Siskiyou County Water Users

Mick Mulvaney, Director                                                                                     June 19, 2019
The Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503

RE:         KLAMATH COMPACT COMMISSION

              CHAIRPERSON, CHRYSTEN LAMBERT

Dear Mr. Mulvaney,

We want to call your attention to the Klamath Compact Commission which we believe is listed as one of the Compact Commissions under your jurisdiction.   A lady by the name of Chrysten Lambert represented herself as the Federal Representative to the Commission and as such, the Chairperson of this Commission, which has control over the use and preservation of the waters of the Klamath River.  The Klamath River is a federally designated interstate waterway and has been covered by the Klamath Compact since 1957, when the Compact was entered into and ratified by Congress and executed into law by then President Eisenhower. 

Ms. Lambert was the appointee of the previous administration under Barrack Obama.   She never held a meeting of the Compact since becoming Chairperson in 2015.  She has not been reappointed by President Trump and is acting we believe illegally.  In addition she has numerous conflicts of interest.  According to OMB directives labeled “Guide for Federal Representatives on Interstate Water Compact Commissions” “the federal representative should avoid identifying themselves with any agency, program, local faction or sectional interest.  The Federal Representative should maintain a completely neutral position in all matters of purely State concern.”

Ms. Lambert has written numerous articles advocating dam removal and is an outspoken advocate for removing dams.  In addition she serves as Director of Oregon Trout Unlimited an organization that espouses dam removal.  Further, her father, Jim Root is the Vice President and serves on the Executive Board of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation whose sole purpose is to destroy the hydro and storage facilities on the Klamath River.  This is a clear case of conflict of interest and is tantamount to having the fox guard the hen house.

We respectfully request that you make clear to Ms. Lambert that she is no longer the federal representative to the Klamath Compact and does not represent President Trump.  We also request that your department in conjunction with the President appoint a federal representative to chair the Klamath Compact Commission suspending its activities until such is accomplished.

Thanking you in advance for your immediate attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours

Richard Marshall

Richard Marshall
President
Cc:  Congressman Doug La Malfa; Siskiyou Board of Supervisors;

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