only 6 sign approval in KBRA extension Klamath basin 111612

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Only six sign approval so far in KBRA extension

Dissolution is imminent unless signatories sign on

by DEVAN SCHWARTZ, Herald and News 11/16/12

Thus far, only six of the 42 signatories to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement have attached their approval to the extension and amendments discussed Wednesday at the Aquatics Center in Eureka, Calif. A mere 46 days separate the KBRA from dissolution — unless the signatories sign on for a two-year extension.

The original KBRA contained a termination stipulation if not passed legislatively by Dec. 31, 2012, and now stakeholders seek to extend it to Dec. 31, 2014.

Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality said the state continues to support the agreement.

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to extend the KBRA , according to Fifth District Super visor Ryan Sundberg.

The other signatories approving the new version are Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Karuk Tribe, Plevna District Improvement Co. and the Upper Klamath Water Users Association.

Meeting facilitator Ed Sheets said the entire voting body doesn’t plan to meet again before t he end of the year, though it could if need be.

This issue will be introduced for public comment and voted on by the Klamath County Board of Commissioners at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at 305 Main St., Room 219.

Updated Information

Since the KBRA’s signing in 2010, Ed Sheets said, the signatories have increased their understanding of the project area, making it both more effective and cheaper to implement.

At Wednesday’s meeting in Eureka, the Klamath Water and Power Association presented significant progress on a plan to reduce diversions in low-water years, Sheets said.

Additional updates from the U.S. Geological Survey on Upper Klamath Lake’s endangered sucker and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Klamath River’s coho salmon reasserted the necessity of an integrated, systemic water management plan, Sheets said.

The different interests of the Upper and Lower Klamath basins remain distinct, he added. Below the dams, more public attention is paid to the slowness in the agreement’s dam removal and to water used by agriculture.

In Klamath County, Sheets said, detractors tend to focus more on opposition to dam removal, and water being released downstream for fish.

dschwartz@heraldandnews.com

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