Cook: Dam removal ultimately a 'business decision'

By DAVID SMITH

Daily News Staff Writer
April 22, 2008

YREKA - Last Thursday, Siskiyou County supervisors Jim Cook and Michael Kobseff met with Pacific Power Company President Patrick Reiten to discuss the company's dams on the Klamath River , as well as power production and costs, economic development, and job creation in the county.

Supervisor Cook stated that he and Kobseff told Reiten and his staff that the county will try to assist Pacific Power in the company's attempt to retain the dams, although there hasn't been a plan put forth as to how the county can help.

Cook also stated that the representatives seemed to be favoring dam retention, quoting them as saying, 'We submitted a dam relicensing permit, we did not submit a dam decommissioning permit.'

Cook added, 'The county needs to weigh in on the licensing issue,' and said that he wants the county to be able to explain its point of view to the Governor, senators and representatives.

All in all, he said that the county wants Pacific Power to know that if they remove the dams, there are people directly affected and opposed to the decision. Various organizations and individuals claim that water quality will be negatively impacted by toxic sediment, home values on the river and reservoirs will go down, and farming will be hurt.

A study commissioned by the California Energy Commission showed that there are few toxins in the sediment and that those toxins would likely evaporate before they could become a threat to marine life, but this study has been debated, along with others.

Ultimately, Cook said, 'It will end up being a business decision,' meaning that the final decision will most likely depend on which option is the most economically viable.

Various reports done by energy analysts have pointed to dam removal being more cost effective than modifying dams with fish ladders, but those reports have been disputed by PacifiCorp, Pacific Power's parent company.

Cook finished by saying that with all of the forces and views weighing on the issue, there should be a conclusion that addresses all concerns and leaves all parties content with the outcome.

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Source:  http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/articles/2008/04/22/news/news01.txt