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This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
Water
settlement perspectives
Local,
state and federal officials would need to support the Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement for it to be implemented. Several officials
offered their perspectives on the document and the role of government
plays.
n Oregon
Gov. Ted Kulongoski
The
state supports the current draft of the agreement and looks forward to
moving ahead with implementation. However, getting it through Congress
during the current session is highly unlikely, officials said.
Mike
Carrier, Kulongoski’s natural resources policy director, said the
governor’s office is re-evaluating the timeline necessary for the
agreement.
Requirements
of due diligence to receive public comment and input, along with the
federal government’s budget schedule, makes the 2010 budget the most
likely possibility.
“Realistically,
there’s no way to get this into the president’s budget in the next
week,” Carrier said.
It’s
also unlikely that the state would suspend the
n
Elliott
said many county residents are carefully considering the agreement, but
additional time may be needed so the Klamath County Board of
Commissioners can receive public comment, which will influence its
decision to sign the agreement.
“Ultimately, the counties have to play a pretty
pivotal role as a sounding board,” he said.
n State Sen.
Doug Whitsett,
Whitsett said he has the utmost respect for those who
participated in the settlement talks, but he believes much still needs
to be done to the agreement before it will be equitable for all
involved.
Private water lawyers informed him of their
misgivings, and the senator spoke with Phil Ward, director of the state
water resources department. The department’s legal staff is looking
into the concerns.
Whitsett said his two primary concerns are how the
transfer of water rights within the agreement could harm other water
rights and how some water rights would be improperly subordinated.
He also suggested more time be set aside to allow
review and comment on the agreement.
n Unavailable
State Rep. Bill Garrard,
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger also could not be reached.
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