More input sought as county decides if it will join pact

On Tuesday, the supervisors said they wanted to hold a workshop on March 2 that will include representatives from Siskiyou County and the Hoopa Valley Tribe, both of which are entities that have been outspoken about the proposal to remove four PacifiCorp-owned hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River.

“With something as critical as this we need to hear from the other side as well,” District 5 Supervisor David Finigan said.

The supervisors have already held a workshop with the Yurok Tribe, a dam removal advocate, but did not make any decisions about signing the agreements afterward.

Del Norte has 60 days from the official signing of the agreements, which is expected to take place sometime this month, to become a party or it will have to apply to become involved or simply not be included in the process.

“It just needs to be looked into a little further,” Chairman Gerry Hemmingsen said. “I’m certainly supportive of staying on for 60 days, but I’m not sure I’m supportive of the way it’s written.”

Del Norte County was not involved in the negotiations to remove the dams or its partnering agreement to spend more than $1 billion to restore fish and wildlife habitat throughout the Klamath Basin and guarantee water to farmers and irrigators upstream.

Some of the supervisors said Tuesday this lack of input leaves them with many questions about the agreements and how they will affect Del Norte County.

In particular, Finigan, whose district includes the southern part of Del Norte County and the Klamath River, said he has concerns that the Trinity River,  one of the waterway’s main tributaries, is not included in the agreements.

“Where’s the meat of what we’re talking about here, I’m seeing some missing pieces,” Finigan said. “I don’t want to see our hands tied to where we can’t advocate for changing it.”

Supervisor Martha McClure, who a few weeks ago was critical of not being included in the agreements, lobbied Tuesday for her colleagues to act before it was too late to have a voice in the upcoming proceedings.

“It’s going to morph as it moves forward,” she said, “and I think for us to be at the table is very important.”

After the agreements are signed, there are many key decisions that need to be made before dam removal can begin. Several studies must be performed, and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior must make a determination on whether the social and environmental impact of removal outweighs leaving the structures in.

There’s also legislation that needs to be passed and bond measures approved in order to help fund the decommissioning of the dams.

“I really am at a point where I believe we should sign on because I really think it’s our only bite at the apple,” McClure said. “It’s the future of salmon.”

PacifiCorp’s dams obstruct about 300 miles of spawning habitat for salmon, steelhead and other fish species. They are also blamed for toxic algae blooms that float downriver each year and overall poor water quality.