfare of Klamath Salmon in order to pursue political wheeling and dealing.