‘Momentous’: Feds advance largest dam demolition in history - Oregon Public Broadcasting

U.S. regulators approved a program connected Thursday to demolish 4 dams connected a California river and unfastened up hundreds of miles of salmon situation that would beryllium the largest dam removal and stream restoration task successful the satellite erstwhile it goes forward.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s unanimous ballot connected the little Klamath River dams is the past large regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone for a $500 cardinal demolition proposal championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. The task would escaped hundreds of miles of the river, which flows from Southern Oregon into Northern California.

Native tribes that trust connected the Klamath River and its salmon for their mode of beingness person been a driving unit down bringing the dams down successful a chaotic and distant country that spans the California and Oregon border. Barring immoderate unforeseen complications, Oregon, California and the entity formed to oversee the task volition judge the licence transportation and could statesman dam removal arsenic aboriginal arsenic this summer, proponents said.

FILE - Excess h2o spills implicit the apical of a dam connected the Lower Klamath River known arsenic Copco 1 adjacent Hornbrook, Calif., connected March 3, 2020. Plans for the largest dam demolition task successful U.S. past to prevention imperiled salmon could soon go reality, with the archetypal stages of operation starting successful California arsenic aboriginal arsenic this summer. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meets Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, and is expected to ballot connected whether to o.k. the surrender of PacificCorp's hydroelectric licence for 4 dams connected the little Klamath River successful distant bluish California. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)

Gillian Flaccus / AP

“The Klamath salmon are coming home,” Yurok Chairman Joseph James said aft the vote. “The radical person earned this triumph and with it, we transportation connected our ineffable work to the food that person sustained our radical since the opening of time.”

The dams nutrient little than 2% of PacifiCorp’s powerfulness procreation — capable to powerfulness astir 70,000 homes — erstwhile they are moving astatine afloat capacity, said Bob Gravely, spokesperson for the utility. But they often tally astatine a acold little capableness due to the fact that of debased h2o successful the stream and different issues, and the statement that paved the mode for Thursday’s ballot was yet a concern decision, helium said.

PacifiCorp would person had to put hundreds of millions of dollars successful food ladders, food screens and different conservation upgrades nether biology regulations that were not successful spot erstwhile the aging dams were archetypal built. But with the woody approved Thursday, the utility’s outgo is capped astatine $200 million, with different $250 cardinal from a California voter-approved h2o bond.

“We’re closing ember plants and gathering upwind farms and it each conscionable has to adhd up successful the end. It’s not a one-to-one,” helium said of the coming dam demolition. “You tin marque up that powerfulness by the mode you run the remainder of your facilities oregon having vigor ratio savings truthful your customers are utilizing less.”

Approval of the bid to surrender the dams’ operating licence is the bedrock of the astir ambitious salmon restoration program successful past and the project's scope — measured by the fig of dams and the magnitude of stream situation that would reopen to salmon — makes it the largest of its benignant successful the world, said Amy Souers Kober, spokesperson for American Rivers, which monitors dam removals and advocates for stream restoration.

More than 300 miles of salmon situation successful the Klamath River and its tributaries would benefit, she said.

The determination is successful enactment with a inclination toward removing aging and outdated dams crossed the U.S. arsenic they travel up for licence renewal and face the aforesaid government-mandated upgrade costs arsenic the Klamath River dams would person had.

FILE - The Iron Gate Dam, powerhouse and spillway is seen connected the little Klamath River adjacent Hornbrook, Calif, connected March 3, 2020. The largest dam demolition and stream restoration program successful the satellite could beryllium adjacent to world Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, arsenic U.S. regulators ballot connected a program to region 4 aging hydro-electric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California stream situation to imperiled salmon. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)

Gillian Flaccus / AP

Across the U.S., 1,951 dams person been demolished arsenic of February, including 57 successful 2021, American Rivers said. Most of those person travel down successful the past 25 years arsenic facilities property and travel up for relicensing.

Commissioners connected Thursday called the determination “momentous” and “historic” and spoke of the value of taking the enactment during National Native American Heritage Month due to the fact that of its value to restoring salmon and reviving the stream that is astatine the bosom of the civilization of respective tribes successful the region.

“Some radical mightiness inquire successful this clip of large request for zero emissions, ‘Why are we removing the dams?’ First, we person to recognize this doesn’t hap each time … a batch of these projects were licensed a fig of years backmost erstwhile determination wasn’t arsenic overmuch absorption connected biology issues,” said FERC Chairman Richard Glick. “Some of these projects person a important interaction connected the situation and a important interaction connected fish."

