Klamath Riverkeeper files lawsuit against PacifiCorp

December 7, 2007

By Michelle Ma

Triplicate staff writer

A non-profit organization and several individuals filed a lawsuit Thursday against PacifiCorp, claiming that operation of the power company's dams on the Klamath River is dangerous to human health and the environment.

Klamath Riverkeeper, a group seeking to protect the river's resources, took the lead in filing the lawsuit against the power company. The complaint alleges that operating the hydroelectric dams creates and releases toxic waste in violation of federal law.

Microcystis aeruginosa, a blue-green algae, grows within standing water in reservoirs behind the dams on the Klamath River . The algae blooms can generate a toxin that can cause liver failure, among other problems.

This lawsuit claims that the toxin is solid waste, and allowing it to be released downstream violates the Federal Solid Waste Disposal Act.

"We want (PacifiCorp) to do whatever it takes to stop generating this crap and discharging it to reservoirs and the river," said Daniel Cooper, an attorney with Lawyers for Clean Water, Inc.

PacifiCorp has not yet reviewed the complaint, said Spokeswoman Jan Mitchell, but the company doesn't discharge waste into its reservoirs or through its dams, she said.

"We'll defend ourselves and our customers against these meritless claims," Mitchell said.

The power company is an active participant in a basin-wide group that studies blue-green algae blooms, and PacifiCorp has funded a number of these studies, she said.

High levels of the toxic blue-green algae detected this fall in the Klamath River caused government and tribal agencies to post health-advisory warnings along nearly 200 miles of the river.

Tests showed that high levels of blue-green algae were found in the reservoirs behind PacifiCorp's Copco and Iron Gate dams.

Plaintiffs want PacifiCorp to pay more than $1 billion in penalties if the company is found to be violating federal law, Cooper said.

Reach Michelle Ma at mma@triplicate.com.

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