Should Klamath County remain in KBRA process? Of course, it should

What’s to be gained by telling commissioners to walk away?    

Klamath Falls Herald and News

Editorial

October 26, 2010

  “Should Klamath County, one of the parties to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), discontinue its participation in the agreement?”

   Klamath County voters have been debating those words since Klamath County put Measure 18-80 on the Nov. 2 ballot. Commissioners did that at the request — more like a demand — of opponents to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.

   The KBRA is a wide-ranging attempt to settle water and other natural resource issues. It’s tied closely to the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which would put in motion efforts to remove four dams on the Klamath River. It’s controversial and costly, but proponents, such as the Klamath Water Users Association and the Klamath Tribes, say to not take action would be even more costly. They say it’s necessary to create more certainty in the water supply for irrigators in the Klamath Basin. We believe they’re right.  

   Proponents say, if the dams remain, the owner, PacifiCorp, would have to meet expensive upgraded water quality standards and the changes will mean they’ll produce less power.

   The KBRA also includes purchase of a 92,000-acre tree farm that would go to the Klamath Tribes, who have senior water rights in the Upper Klamath Basin. The land, now in private hands, was once owned by the Tribes as part of the tribal reservation lands and would be returned for the Tribes’ economic use.

   Some things to know:

   • Measure 18-80 is an attempt to stop the KBRA from moving forward. That’s what a “yes” vote means. It grew out of a failed effort to mandate an end to participation in the KBRA. What survived is an advisory vote asking the commissioners to discontinue participation in the KBRA. A yes vote says end participation; a no vote says continue it. We’ll skip the debate about why the measure was worded the way it was. Just be sure of what a yes and a no vote means.  

   • It’s an advisory vote. County commissioners will still be free to do as they see fit. Commissioners Cheryl Hukill and Al Switzer said they intend to follow the will of the voters. Both candidates for the other position — Dennis Linthicum and Kirk Oakes — have said they’ll stay in the process, though Linthicum is in favor of 18-80 as a way to slow the KBRA process because he thinks it’s moving too fast. Oakes is opposed to 18-80. Linthicum defeated incumbent John Elliott in the Republican primary election..

   • Even if it’s only a non-binding advisory vote, Measure 18-80 is important because it’s a reflection of local opinion on a measure that will have a profound impact on the Klamath Basin and which depends heavily on federal financial support. Backing of the Oregon congressional delegation is probably essential.

   U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, who represents the 2nd Congressional District which includes the upper Klamath Basin, believes it’s important for the voters to be heard and the solution should be driven by grassroots support. Sen. Ron Wyden recently spoke favorably about the KBRA, and Sen. Jeff Merkley has expressed support for it.  

   It’s worth noting that if the election results in a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., is in line to come into the key position of chairman of the House subcommittee on Water and Power, which is part of the Natural Resources Committee. McClintock has opposed dam removal and the KBRA.

   The Basin’s been torn for decades by ugly fights over water from the Klamath River — Upper Basin vs. Lower Basin; Tribes, and their treaty rights, against non-tribal members; fishermen against farmers; off-Project irrigators against Project irrigators, and against each other.

   The constant struggles, the costs, the litigation and the lack of certainly from one year to the next became part of talks more than three years ago that were originally aimed at trying to renew long-term low electric rates for Basin farmers. As the talks continued, interest grew in reaching an agreement that went much further and to try to resolve long-standing resource disputes. The KBRA came into being.  

   It involves irrigators, Tribes, two state governments, federal agencies, environmental groups and others. It’s not a done deal.

   Measure 18-80 has often been referred to as a vote whether Klamath County should be “at the table” as the process continues. Heck, yes. What good would it do to walk away? That’s what a yes vote on 18-80 says to do. A no vote says the county should remain in a position to influence the KBRA process and it’s where the county belongs.