Water deal on county agenda  

February 7, 2010

   Commissioners will question stakeholders who crafted a restoration agreement at 2 p.m. Monday in the hearing room of the Klamath County Government Center.

   The public is invited to attend the meeting, but no public comment will be heard. Eight different organizations, groups and agencies representing various aspects of the county were invited and could be asked questions.  

   The restoration agreement is meant to resolve conflicts over water in the Klamath River watershed. It would involve removing four Klamath River hydroelectric dams as well as conducting fish habitat restoration and other work with about $1 billion in federal funding over 10 years.

   The agreement

   Stakeholders released a final public review draft of the document in early January. They and their constituents have until Tuesday to say whether they will support or reject it.

   Those invited to the meeting to answer questions include: dam owner PacifiCorp, the Klamath Tribes, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, Klamath Off Project Water Users, Upper Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Water Users Association, Oregon Water Resources Department and Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s staff.  

   Votes in support

   Four irrigation districts on the Klamath Reclamation Project — Tulelake Irrigation District, Klamath Irrigation District, Klamath Drainage District and Klamath Basin Improvement District — already have voted to support the restoration agreement.

   The Yurok, Karuk and Klamath Tribes, Klamath Water and Power Agency, the government of Humboldt County in California, and off-Project irrigator group Upper Klamath  Water Users Association also voiced support.

   Commissioners conducted a public hearing in January on the document. About 400 people attended and more than 80 spoke. Commissioners said the comments were roughly half for and half against the restoration agreement.