County close to vote on water

Commissioners haven’t finalized positions

By TY BEAVER
H&N Staff Writer

April 10, 2008

Page A1

   Al Switzer is against removing dams in the Klamath River . So is Bill Brown.

   But the two Klamath County commissioners say they haven’t yet decided whether to support or oppose a proposed water settlement that hinges on removal of four dams on the river. 

   Neither has commissioner John Elliott, who was involved in water settlement talks and negotiations with 26 stakeholder groups, including Klamath Basin irrigators and the Klamath Tribes. 

   All three say they are leaning a certain direction, but won’t say for sure until they officially vote. 

    Klamath County is the only stakeholder that hasn’t taken a stand on the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, and its three commissioners — Switzer, Brown and Elliott — say they will vote soon. 

   The agreement allocates water in the Klamath River Basin among tribes, fisheries, conservationists and irrigators. 

   It also advocates removal of four hydroelectric dams owned by PacifiCorp, a Portland-based power company. PacifiCorp has made no decision on dam removal. 

   The commissioners are faced with opposing interest groups in their own county. Klamath Tribes support the agreement, which would provide them financial support to purchase the Mazama Tree farm property between Chiloquin and Chemult. 

   Klamath Water Users Association also supports the agreement, but two groups of irrigators who work land off the Klamath Reclamation Project do not. Neither does the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, which voted against it because it advocated dam removal. 

   Attempt at meeting 

    Klamath County commissioners tried to arrange a facilitated meeting involving on- and off-Project irrigators and the Klamath Tribes to see if the groups could resolve issues with the agreement. Off-Project irrigators say the agreement doesn’t provide them any guaranteed water or stable power rates. 

   But attempts to organize the meeting fell through Tuesday when the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents on-Project irrigators who support the water settlement, told the county it would no longer meet. 

   Klamath Tribes also avoided committing to a meeting, saying it was negotiating with individual irrigators through small group meetings. 

   Off-Project irrigators had agreed to the meeting. 

   Advisory council 

   County commissioners say they will ask for a recommendation from their natural resource advisory council. The council meets at 5 p.m. today in the Klamath County Government Center .

Side Bar

Adjudication process reopens

   Participants in the Klamath Basin water adjudication process are again working to support their water right claims and challenge those of others. 

   A temporary hiatus to the state effort, arranged in connection to the release of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, expired April 4. 

   Greg Addington, executive director of Klamath Water Users Association, said those involved in adjudication have begun accumulating information and documents to continue the process. 

   He said he expected an initial decision from the state on the adjudication in no fewer than two years. 

   The Oregon water adjudication process was established about 100 years ago by state lawmakers to acknowledge vested water rights, or water rights that existed before the state’s water laws were established. 

   It is not unheard of for water adjudication legal proceedings to continue for half a century or more.

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