Mallams told lawmakers he took no issue with how most of the stimulus money was used for infrastructure projects but criticized how a portion of that money funded studies on dam removal.

   He said government officials ignored previous studies on dam removal because they show it being too expensive, and dam removal would hurt land values around the reservoirs and result in lost jobs. Mallams said Congress has been mislead to think there’s broad support of the restoration agreement when many Basin residents actually oppose it.  

   Proponents of the KBRA submitted a written response to Mallams’ comments. They denied that the document or dam removal would eradicate long-term jobs or that there is a misconception of support, pointing to the diverse groups that have signed onto the document.

   Mallams also said proponents sought to prevent him from testifying before the subcommittee, sending letters to its members.

   Addington said those letters questioned why Mallams was scheduled to speak on issues pertaining to Reclamation rather than an irrigator or someone else associated with a Reclamation operation.