Oregon Wild, PacifiCorp Reach Agreement on Link River Dam

April 17, 2008

PacifiCorp / Oregon Wild Press Release  

PORTLAND , Ore —The conservation organization Oregon Wild and multi-state public utility PacifiCorp have reached a settlement on the hydroelectric power operations of Link River Dam in Klamath Falls , Oregon . Under the settlement agreement, Link River Dam operations will be altered to better provide additional protection for endangered fish. This will involve shutting down power production during certain times in the late summer and early fall months, when endangered fish migrate to the southern part of Upper Klamath Lake. Signed in early April, the deal is the product of several months of negotiations.

"This settlement demonstrates that sincere negotiations, with honest give and take, produce positive results for fish and for our customers," said PacifiCorp Energy President Rob Lasich. "We always prefer to negotiate rather than litigate to achieve reasonable and balanced outcomes."

"We entered these negotiations because we saw a settlement as the best and quickest way to provide increased protection for the endangered fish that call Upper Klamath Lake home," said Steve Pedery, Conservation Director with Oregon Wild. "We’re very happy to be reaching this win-win agreement with PacifiCorp."

Aside from altering operations at the dam, the settlement calls for 22 percent of the proceeds generated from dam operations during the course of the year to be paid into a fund to support enhancement projects—such as wetland restoration—for endangered fish. Oregon Wild and PacifiCorp anticipate this agreement will provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for this restoration work. Wetland restoration of this kind results in cleaner water throughout the Klamath Basin .

Both parties view this agreement as a key step toward resolving larger challenges surrounding dams and endangered fish on the Klamath River . Both Oregon Wild and PacifiCorp look forward to continued discussions over future improvements to the health of the Klamath River system.

"We hope this settlement can serve as a model for future restoration efforts that aim to improve water quality and fish habitat throughout the Klamath Basin ," added Ani Kame’enui, Klamath Campaign Coordinator with Oregon Wild.

"The value to fish and our customers is in the action of this agreement," explained PacifiCorp Energy President Lasich. "We’ve retained flexible power benefits for our customers and provided additional protection and conservation benefits for sucker fish and wetlands enhancement."

Oregon Wild is currently investigating multiple promising options for restoring wetlands around Upper Klamath Lake . Settlement funds will be invested in project(s) likely to generate the most benefit for fish.

PacifiCorp continues to maintain that it has and is operating the Link River Dam facilities in compliance with the existing licenses and permits. Oregon Wild and PacifiCorp anticipate that this agreement will remain in effect pending the completion of the FERC relicensing of the Klamath Project.

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Source:  http://www.pacificorp.com/Press_Release/Press_Release80886.html