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Senator Aaenestad: Klamath River Dams – setting the record straight: “I cannot stop it, and any legislator who says otherwise is not being honest with you.”

Posted by: Maven on November 19, 2009 at 7:37 am

klamath dam Copco1From the website of Senator Sam Aanestad:

“I have become aware that many people in Siskiyou County are getting incomplete information regarding the issue of dam removal on the Klamath River. I write to give you the facts as honestly as I know them.

Earlier this month the Legislature passed an $11 billion water bond that would allocate $250 million for dam removal in the Klamath River watershed. My office has received calls and emails from parties in Siskiyou County concerning this provision, and some have included criticism of me for not somehow stopping its inclusion in the bond – implying that I support dam removal. I’d like to set a few things straight on this issue.

First and foremost, PacifiCorp is a private utility company that owns and operates the four Klamath dams. They reached a decision to pursue dam removal after a decade of fighting for renewal of their hydroelectric utility license. This license requires both a federal and state approval process, and, frankly, the odds of approval ever happening are about the same as California having a balanced budget this year.

It isn’t going to happen, for the same reason that spotted owls killed the timber industry. Environmentalists use the regulatory power of laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act to block, harass, and derail any industry that doesn’t fit their agenda. In this case it is the argument that dams are responsible for declining Klamath fish populations. It was actually the Bush Administration that told PacifiCorp they would have to make major changes to the dams and add fish ladders to gain a utility license renewal. … “

Read more from Senator Aanestad by clicking here.

November 19, 2009 · Filed Under Northern California

Comments

2 Responses to “Senator Aaenestad: Klamath River Dams – setting the record straight: “I cannot stop it, and any legislator who says otherwise is not being honest with you.””

  1. Tim in Albion on November 20th, 2009 9:29 am

    Sam seems a little confused on the causes of the situation – he blames it on “environmentalists,” among whom he apparently counts the Bush Administration and Governor Schwarzenegger. (He also blames spotted owls for killing the timber industry, which in fact killed itself by overcutting.) Other than that, though, he’s got a pretty good attitude about this.

  2. Bob on July 6th, 2010 7:47 pm

    Senator Aaenestad should read the Californa Constitution Code Article 12: Public Utilities before he states that any legislator who says that they cannot stop this from happenning isn’t being honest.

    SEC. 3. Private corporations and persons that own, operate,control, or manage a line, plant, or system for the transportation of people or property, the transmission of telephone and telegraph messages, or the production, generation, transmission, or furnishing
    of heat, light, water, power, storage, or wharfage directly or indirectly to or for the public, and common carriers, are public
    utilities subject to control by the Legislature. The Legislature may prescribe that additional classes of private corporations or other
    persons are public utilities.

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