Siskiyou Daily News
July 9, 2010
Yreka, Calif. — Wednesday evening, members of
the public traveled to the Yreka Community Center to voice
concerns and make recommendations on the scope of studies to
be conducted to inform a decision as to whether four dams
along the Klamath River will be removed under two
multi-party agreements.
The public scoping session, as described by Dennis Lynch,
program manager for the Klamath Basin Secretarial
Determination, had as an objective getting “input to help us
determine the scope and significant issues for environmental
review.”
Up first at the meeting were supervisors Grace Bennett and
Marcia Armstrong, who listed a number of concerns they would
like addressed by the environmental review team, many of
which were echoed later by members of the public.
Bennett and Armstrong recommended that the team include in
the scope study of invasive plant species’ growth into
drained reservoir areas, fish species currently inhabiting
the reservoirs, the effects of increased energy costs, the
effects on nearby wells, effects on terrestrial and airborne
animal species, cumulative impacts on the human population
of the county, effects on the aging population and various
economic and social impacts.
County Counsel Thomas Guarino was also at the meeting,
presenting a large stack of documents compiled in recent
months by county staff and the Klamath task force, which was
formed to research and provide information for the public
scoping and environmental review processes.
Guarino touched on a number of county requests, including
analysis of impacts of state programs and how implementation
of those programs may alter water issues in the coming
years, review of impacts to small communities with weak
economies and review of Siskiyou County codes and the county
general plan in assessing how the project should move
forward.
Many of the public concerns mirrored those at the morning
meeting in the community of Copco, with requests that
sediment, flow requirements for salmon and the potential for
flood control.
Other suggestions for study scope included assessing how
actions proscribed in the Klamath Basin Restoration
Agreement would move forward if the agreement were
underfunded, potential negative impacts of not removing the
dams and the potential economic benefits of taking the dams
out.
Also presented were potential alternatives to dam removal,
which must be explored during environmental review,
including the installation of fish ladders, the creation of
a fish bypass and enforcing a straight corridor through gill
nets near the mouth of the Klamath.
The Web site
http://klamathrestoration.gov
lists the locations and times for the remaining public
scoping meetings, as well as information on how to submit
written comments, which must be done by July 21.
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