Friends of the River withdraws from the Klamath Hydropower Settlement Agreement

From the Friends of the River, this media statement:

“Sacramento, CA (February 8, 2010) Friends of the River (FOR), a statewide, grassroots conservation organization working on behalf of California rivers, announced today that it will not sign the Klamath Hydropower Settlement Agreement (KHSA). The KHSA outlines a plan for potential future removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River operated by Oregon-based utility PacifiCorp.

FOR is one of the original parties to the negotiations and worked for nearly 5 years alongside PacifiCorp, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and Native American Tribes to reach an agreement that describes possible mechanisms and funding for dam removal and restoration of the river’s once fabled salmon runs.

The result of this effort was the KHSA, released on September 30, 2009 and slated for signing this month. FOR is the largest environmental group to date to decide not to sign the KHSA.

FOR’s primary focus has been to assure that the final agreement provides the best possible option for removing the dams in a reasonable amount of time. Conservation Director Steve Evans stated that the final drafted version of the KHSA has so many prerequisites to dam removal, including passage of federal legislation by Congress that will cost taxpayers at least $1 billion, that it will likely never result in the removal of any dams.

“Millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies and liberal liability protection for PacifiCorp is simply too much to pay for just the possibility that the dams will be removed,” said Evans. “The settlement partners need to develop an agreement that fairly apportions costs and liability to all partners, including PacifiCorp, and that guarantees dam removal by 2020.”

Evans listed the following additional reasons for FOR’s decision to withdraw from the group and not sign the agreement … “

Read more from the Friends of the River by clicking here.

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