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Largest Dam Removal in History Could be in Works
Free Speech Radio News
November 14, 2008
Warren Buffet's Klamath river dams, located near the border of Oregon and California may come tumbling down by 2020. The federal government, the two states and Buffet-owned utility PacifiCorp signed an Agreement in Principle (AIP), which lays the path toward removal of 4 dams on the River. Terri Klemetson files this report from community station KMUD in Northern California.
The Klamath dams have been a contentious issue for years. Water management along the river has been partly blamed for the collapse of the west coast salmon fishery. Water and dam issues on the river have affected fishermen, farmers and surrounding Native American Tribes. Leaf Hillman IS THE vice chairman of the Karuk Tribe. HE says they've been dealing with toxic algae blooms and the decimated salmon habitat along the Klamath - he believes dam removal is the only option.
"It's a historic day and the agreement is a historic agreement and it certainly is a substantial milestone in the very, very long process, that folks have been working on, you know for years." But John DeVoe of Water Watch of Orgeon says the devil is in the details concerning the Agreement in Principal.
"The AIP is defective in that it states by its terms that it is an indivisible part of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. I mean obviously there's some big flaws in that agreement that have not been addressed including guarantees of water for agribusiness in the Klamath Basin no guarantees for water for fish in the Klamath River."
As part of the Agreement In Principal, negotiators have committed to another immediate string of talks, working toward a final dam resolution agreement, scheduled to conclude by June 2009. If the agreement proceeds as planned, the dam removal project will be the largest in US history. I'm Terri Klemetson reporting from Redway, CA.
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