Upcoming scoping 
meetings        
 
     \• Wednesday, 
July 7, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Copco Community Center, 27803 Copco Road, Montague, 
Calif. 96064 

   • Wednesday, 
July 7, 6-9 p.m., Yreka Community Center, 810 N. Oregon St., Yreka, Calif. 


   • Thursday, 
July 8, 6 p.m.- 9:00 p.m., Klamath County Fairgrounds, 3531 S. Sixth St., Klamath 
Falls. 

   • Friday, July 
9, 6.-9 p.m., Chiloquin Community Center, 140 First St., Chiloquin. 


   • Tuesday, 
July 13 6-9 p.m., Chetco Activities Center, 550 Chetco 
Way, Brookings. 

   • Wednesday, 
July 14, 6-9 p.m., Arcata Community Center, 321 Community Park Way, Arcata, 
Calif. 

   
• Thursday July 15, 2010, 6-9 p.m., Karuk Tribe 
Community Room, 39051 Highway 96, Orleans, Calif. 



				State and federal officials will be in Klamath Falls Thursday to 
				gather public input about an agreement that allocates water 
				sources in the Klamath River Basin, and a related plan to remove 
				four hydroelectric dams. The public meeting is part of the 
				National Environmental Policy Act process that requires an 
				environmental impact report before considering implementation of 
				the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and Klamath 
				Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement. It will be from 6 to 9 p.m. 
				at the Klamath County Fairgrounds. “We recognize there are a 
				number of different opinions in the Klamath Basin on this 
				proposal,” said Matt Baun, public affairs specialist with the 
				U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “If there are issues that you 
				want the Secretary of Interior to consider before he makes 
				decisions on dam removal and the related restoration plan, then 
				this is the place to have your voice heard.” 


				The report will assess the impact of removing all or part of 
				PacifiCorp’s four hydroelectric dams — Iron Gate, Copco 1, 
                                Copco 2, and J.C. Boyle — on the Klamath River as part of Klamath 
				Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement. Rates, dams, fishes The 
				Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement is an agreement between 
				PacifiCorp and the federal government. According to the 
				agreement, the company would increase rates to voluntarily 
				remove the dams. The agreement says the removals could improve 
				passage for fish and restore natural resources in the Basin. The 
				agreement specifically separates PacifiCorp from the Klamath 
				Basin Restoration Agreement. The $1.5 billion agreement aims to 
				establish sustainable water supplies and affordable power rates 
				for irrigators; help the Klamath Tribes acquire a 92,000-acre 
                                parcel of private timberland called the Mazama Tree 
				Farm; and fund habitat restoration and economic development 
				throughout the region. State and federal agencies have 
				identified issue categories relating to the agreements: 
				engineering, fish and wildlife, real estate, cultural and 
				historic resources, recreation, water quality, and economic 
				issues.

 Information sought At the meeting, there will be posters displaying the issues agencies already have identified within each category. People may use comment cards or computer banks to submit written input, or they can speak during a comment period following a 30-minute presentation about the issues. “We’re looking for information that would help us cover topics that are important to the public,” said Ellen Glover, public affairs specialist with the Bureau of Reclamation. “Nothing has been decided yet, so people should give input to state and federal agencies so they know what should be analyzed.”

 Public comments through email, fax, mail, or online form will be accepted until July 21. Utilizing comments After the public comment period, state and federal officials will compile a report that “reflects every comment we’ve received,” Baun said. “For comments that are similar, we would note we heard that comment ‘x’ amount of times.” The public comment report, due in September, will be incorporated into the environmental analysis that will play a role in deciding how the KBRA and KHSA are implemented. “I would encourage people to come, read the website, and send e-mails,” Glover said. “Every little bit helps.”

Side Bar

Public comments are due July 21

Public comments on the environmental impact study associated with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement must be submitted by July 21.

Comments may be submitted during Thursday's meeting, online to a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation or California Department of Fish and Game office:
* Go online to _www.KlamathRestoration,gov/contact-us/feedback_
(http://www.KlamathRestoration,gov/contact-us/feedback) and fill out an online form.
* Send comments by mail to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office, Tanya Sommer, 2800 Cottage Way MP-152, Sacramento, CA, 95825; via e-mail to _klamathsd@usbr.gov_ (mailto:klamathsd@usbr.gov) ; or by fax to
916-978-5055              916-978-5055      .
* Send comments to the California Department of Fish and Game office to Caitlin Bean, 601 Locust Street, Redding, CA, 96001; via e-mail to _KSDcomments@dfg.ca.gov_ (mailto:KSDcomments@dfg.ca.gov) or by fax to
530-225-2343.