Goodbye, Mean Green

By Phil Hayworth

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones , CA

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

page  E6, column 2

pioneerp@sisqtel.net

Anyone who has ever swam in Copco or Iron gate lakes along the Klamath knows what a generally overall bad idea that is, particularly at the height of summer.

That's when massive blooms of green algae - a.k.a. Microcystis aeruginosa - come out in force. Over time, and if shaken a bit, it produces a toxin called microcystin that many say destroys livers and promotes tumors. In years gone by, some have claimed that their pets - dogs, particularly - have gotten sick and died from the water. But others say the water is just fine - fine for swimming and for fishing, too.

But now, the government isn't taking any chances.

Last summer, Siskiyou County 's public heath department posted signs around the lakes and along a 100-mile stretch of the Klamath River warning folks about the algae. And last week, the Environmental Protection Agency decided to set standards for the algae and the microcystin it produces. That's good news for most folks, but bad news for the owners of the dams - PacifiCorps - who stand to spend millions to get the water up to standard. In order for PacifiCorp to get a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license to produce their 168 megawatts of hydropower, they first must get a 401 water permit from California and Oregon .

"It will force the state water board to consider the relationship between the dams and the algae when processing PacifiCorp's 401 clean-water permit application. This requires a CEQA process," said Craig Tucker of the Karuk Indian Tribe. "It is my understanding that the state board has initiated this process and they estimate it will take one to two years to complete."

"And given the magnitude of the water quality impacts of the project and the amount of data collected that implicates the dam in creating the toxic algae blooms," Tucker said, "I personally think it will be difficult to get a permit from California without extensive mitigation measures."

In other words, it'll cost PacifiCorp a lot of money to get that license - which means they'll be operating on temporary licenses until they pass the FERC test. It's almost easier and cheaper to get rid of the dams altogether, some say.

"At some point, we hope PacifiCorp understands this and chooses to remove the dams instead of trying to stick their ratepayers with the cost of operating an uneconomical hydro project that is driving salmon closer to extinction," Tucker said.

"The concentration of algal toxin (in the dam water) exceeds international safety standards by as much as 4,000 fold," said Regina Chichizola of Klamath Riverkeeper.

She said she hopes the EPA's move signals a commitment by the agency to stop PacifiCorp's "toxic pollution" of the Klamath River and will ultimately "drive another nail in the coffin for PacifiCorp's dams."

The EPA's decision comes after Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit to force the standard on the owners of the dams. That lawsuit was just one of a series of legal actions taken by the Klamath Riverkeeper, Tribal religious leaders and fishermen. Last year, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Joseph Cotchett filed a public nuisance case on behalf of Klamath residents.

The EPA's announcement comes at a critical time. PacifiCorp's dams are in the final steps of a federally mandated relicensing process. The listing of the reservoirs and river as impaired by toxic algae could jeopardize PacifiCorp's clean water permit applications.

Klamath Riverkeeper, along with local Tribes, fishermen, and environmental groups, have been pressuring PacifiCorp to surrender the Klamath dams for several years. Their efforts have been bolstered by economic analyses by both FERC and the California Energy Commission which show dam removal to be cheaper for ratepayers than relicensing. Yet, last summer, FERC said that the salmon and the algae can be dealt with, without the dams coming out. But to folks living along the Klamath, the general consensus is that it's just a matter of time before the dams come down.

The EPA announcement signals the beginning of a thirty day comment period.

To comment, email: presscomment@yahoo.com.

(Permission to post from the publisher.)