mcclintock speaks on klamath delta issues in house 030311

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http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/news/x1512115110/Congressman-McClintock-speaks-on-Klamath-delta-issues-to-House

Congressman McClintock speaks on Klamath, delta issues to House

by David Smith, Siskiyou Daily News March 3, 2011

Sacramento, Calif. — Continuing his stance on dams and changes in environmental policy, Congressman Tom McClintock Wednesday spoke to the House Water and Power Sub-Committee, urging a move toward the building of more dams and the halting of dam deconstruction.

“In my opinion, all of these hearings and all of the actions stemming from them must be focused on developing the vast water and hydro-electric resources in our nation,” McClintock said in a press release. “The failure of the last generation to keep pace with our water and power needs has caused chronic water shortages and skyrocketing electricity prices that are causing serious economic harm.”

Referencing California’s delta water issues and Arizona’s regulations related to the humpback chub, McClintock also states in the release that he wants to reverse the policies that have been put in place to protect the species as part of his plan to reduce power shortages and the cutting of water deliveries to agriculture.

The Klamath River is also mentioned, with McClintock stating, “In the Klamath, the federal government is seeking to destroy four perfectly good hydroelectric dams at the cost of more than a half billion dollars at a time when we can’t guarantee enough electricity to keep refrigerators running this summer.”

McClintock has recently made other moves to halt funding for the studies informing the decision of whether or not the Klamath dams will be removed, adding amendments to the large House Resolution 1 bill for that purpose.

In addition to saving the Klamath dams, McClintock pushes for the building of new dams, restoring the “‘beneficiary pays’” doctrine that makes those who benefit from projects pay for those projects.

“With these policies in place, we can fulfill the [Bureau of Reclamation’s] original mission, to make the desert bloom and to open a new era in America where water and power shortages – and the policies that created them – are a distant memory,” McClintock states.

– David Smith can be reached at dsmith@siskiyoudaily.com