Klamath Dam Removal Settlement Expected This Week

by Ethan Lindsey, OPB 9/28/09

Native American tribes, anglers, farmers, and the government will meet in Portland this week to take another step toward an historic agreement to remove four dams on the Klamath River.

Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

These settlement talks are wrapping up later than expected – the original deadline was June.

But groups involved will all be in Portland this week, they say, to make some forward progress specifically on dam removal.

Advocates say the news could be a step towards quelling a lot of the arguments between farmers, tribes, and environmentalists in the Klamath Basin.

The arguments resulted, in 2002, in what is considered by many to be the largest fish kill in U.S. history.

Sean Stevens is a spokesman for Oregon Wild, an environmental group opposed to the deal, and kept out of the negotiations.

Sean Stevens: “The specifics of the dam removal agreement that we’re going to be looking to see is if we have to wait 10-12 years for this, or if there is going to be something more fast-tracked, we’re also going to be looking to see if the government has stepped up to the plate and said we’re going to take responsibility for the liability here.”

Dam removal, which would come in 2020 at the earliest, requires the approval of the dam owner, PacifiCorp.