Klamath talks flow on

John Driscoll

The Times-Standard
Eureka Times Standard

July 25, 2007

A broad group of parties with stakes in the Klamath River say they remain committed to hashing out a settlement over the future of the river's hydropower dams nearly two years after official talks got under way.

Tribes, irrigators, fishermen and others released a statement Tuesday saying they have come up with a framework for addressing the wide-ranging issues. The groups should have a final agreement by November, they said.

”I think we're on track,” said Karuk Tribe coordinator Craig Tucker.

For months now, dam owner Pacificorp has not formally been at the bargaining table, although the company says it remains hopeful that a settlement can be achieved. But irrigators in the Upper Klamath Basin , tribes, fishermen, environmentalists and agencies have a slew of related issues to resolve on their own.

”The bulk of our efforts have focused on those issues,” said Steve Rothert of American Rivers, an environmental group involved in the talks.

The assurance that the negotiations continue comes shortly before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee holds hearings on Vice President Dick Cheney's role in assuring water deliveries to farms in 2002, the year that 68,000 salmon died in the Klamath River . Some worried that the hearings would upset the settlement talks by rehashing a bitter battle that occurred over water and salmon in 2001 and 2002.

It says a lot that the talks continue regardless, Tucker said.

Still, many communities, tribes, businesses and six wildlife refuges depend on the Klamath and its limited resources, as do a number of endangered species. The dams cut off some 300 miles of potential salmon spawning habitat and have made water quality problems worse, according to most. Wildly fluctuating salmon stocks mean significant uncertainty for tribes and commercial and sport salmon fishermen, who have seen seasons slashed in recent years.

Irrigators are looking for a reasonable supply of water coupled with greater certainty that it will be delivered, said Greg Addington with the Klamath Water Users Association. They also rely on the hydropower dams to supply power to pump water, he said.

”Without the water, energy doesn't mean much,” Addington said.

He said irrigators have no love lost for Pacificorp, which now charges higher rates than it did during a previous contract, but acknowledged the company's critical position in any settlement. He said he expects to see a full-fledged effort to get the company more involved in negotiations again.

The company offered to give settlement talks a chance in 2004 while also following a parallel process to relicense its dams with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Pacificorp spokesman Toby Freeman said, ideally, a settlement can be reached. But the traditional relicensing process still trudges forward, he said, and the company is prepared to accept the demands of the federal agency.

”One of these processes is going to reach the finish line first,” Freeman said.

John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com.