Glick added that, successful the past, the committee did not see the effect of vigor projects connected tribes but said that was a “very important element” of Thursday's decision.

Members of the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa Valley tribes and different supporters lit a bonfire and watched the ballot connected a distant Klamath River sandbar via a outer uplink to symbolize their hopes for the river’s renewal.

“I recognize that immoderate of those tribes are watching this gathering contiguous connected the (river) barroom and I rise a toast to you,” Commissioner Willie Phillips said.

FILE - Jamie Holt, pb fisheries technician for the Yurok Tribe, right, and Gilbert Myers number dormant chinook salmon pulled from a trap successful the little Klamath River connected June 8, 2021, successful Weitchpec, Calif. The largest dam demolition and stream restoration program successful the satellite could beryllium adjacent to world Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, arsenic U.S. regulators ballot connected a program to region 4 aging hydro-electric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California stream situation to imperiled salmon. Several tribes successful the region, including the Yurok, person been warring for years to spot the dams travel down to assistance the betterment of struggling salmon populations. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)

Nathan Howard / AP

The ballot comes astatine a captious infinitesimal erstwhile human-caused clime alteration is hammering the Western United States with prolonged drought, said Tom Kiernan, president of American Rivers. He said allowing California’s second-largest stream to travel naturally, and its flood plains and wetlands to relation usually would mitigate those impacts.

“The champion mode of managing expanding floods and droughts is to let the stream strategy to beryllium steadfast and bash its thing,” helium said.

The Klamath Basin watershed covers much than 14,500 quadrate miles and the Klamath itself was erstwhile the third-largest salmon-producing stream connected the West Coast. But the dams, constructed betwixt 1918 and 1962, fundamentally chopped the stream successful fractional and forestall salmon from reaching spawning grounds upstream. Consequently, salmon runs person been dwindling for years.

The smallest dam, Copco 2, could travel down arsenic aboriginal arsenic this summer. The remaining dams — 1 successful confederate Oregon and 2 successful California — volition beryllium drained down precise dilatory starting successful aboriginal 2024 with the extremity of returning the stream to its earthy authorities by the extremity of that year.

Plans to region the dams person not been without controversy.

FILE - The Klamath River winds runs on Highway 96 connected June 7, 2021, adjacent Happy Camp, Calif. The largest dam demolition and stream restoration program successful the satellite could beryllium adjacent to world Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, arsenic U.S. regulators ballot connected a program to region 4 aging hydro-electric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California stream situation to imperiled salmon. The ballot by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission connected the little Klamath River dams is the past large regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone facing a $500 cardinal demolition connection championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)

Nathan Howard / AP

Homeowners connected Copco Lake, a ample reservoir, vigorously reason the demolition program and ratepayers successful the agrarian counties astir the dams interest astir taxpayers shouldering the outgo of immoderate overruns oregon liability problems. Critics besides judge dam removal won’t beryllium capable to prevention the salmon due to the fact that of changing water conditions the food brushwood earlier the instrumentality to their natal river.

“The full question is, volition this adhd to the accrued accumulation of salmon? It has everything to bash with what’s going connected successful the water (and) we deliberation this volition crook retired to beryllium a futile effort,” said Richard Marshall, caput of the Siskiyou County Water Users Association. “Nobody’s ever tried to instrumentality attraction of the occupation by taking attraction of the existing concern without conscionable removing the dams.”

U.S. regulators raised flags astir the imaginable for outgo overruns and liability issues successful 2020, astir sidesplitting the proposal, but Oregon, California and PacifiCorp, which operates the hydroelectric dams and is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s institution Berkshire Hathaway, teamed up to adhd different $50 cardinal successful contingency funds.

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said Thursday’s ballot underscores the value of fulfilling commitments to farmers and ranchers, tribes and others whose futures are tied to the dams’ removal. They person introduced authorities to code drought successful the Klamath Basin and support salmon with screens to support them from entering irrigation canals.

“As dam removal proceeds, we volition proceed to propulsion to guarantee that each portion of the landmark agreements that paved the mode for contiguous are afloat implemented,” the 2 Democrats said successful a associated statement.

PacifiCorp volition proceed to run the dams until the demolition begins.

The largest U.S. dam demolition to day is the removal of 2 dams connected the Elwha River connected Washington’s Olympic Peninsula successful 2012.

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