Following
an executive session Friday, Klamath Irrigation District
board of directors voted to authorize legal staff to
intervene in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s
process to remove four dams on the Klamath River and
transfer ownership to the Klamath River Renewal
Corporation.
Klamath
Water Users Association (KWUA) also filed a motion
Friday to intervene in the dam removal process,
according to Scott White, executive director of KWUA.
Neither
actions to intervene constitute a for or against stance
on the dam removal process but allows either entity to
comment later on in the process.
Ty Kliewer,
vice-chairman of KID’s board of directors, said the
board’s No. 1 goal is to provide “water security” to the
Klamath Project, and believes intervening is in the best
interest of KID patrons.
“We’re
trying to call attention to some things that have been
supposed to happen by now that haven’t,” Kliewer said on
Friday, following a special meeting.
“Our
foremost desire is that those things do happen,” he
added, noting he was referencing filing to intervene.
“The future
viability of Klamath County is on the line. We take that
very seriously. Water users take that very seriously as
well.”
White also
weighed in on the water users’ decision to intervene.
“Ultimately, we want to stay informed. At the end of the
day, what we’re about is to protect the interest of the
project water users and if anything in these proceedings
is going to jeopardize that, we want to be aware of it.”
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Dam removal open house tonight
The first of a series of three open
house meetings on Klamath River dam removal, hosted by the
Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC), will be tonight at
Oregon Tech, according to a news release.
Under the terms of the amended Klamath
Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, KRRC, a nonprofit
corporation formed in 2016, is charged with removing four
PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River including J.C. Boyle,
Copco Nos. 1 and 2, and Iron Gate.
The purpose of the meetings is to
provide an opportunity for residents to meet KRRC staff,
board members and consultants, learn about KRRC’s project
and objectives and ask questions.
At each open house, residents will be
invited to visit a series of stations organized around
topics of interest, including project scope and timeline,
jobs, other project benefits, and project impacts.
Scheduled meetings:
6-8 p.m. Tuesday
Oregon Institute of Technology
College Union Building, Room 201 A/B
(Mt. Mazama/ Mt. Scott Room)
3201 Campus Drive, Klamath Falls
6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Yreka
Best Western Miner’s Inn auditorium
122 E. Miner St., Yreka
6-8 p.m. Thursday,
Adorni Center Gymnasium
1011 Waterfront Drive, Eureka
For further information, contact info@klamathrenewal.org
or 415-820-4441.
