Release date: 01/04/2011
Contact Information: EPA Media Contact:
Mary Simms, (415) 947-4270,
simms.mary@epa.gov
Additional Media Contacts: Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), Glen H.
Spain, Northwest Regional Director, (541) 689-2000 State
Water Resources Control Board, Dave Clegern, Press Officer,
(916) 327-8239,
dclegern@waterboards.ca.gov
Action culminates 13 years of state and
federal efforts to develop pollution limits for 17 North
Coast California water bodies
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has approved California’s water quality improvement
plan for restoring salmon fisheries and water quality in the
Klamath River. The plan calls for massive pollution
reductions for the California portion of the river,
including a 57 % reduction in phosphorus, 32% in nitrogen,
and 16% in carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD).
The plan also calls for annual reductions in the river's
reservoirs of more than 120,000 pounds of nitrogen, and
22,000 pounds of phosphorus.
The Klamath River, a federally protected "Wild and Scenic
River," flows 255 miles southwest from Oregon through
northern California, and empties into the Pacific Ocean. The
Klamath River drains an extensive watershed covering over
12,600 square miles, and has been called the "Everglades of
the West.” The Klamath River and its tributaries support the
highest diversity of anadromous fishes of any river in
California, including salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead and
sturgeon. Upstream in Oregon, the river hosts the state's
most robust population of redband and bull trout. In 2002, a
massive die-off of more than 33,000 salmon brought national
attention to this area.
The tribes that live along the Klamath rely on the river for
subsistence, transportation and ceremony, as they have for
thousands of years. These tribes include the Yurok, Hoopa
Valley, Karuk, Quartz Valley and Resighini Rancheria on the
lower stretches of the river (California), and the Modoc and
Klamath in the upper basin (Oregon.)
Under the Clean Water Act, states and authorized tribes are
required to develop a list of waters that do not meet water
quality standards. For these “impaired” waters,
jurisdictions must calculate the maximum amount of
pollutants allowed to enter them so they can meet water
quality standards into the future. These pollution limits
are called Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs.
Today, the entire Klamath River is listed as “impaired.” In
1992, the California State Water Quality Control Board
(Water Board) proposed that the Klamath River be listed for
temperature, organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen, and
nutrients, requiring the development of TMDL limits and
implementation plans. The Water Board subsequently added
sediment and microcystin (an algal toxin) to this list for
parts of the Klamath. The Klamath River’s aquatic habitat
degradation is due to organic enrichment/low dissolved
oxygen, excessively warm water temperatures and algae blooms
associated with high nutrient loads, water impoundments, and
agricultural diversions. Algal blooms can release toxins,
posing moderate to significant health risks. Harmful results
range from skin rashes and fevers, to livestock poisoning
and liver toxicity. Since 2004, levels of cyanobacteria and
microcystin toxins at several locations on the lower Klamath
have exceeded World Health Organization standards.
TMDLs for several water bodies in the Klamath Basin - the
Trinity River, Scott River, Shasta River, Lost River, and
the Klamath Straits Drain - are also being implemented to
address impairments due to excessive pollution. Reductions
vary for each reach of the Klamath River, with the most
significant reductions required from Stateline through the
Klamath Hydroelectric Project reservoirs.
“This historic Klamath River plan charts the path to
restoring one of our nation’s largest, most scenic and
biologically important watersheds,” said Jared Blumenfeld,
EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “By
establishing clear benchmarks and accountability this plan
will ensure that Klamath River can thrive long into the
future.”
This plan reflects a multi-year collaborative effort to
develop pollutant limits for the full Klamath River. A
partnership between EPA, California’s North Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board and the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality began in 2003. California’s plan
received extensive public review and was approved by both
the Regional Board and the State Water Board prior to EPA’s
approval. The companion plan for the upper reaches of
Klamath River in Oregon was released by Oregon DEQ on
December 21, 2010; EPA’s Pacific Northwest region is
expected to act on Oregon’s plan in January 2011.
"The Klamath particularly is a troubled river system, and
once supported the third largest salmon runs in the nation.
Implementation of these Klamath Mainstem TMDLs will go a
long way toward helping restore those key salmon runs, and
the jobs those salmon once supported," said Glen Spain of
the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.
“It is truly good news that the current round of water
quality planning for the Klamath River is complete,” said
Catherine Kuhlman, Executive Officer of the North Coast
Regional Board. “Now, it’s time for action to reduce water
pollution and restore the river in order to enhance the
myriad of beneficial uses of the river.”
The State’s plan identifies actions to improve water quality
to restore salmon and other fisheries in the River, protect
Native American cultural uses and enhance general
recreational uses of the Klamath River. Oregon’s Department
of Environmental Quality, the Regional Board, U.S. EPA and
many other partners are developing a watershed-wide tracking
program to increase the pace and reduce the cost of
improving Klamath Basin water quality to support all
water-related uses in the Basin. The plan also addresses
water quality impacts of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project,
establishes a policy to protect thermal refuges (cooler
areas in the river that provide critical habitat for fish
during high temperatures), and addresses nonpoint sources of
pollution such as roads and agriculture.
This action is the culmination of 13 years of state and
federal efforts to develop TMDLs for 17 North Coast water
bodies. The Klamath River in California is the last of those
water bodies in the North Coast covered by a 1997 legal
settlement under which EPA and/or the State was to develop
TMDLs.
