FERC releases final environmental statement on Klamath dam removal
The federal agency that regulates hydroelectric dams has issued its final environmental impact statement for the removal of the dams on the Klamath River a month earlier than expected and that could mean dam removal would begin early next year.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday issued its final environmental impact statement with staff recommending the commission approve the Klamath River Renewal Corporation’s application to remove the J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate dams from the Klamath River.
“Commission staff finds that any short- and long-term adverse environmental effects and the loss of power generation resulting from the proposed action would be outweighed by the substantial long-term environmental benefits gained from project decommissioning,” the environmental report states.
Craig Tucker, an environmental consultant to the area’s tribes, said the early release of the report bodes well for dam removal, which could be approved before Christmas.
“We would have construction crews starting work (in) early 2023,” Tucker said, “remove the smaller dam, Copco No. 2 next summer, drain the reservoirs and then actually physically remove the big dams in early ’24.”
The area’s tribes and conservationists have been working on bringing down the Klamath dams for 20 years. A historic fish kill in 2002 “really galvanized communities on the Klamath River to fight for dam removal,” Tucker said.
“Thousands of tribal members and allies have fought for this moment for the last 20 years,” Tucker said.
The FERC decision comes on the heels of an announcement earlier this week that Klamath River restoration projects, ranging from habitat restoration to the expansion of the Klamath Falls National Fish Hatchery, will receive $26 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“On behalf of the Yurok Tribe, I would like to thank President Biden, Secretary Haaland and Congressman Huffman for their continued support of the Klamath River,” Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers said in a statement. “These investments will help us address historic environmental abuses, build scientific research capacity and ready the river for dam removal.”
Restoring wetlands and tributaries will complement the dam removal process and help the area’s tribes and environmentalists put the Klamath Basin fishery back together, Tucker said.
“The dam removal benefits farmers and ranchers almost as much as it benefits fishermen and tribes,” Tucker said. “And that’s because dam removal would have an immediate huge benefit for fish populations, and when there’s more fish, there’s fewer regulatory burdens for irrigators.”
The river has been struggling in the face of a three-year drought, prompting the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to call for the Klamath Irrigation District to halt water deliveries to farmers, which has been met with pushback, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to close hunting opportunities for waterfowl at the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges.
A massive debris flow resulting from flash floods in the McKinney Fire area also led to scores of fish being killed earlier this month. And while the fall fish are coming in strong at the mouth of the river, Tucker said it’s unclear how they’ll do when they get up to areas around Happy Camp. If the weather’s hot, it can promote fish disease.
“If it stays cool and shady, we can get these fish in and get them spawning,” Tucker said. “Hopefully the baby fish that come from this year’s spawning will come back to a colder, cleaner Klamath River with more room to roam and find those spawning grounds.”
All of these conditions speak to the importance of getting the Klamath dams removed, which Tucker said are serving no one.
“The reality is these particular dams provide no irrigation diversions to anyone,” Tucker said. “The company that owns them, that makes electricity from them, is ready to get rid of them because they’re not very good at making electricity. So these are deadbeat dams, there’s no reason to keep them and taking them out is good for everybody.”
By: Sonia Waraich
Source: Eureka Times Standard
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