Final draft of water agreement nearly done  

December 9, 2009

   Stakeholders, who’ve worked on the document for years, began meeting in Portland Tuesday and are expected to continue to do so through Friday.

   Klamath County Commissioner John Elliott said stakeholders aim to finish revisions at the meeting, but could possibly meet in Sacramento next week if necessary.

   Tom Mallams, an irrigator off the Klamath Reclamation Project and president of the Klamath Off-Project Water Users, said he expects meetings in Sacramento to be necessary, but he does not expect the document to change   enough to garner his support.  

    Mallams said he would not attend the meetings until Friday, as stakeholders will be discussing hydropower issues and he was not allowed to participate. He fully expects a final document to be available soon, but said he thinks the whole negotiation process has been improper.

   Craig Tucker, Klamath ca mpa ig n coordinator for the Karuk Tribe, said adjustments to the document mostly involved reconciling dates and timetables.

   “The kinds of edits and changes that are happen i ng now a re small and subtle,” he said. 

   He wasn’t sure when the final document would be released to the public, but feels more people are supportive of it in the lower portion of the Klamath River watershed, partially with the help of public debates.

   “We’re handling the critics just fine,” Tucker said.  

   “They’re not willing to take our proposals seriously unless we sign on to (the agreement),” Mallams said.

   Farmers, tribes, fishermen, conservationists and government officials, along with Portland-based utility PacifiCorp, finalized a related Klamath River dam removal agreement weeks ago.

   Meetings have continued on the restoration agreement to make it consistent with the dam removal agreement and address changes brought up by stakeholders.  

   County’s changes

   Elliott said he submitted several changes sought by the Klamath County government, but could not say what the likelihood was that they would be included. He said he “feels pretty comfortable at this point.”

   “I’m still positive about the agreement,” he said. “Some things still need to be ironed out.”