Suit adds twist to Klamath dams

By Hil Anderson
Mar 30, 2007

LOS ANGELES, CA, United States (UPI) -- A California environmental group this week opened a new front in the battle to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River that had become bogged down in a standoff over economic forecasts.

By alleging that a fish hatchery maintained at one of the four dams was actually damaging the Klamath salmon habitat with its waste products and toxic algae, Klamath Riverkeeper raised the ante in the process of issuing a new federal license to PacifiCorp, the company that operates the dams.

PacifiCorp is part of MidAmerica Energy, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett`s Berkshire Hathaway, a fact not lost on Klamath Riverkeeper as it appealed directly to the Oracle of Omaha`s legendary business judgment.

'We call on Mr. Buffett to scrutinize PacifiCorp`s operation of these dams and take action to prevent further devastation to the River and the salmon,' the organization said in a news release this week. 'Hopefully, our citizens` enforcement suit will be the first step in resolving these issues and restoring the Klamath River, and the communities that rely on the river, to what they once were.'

Unspoken in the statement was the implication that shutting down the 40-year-old Iron Gate Dam hatchery would leave PacifiCorp without the cushion it provided in the form of salmon hatchlings to offset the loss of population wrought by the dam itself. And without that cushion, PacifiCorp might find it impossible to meet federal environmental regulations without taking the draconian step of removing the dams and allowing the Klamath to theoretically return to its 'natural' pre-dam state.

The idea of tearing down hydroelectric dams on the Klamath and other western rivers has been a vision -- or a pipedream -- depending on one`s view, of the ambitious notion that the electricity supply given up for the sake of white water and great fishing can be replaced without a significant impact on the regional economy.

The Klamath Hydroelectric Project is located on the California-Oregon border and has a capacity of 169 megawatts (MW). That is a fairly small output when compared to coal power plants, but nonetheless larger than most wind farms, and big enough to supply power to about 1.6 million customers. Proponents of western dam breaching contend that it is easy enough to replace the electricity produced by hydropower.

The cost of procuring power to replace cheap hydropower is an issue that depends on a number of economic variables; however, the bigger issue on the Klamath is the cost of accommodating the migrating Coho salmon, which are listed as a 'threatened species.'

The California Energy Commission this week issued a consultant`s report that contended it would be cheaper for PacifiCorp and its ratepayers to close down the Hydroelectric Project than it would be to take on the cost of constructing the fish ladders that will likely be mandated by FERC in order for PacifiCorp to receive a new operating license.

'The ... report finds that mitigation to stop and begin reversing the environmental damage from the Klamath hydroelectric operations will cost between $230 and $470 million; power production will be reduced by 23 percent, and the project will be unable to provide quick power during peak periods of electricity demand,' the Energy Commission said in the accompanying news release. 'The PacifiCorp ratepayers will bear the greatest economic risk for unsuccessful mitigation strategies aimed at fisheries and water quality.'

The Energy Commission report was a direct counterpoint to PacifiCorp`s own estimates that relicensing the four dams and continuing to sell the electricity would actually save the company $46 million, even with the mitigation measures on behalf of the salmon.

'This is complex and not a simple matter of removing some concrete slabs,' said PacifiCorp President Bill Fehrman. 'This is low-cost power now used by our customers with virtually zero emissions. Taking the dams out will certainly cost money. Replacing the power will necessarily cost our customers more money, and potentially a lot more money.'

There is also the issue of possibly toxic sediment that has built up behind the dams over the years that would be washed downstream if the dams were removed. As with the projections of the long-range costs of shutting down the dams or relicensing them, any level of certainty can appear fuzzy. But if a lawsuit could shut down the Iron Gate Dam hatchery or force PacifiCorp to pay for improvements, it would have a concrete impact on the size of the Klamath salmon population that would add to the liability side of the ledger.

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