by
Ty Beaver, Herald and News 1/16/08
Klamath Basin irrigators would get
reliable water f lows and stable power rates and the
Klamath Tribes would get 90,000 acres of private
forestland under a proposed agreement released
Tuesday.
The Klamath Water Settlement, released
Tuesday, would cost $ 960 million over 10 years and
is contingent on a separate deal with Portland-based
PacifiCorp to dismantle four dams — the Iron Gate,
J.C. Boyle, Copco 1 and Copco 2. Dam removal would
restore historic salmon runs on the Klamath River.
Farmers, fishermen, tribes along the
Klamath River and its tributaries as well as
environmental representatives released the 256-page
agreement Tuesday after more than two years of
negotiations.
Work to do
But those involved say there is work to be done.
Unless PacifiCorp consents to remove the four dams
at an estimated cost of $120 million, the agreement
will fall apart. Meetings with the power company are
planned in coming weeks.
“Now the ball is in PacifiCorp’s court,”
said Glenn Spain of Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen’s Associations.
Events such as the 2001 irrigation shutoff
in the Klamath Basin and 2002 Klamath River fish
die-off led stakeholders to determine approaches to
managing the river’s resources needed to change if
the communities along it were
to survive.
Representatives of those communities, from
the irrigators and tribes around Upper Klamath Lake
to the fishermen living at the mouth of the river,
have been meeting in
Redding, Calif., for the past two years to negotiate
an agreement for everyone’s benefit.
The agreement seeks to redefine
commitments of water from the watershed. Rather than
a pecking order of what interests have priority over
others for the resource, it establishes limits that
those involved can depend on.
Klamath Project irrigators would be able
to depend on a set water allotment each year,
depending on water supply.
Irrigators may have to reduce their
allotment of water from Upper Klamath Lake by up to
100,000 acre feet in the driest years and use
groundwater or field idling to fulfill needs, but in
the wettest years they would receive their full
allotment of water.
Off-project irrigators would need to give
up about 30,000 acre-feet of water rights to
contribute to flows into Upper Klamath Lake. More
than 100,000 acre-feet of storage will be added to
the lake with the breaching of several levees.
Power rate
The agreement sets a power rate of three cents
per kilowatt-hour for all irrigators. Any dispute
over water rights between the Klamath Tribes and
project irrigators would be eliminated.
All the stakeholders also agree to support
the Klamath Tribes’ efforts to acquire a 90,000-acre
piece of forestland owned by Fidelity National known
as the Mazama Tree Farm.
Those involved in the agreement said that
all involved had to compromise and sacrifice to make
the agreement possible. While difficult and complex
at times, it was necessary to make sure all
involved benefited.
Luther Horsely, president of Klamath Water
Users Association, said his organization stood
behind other organizations in their call to
PacifiCorp to remove their four dams on the Klamath
River after the power company deemed that irrigators
no longer contributed to its power generation
activities.
Likewise, others said they recognized that
all communities along the river and its tributaries
have legitimate needs that need to be met.
“I think what we learned is that there’s
going to be farming in the Basin and the farmers
learned there’s going to be tribes and fishermen in
the Basin,” said Craig Tucker of the Karuk Tribe.
Possible snags
Snags could still hang up the proposed
agreement.
Many of those involved in the settlement talks are
recommending support from their constituencies, but
others, such as The Resource Conservancy and many
off-project irrigators, are rallying against it.
It was the willingness of former
adversaries to meet and hear each other out that led
to the agreement.
“This is a victory for irrigated
agriculture, a success for the refuges and a win for
fish,” said Greg Addington, KWUA executive director.
They acknowledged that there are those who
are opposed to the agreement and hope that they and
all others affected will carefully consider the
document before making a final judgment.
“The single most important thing for all
involved is civility,” said Chuck Bonham of Trout
Unlimited.
WATER
