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“Steamroller KBRA”
VALID ALTERNATIVES TO KBRA
Settlement instead of Agreement
Pioneer Press
Are we asking the correct question? The question is not whether
a person is for or against dam removal. The question is, do you
endorse positioning a private business in a corner by deceit,
coercion and regulatory threats in order to limit their choice
on how they generate hydropower? Do you approve of a process
that manipulates perception as truth and results in giving
someone’s property away without their engagement? Do you support
a process of limited negotiations that strays far away from
anything that looks like democracy and excludes true
stakeholders in order to reach a predetermined outcome?
The voters in Klamath County have chosen as evidenced by the May
primary results. There is no doubt now that our votes, our
democratic process, have risen above the designs and rhetoric of
the press and others. The resounding answer is NO! We do not
approve of the misguided direction our governments seem to be
taking regarding the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA).
To put it simply, NO! , We do not approve of dam removal.
For the local print media to advise the remaining Klamath County
Commissioners to stay the course and push forward with the KBRA
is an insult. To continue to praise the process as time well
spent by a few in the interest of us all is blind to the reality
of a sham. I see a cartoon of our elected officials from Klamath
Falls to Washington DC running the “Steamroller, KBRA”, over the
economic engine of our community. Bad advice. The
representatives that truly “get it” are State Representative
Garrard. State Senator Whitsett, Congressman Tom McClintock.
Once again the voters spell it out. The May primary was not the
result of a poor political campaign. It was our political
process working to send a clear message.
VALID ALTERNATIVES TO KBRA
Settlement instead of Agreement
Being critical of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement
(KBRA) is easy. Pointing out an alternative is a good idea.
For the past five years there has been an advocacy for the
Klamath River Adjudication, making it the foundation of a
true settlement instead of the dam removal foundation found
in the KBRA agreement.
The adjudication is the legal foundation for a settlement as
well as the only legal mechanism to allocate the waters of
the state of Oregon. Two Supreme Court rulings uphold its
implementation by the State of Oregon. In 1997 when the
adjudication claim period was closed, the director of the
Water Resource Department initiated a well-intended
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process. This was to
allow for negotiated settlement and it was responsibly
designed with firewalls between the claimants in the
adjudication, the Oregon Water Resource Department and the
Oregon Department of Justice. This ADR was derailed and
abandoned. Instead we have been manipulated into a poorly
designed but craftily implemented direction by parties
OUTSIDE the adjudication process.
So here is a thumbnail sketch of a Settlement to replace the
KBRA agreement. Adjudicate the allocation of water by the
Oregon Adjudication process. Downsize the federal presence
in the Klamath Basin. Transfer ownership of the Klamath
Project to the irrigation community. Transfer ownership of
the refuge system and other federal lands to the respective
states, counties and tribes. Let the FERC process deal with
power generation on the Klamath River. Offer alternatives
for those who want out of the irrigated agricultural
business and transfer water rights under current law to
establish some in stream rights that are based on
historically natural, sustainable flows.
This is not an easy direction. It involves risks in the
adjudication. It changes the way we deal with the Clean
Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. It is forthright
in that it relies on a valid legal process, it involves all
true stakeholders. The advocacy from outside political
directives interested in dismantling our local economies and
communities do not have a place at this table. Like I said,
it is forthright.
Is this the only alternative to be ignored? I do not think
so. Right now, in the interest of the country we love and
the government we fear, is the time for an alternative to
the KBRA. It is time for a true Settlement based on the
legally adjudicated water rights of the Klamath River.
The
Pioneer Press was founded Nov. 16, 1972 by Gary Mortenson and was
adjudicated as a newspaper of general circulation (Former USPS
970-340) by court decree No. 26666 and was originally entered as a
periodical paid at Post Office of Fort Jones, CA 96032 in June of
1973 under the Act of March 3, 1887. On June 9, 2010 the Pioneer
Press published its last hard-copy printed weekly edition and began
distributing its news daily in a digital format on June 25, 2010.
Daniel Webster purchased the Pioneer Press on July 1, 1998 and
currently the 100% owner of the publication. The Pioneer Press is
the legal publication for the Town of Fort Jones, City of Etna, City
of Dorris, and City of Tulelake and publishes all public notices for
those cities. The Pioneer Press is the successor to the Klamath
Courier, Butte Valley Star, Tri-County Courier, Lost River Star, The
Dorris Weekly Advocate, The Dorris Times, The Dorris Booster, The
Butte Valley News, and The Butte Valley Herald.
Daniel Webster, Editor and Publisher
Cindy Roton, Advertising Account Representative
Denise Hall, Editorial/Account Administrator
PIONEER PRESS
P.O. Box 400, Fort Jones, CA 96032;
Office is located at 12021 Main Street, Fort Jones, CA.
Published Daily.
530-468-5355
FAX 530-468-5356
email: pioneerp@sisqtel.net
Subscription Rate: $2 per month worldwide
Deadline for News and Advertising is when you want to send it in.
Daniel Webster, Editor and Publisher
Cindy Roton, Advertising Account Representative
Denise Hall, Editorial/Account Administrator
PIONEER PRESS
P.O. Box 400, Fort Jones, CA 96032;
Office is located at 12021 Main Street, Fort Jones, CA.
Published Daily.
530-468-5355
FAX 530-468-5356
email: pioneerp@sisqtel.net
Subscription Rate: $2 per month worldwide
Deadline for News and Advertising is when you want to send it in.
(Permission to post from the Publisher)