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PacifiCorp tells Siskiyou County they should weigh in on dam removal

Posted by: Maven on December 24, 2008 at 7:04 am

From the Siskiyou Daily News:

Much of this week’s board of supervisors meeting was taken up with presentations and discussions from two Pacific Northwest power giants. Both PacifiCorp, which supplies power to Siskiyou County residents, and Pacific Gas and Electric, who plans to conduct weather modification cloud seeding in Southern Siskiyou County, sent representatives to explain their recent actions to the board members.

Dean Brockbank, vice president and general counsel for PacifiCorp, made a presentation and engaged in a discussion with county supervisors regarding the Agreement in Principle (AIP) that was reached recently concerning the possible removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. The AIP announced Nov. 13 between the federal government, the states of California and Oregon, and PacifiCorp presents a scenario for possible removal of the hydroelectric dams starting in 2020, after a four-year period of study.

The supervisors announced their unanimous opposition to the AIP recently and began preparations to assemble a legal team to assist county counsel in fighting dam removal. The supervisors also oppose the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement reached last year by various stakeholders and environmental groups.

“We are in the business of generating power,” explained Brockbank as he presented a historical perspective of how PacifiCorp, parent company of Pacific Power, arrived at the point of signing the AIP. “Our license for operating the hydroelectric dams expired in 2006,” explained Brockbank. “We’ve been in the [license] renewal process with FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) for years. The issue became very contentious; it became apparent over the years that the state of California, the state of Oregon and the federal government were pushing hard for decommissioning.”

Brockbank further explained, “If it were completely up to us, we’d like to relicense this project.”
However, he said, the risk involved for PacifiCorp was “rising every day.” He explained that the mitigations heaped upon the project, if they sought renewal, were going to cost ratepayers a lot of money. And, Brockbank added, there was no guarantee that PacifiCorp would be able to operate the dams following the mitigations. They may still have been required to be removed, he said.

Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News by clicking here.

December 24, 2008 · Filed Under Northern California

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