Government Affairs
Current Issue
Restoration of the Klamath River Salmon Populations—Decommission and remove the four most seaward dams on the Klamath River
The Issue
In August 2006 the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and 11 other conservation groups requested that PacifiCorp, the energy provider that owns the four lower dams on California’s Klamath River – the Iron Gate, Copco 1 and 2 and J.C. Boyle dams –remove the dams. This initiative was sparked by PacifiCorp’s application for renewal of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits for the dams. The last time the permits were renewed occurred long before most environmental laws were enacted. PacifiCorp's four dams produce a nominal amount of power, which can be replaced using alternate methods. A study by the California Energy Commission and the Department of the Interior found that removing the dams and replacing their power would save PacifiCorp customers up to $285 million over 30 years.
The Outcome
In November 2008, PacifiCorp agreed to decommission and remove the dams. This historic agreement will open up more than 300 miles of habitat for Klamath salmon and steelhead populations and eliminate water quality problems caused by the dams’ reservoirs in a river that was once the nation’s third-largest salmon producer.
The Agreement in Principle, released on November 13, is intended to guide the development of a final settlement agreement in June 2009, which includes provisions to remove the four main dams in 2020, a century after the first dam was constructed. PacifiCorp also agreed to provide as much as $200 million dollars to cover the cost of removal and to help restore the Klamath River. According to the initial agreement, PacifiCorp will transfer control of the dams to the federal government, although an independent third-party will be identified to actually remove the dams.
For more information, please read the Restoration of the Klamath River Salmon Populations briefing paper.
Our Position
ASA supported the efforts of the California and Oregon state governments, the federal government and other affected parties to reach an equitable settlement that will both restore the river and protect the interests of PacifiCorp and its ratepayers.
Although agricultural interests withdraw water further upstream of these dams, these four dams are not used for agricultural withdrawals.
ASA actively participated in this effort, in coordination with other agencies and organizations. ASA garnered support from 11 other national conservation and sportfishing groups and sent letters to the editors of major newspapers as well as to outdoor journalists and sportfishing trade publications. These same organizations signed a letter to Warren Buffett, CEO, whose firm Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. owns the controlling interest in MidAmerican, PacifiCorp's parent corporation, asking for his support in decommissioning and removing the dams. Representatives from these organizations also met with William J. Fehrman, president of PacifiCorp Energy, to discuss removal of the dams.
Background Information
The Klamath River extends from Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon to the Pacific Ocean in California. It is the third largest river in the western United States and was once the third most productive river for Pacific salmon.
The electric company PacifiCorp owns the four most seaward Klamath River dams. The 50-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licenses for these dams – Iron Gate, Copco 1 and 2, and J.C. Boyle – expired in 2006 and PacifiCorp applied for renewal of all four. During the application process, California, Oregon and the federal government worked with PacifiCorp and other settlement partners to try to come to an agreement that would allow for the decommissioning and eventual removal of the dams while fairly accommodating the needs of PacifiCorp and its rate payers. Decommissioning and removal is the best option for the future of this river system and its fisheries.
The dams completely block access to over three hundred miles of salmon spawning grounds in the Klamath River. As a result, the Klamath Coho salmon is listed as threatened and the Chinook salmon is subject to very severe harvest restrictions. These restrictions have had severe economic and social repercussions along the coastal areas and for the tribes that have treaty rights to a portion of the fishery. In 2006, the commercial salmon harvest in California and Oregon was so severely restricted that the resulting economic hardship prompted U. S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gutierrez to declare a Commercial Fishery Failure. Unless measures are taken to allow more fish spawning access, the remaining salmon populations will continue to struggle to survive.
A development came in November 2007 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) showing that the removal of the lower four Klamath River dams would save ratepayers $7 million dollars a year. Despite this finding, FERC still recommended keeping PacifiCorp's four hydroelectric dams. The final EIS from FERC chose trapping and hauling fish around the dams rather than building fish ladders and reducing power production to help salmon. FERC’s statement described the decision as the best economic choice while allowing for evaluation of restoring fish to the upper Klamath Basin. This decision ignored calls from fisheries agencies to build fish ladders. However, the recommendation was not legally feasible, since NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service requires that fish passage provisions be included in dam licenses.
Agriculture and Hydropower Take Their Toll
Agriculture and hydropower play key roles in the current decline of the river and the salmon habitat.
Beginning in the early 1900s, agriculture expanded in the Klamath Basin, with support from the Bureau of Reclamation, diverting more and more water for irrigation. In 1917, Copco, the predecessor to PacifiCorp, sought to build hydropower dams in the Klamath. The upstream agricultural interests claimed the rights to the water, and approval of the dams was based on the provision of discounted power to farmers.
The four hydropower dams were built between 1917 and 1962. In addition to providing discounted power to agricultural interests, they generated additional power for sale. The income generated by the dams is only one percent of PacifiCorp's power generation and an even smaller part of its parent corporation, MidAmerican Electric Holding Company.
Since 1956, when the dam licenses were last renewed, laws have been passed to protect natural resources. Environmental protection is now a central tenet of American public policy. In order to keep the dams and meet the requirements of the law, extensive mitigation measures at the dams would have been required as a condition of license renewal. Accomplishing modifications of these dams would have required a substantial commitment of resources, and yet would not have restored the free run of the river, providing the greatest benefit to the resource.
Therefore, ASA believes that the recent agreement provides the best possible solution, both for the resource and area ratepayers.
