Rep. Greg Walden in Klamath Falls today    

Congressman to conduct briefing to address water shortage facing the Klamath Basin 

 

By TY BEAVER

H&N Staff Writer

March 30, 2010

 

     Staff with Oregon’s federal senators and two federal representatives from Northern California will be among those attending Congressman Greg Walden’s water shortage briefing today in Klamath Falls.

   Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office also is expected to have a staff member available as well as state lawmakers, the Klamath Tribes and numerous state and federal agencies. 

   The meeting is meant to be a bipartisan briefing on what’s being done to address the projected water shortage facing the Klamath Basin.

   “The goal is to identify each agency’s drought plans and what type of congressional assistance they might need,” Walden’s office said in a press release.

   The Basin could be facing one of its worst droughts in decades. Upper Klamath Lake is at historic lows and precipitation and inflows to the lake are   below average.

   The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has projected it would only provide up to 150,000 acre-feet of water from the lake to the Klamath Reclamation Project, about a third of typical annual water deliveries.

   Walden’s meeting isn’t expected to be open to the public, but will be broadcast on the local government cable channel. The Republican also is expected to visit Klamath Community College and local business MCX Inc.  

   Walden isn’t the first lawmaker to address the Basin’s impending water shortage.

   Kulongoski visited Klamath Falls in early March to meet with government agencies and Basin residents. He’s signed a state drought declaration to bring aid and speed up some government processes, including emergency groundwater pumping permits.

   U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore., also have encouraged federal agencies to bring help to the region.

 

Side Bar

 

Merkley, Wyden ask for federal drought declaration for Basin  

 

    Oregon’s U.S. senators are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a federal drought declaration for the Klamath Basin.

   The move is the latest in a series of requests by state and federal officials seeking aid for the region, which is facing what could be one of the worst droughts in decades.

   Democrats Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley sent the request to the U.S. secretaries of the interior and agriculture on Friday. They said the declaration could provide a variety of aid to the region, including some that wouldn’t require irrigators to plant a crop and experience a loss to receive it.  

   Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has issued a state drought declaration for Klamath and its neighboring counties. The action will make some forms of aid available to the region, as well as speed up the process for some state processes, such as applying for emergency groundwater well permits.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material  herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed  a  prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and  educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml