PacifiCorp to limit turbines to help endangered Klamath fish

BY JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press Writer

April 18, 2008

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- PacifiCorp has agreed to shut down two small hydroelectric powerhouses at Upper Klamath Lake during late summer and early fall so they won't kill endangered fish.

The Portland-based utility agreed to negotiations after the conservation group Oregon Wild filed notice it would sue under the Endangered Species Act to protect shortnosed suckers and Lost River suckers that get sucked into the turbines on Link River Dam, which controls water flowing out of the lake into the Klamath River .

The deal includes a provision that 22 percent of annual operating revenues from the turbines, about $100,000, will go into a fund for habitat restoration around the lake.

Pat Reiten, president of PacifiCorp subsidiary Pacific Power, said the company already was planning to decommission the Link River Dam's 3.8 megawatts of power, and was limiting operations in summer when the suckers were present.

This agreement shuts down both powerhouses completely from mid-July through mid-November, when some adults and many juvenile suckers congregate in the southern end of the lake following spawning season.

Reiten added that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had indicated concerns over the turbines' impact on suckers, and this deal should lead to greater certainty over continued power production until the company gives up the powerhouses. It still must be approved by the agency.

Oregon Wild spokesman Steve Pedery said he hoped the settlement would serve as a model for talks over whether to remove the Iron Gate , Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2 and J.C. Boyle Dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California to help struggling salmon runs.

Oregon Wild was thrown out of talks that led to an agreement between farmers, Indian tribes, conservation groups and fishermen that calls for removal of the dams, but PacifiCorp has not agreed to go along with it. The utility is proceeding with its application for a new operating license, saying it would agree to dam removal only if it does not cost their customers money.

Reiten said he also hoped the Link River talks would serve as a model, noting that Pacific Power has agreed to settlements in its last six applications for dam license renewals, and negotiation is preferable to litigation.

PacifiCorp is owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., which is controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett. 

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