Klamath River (Hydroelectric Project)

Everything in the article is relevant to the topic which is the Water Commission Act of 1913. One thing I did find slightly distracting is the contents section just below the introduction.

It seemed that all the information was correct and to date. I think it was a good idea to include court rulings such as the Lux v. Haggin California Supreme Court ruling. It helps add context and more information as to why we have these water rights.

The article seemed to be neutral and didn't put his or her two sense. It was all based on facts and no opinions. Nothing was underrepresented, in fact some things could have been explained in further detail such as the court rulings and how the gold rush plays a role in these water rights.

There is only one external link and it works. All other links that are attached to the article also work. I think this person covered most of the facts with citations although the references section at the bottom is quite short compared to all the links that are given throughout the article. These sources are from reliable places with no bias.

The only edits that other people used seem to be with the links and sources and nothing with the actual article.

Water Commission Act of 1913

My topic that I will be talking about is the Klamath River Hydroelectric project and include the future of the project.

Outline:

Introduction: Introduce PacifiCorp, the beginning process of relicensing of the Klamath Hydroelectric project, and the other agencies that take place in the process of the Klamath Hydroelectric Relicensing Agreement. (KHRA)

Introduce the actual hydroelectric project, the dams, and what they provide for humans and wildlife.

The History of the Klamath River specifically the tribes and the gold rush era. I will also talk about the sawmill that polluted the water of the Klamath River. I will dig into some of the legal aspects of the Klamath River in this paragraph.

Talk about the fisheries and how important the Klamath river is for not just fish, but for recreation/commercial fishing as well as for the tribes.

Water Quality: This is where I start talking about what the problems are with the Klamath River. I'm not sure how in detailed I will get with this part but the algal will be the main point of discussion.

The KHSA (Klamath River Settlement Agreement) will be a good leeway. This is where I talk about how far the process has gone, and where it is projected to be in the future.

Will Kanz

Klamath River Hydroelectric Agreement

Background:

In 2002 Pacificorp, a power compony, filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to relicense the Klamath Hydroelectric Project (Project). Hydroelectric Project are required to be relicensed every 30-50 years through the Federal Power Act. FERC has the authority over all non-federal hydroelectric dams. The Klamath Hydroelectric project being one of them. When a dam is up for relicensing it gives an opportunity to evaluate both environmental and public benefits of the hydroelectric project.

The Klamath river flows more than 250 miles through Southern Oregon and Northern California until draining into the Pacific ocean. The Karuk, Hoopa, and Yurak tribes use the Klamath river for fishing, basket weaving materials, and cultural purposes. These tribes are also federally listed tribes and have lived along the Klamath river for over 10,000 years. In 1850-1851 miners during the gold rush would dam and divert the Klamath river causing major distribution to the Native American tribes. Damming and diverting the water caused difficulty in salmon moving up the Klamath river to spawn, thus affecting the fish populations. Then in 1864 a treaty was signed for the Klamath Indian Reservation.

Between 1903 and 1962, PacifiCorp built seven hydroelectric dams and one non-generating dam.

The Klamath River is home to the third largest salmon and steelhead producing river on the West Coast. The salmon in the Klamath river are used to regulate commercial salmon fishing in the Pacific ocean. If numbers are too low, commercial salmon fishing season is either delayed or closed. Salmon are a critical food source for the tribes along the river. The reasoning for these anadromous species suffering is due to damns blocking access to historic spawning areas and natural river flows being changed. 300-700 miles of habitat is blocked off to these fish due to the dams. The hydroelectric project also alters water temperature in the river, as seen in 2002 where an estimated 30,000- 60,000 adult salmon died. This was because of the lack in of flows (caused by drought) and warm water temperatures.

The hydroelectric releasing process requires an environmental review of the project which state and federal agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations and the local community interests. When relicensing a hydroelectric process one must determine how to balance the generation of a electric project but still being environmentally friendly.

When PacifiCorp began the relicensing process it was know that the Project had impact on fishers, and water quality.  State and federal agencies, tribes, and non- governmental organizations requested multiple studies to evaluate the impact of the Project on fish, water quality, and other environmental and cultural issues. Section 18 of the Federal Power Act says that FERC may require contruction, mainencance, and operation by a license of fishways required by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which oversees the health of migrating fish such as salmon. The National Marine Fisheries Service requested the dams needed to have fish ladders. The State Water Resources Control Board had authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to issue conditions needed for the Project to meet water quality standards. As multiple agencies were requiring more work to be done to have the Project “environmentally friendly” PacifiCorp learned the cost would be $400 million. PacifiCorp did not believe meeting the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act at such price was not worth it, the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) was negotiated between 23 different parties to remove four dams on the Klamath River. These four dams include JC Boyle, Copco 1, Copco 2, and Iron Gate. Congress failed to act the KHSA, resulting in the Klamath River Renewal Corporation with representatives from California, Oregon, Tribes, and NGO’s. It is expected that the Dams begin to be removed in 2020. Funding for dam removal will come from California Bonds and money collected from ratepayers in Oregon. this will result in the largest dam removal ever attempted in the United States!

Pacificorp.com. (2017). Klamath River. [online] Available at: https://www.pacificorp.com/es/ hydro/hl/kr.html [Accessed 23 Mar. 2019].

Ferc.gov. (2017). FERC: Hydropower - Relicensing of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project FEIS. [online] Available at: https://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/ 2007/11-16-07.asp [Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].

Waterboards.ca.gov. (2017). State Water Resources Control Board. [online] Available at: https:// www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/ klamath_ferc2082.shtml [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Removal, A. and Agreement, K. (2017). Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement. [online] Klamathrestoration.org. Available at: http://www.klamathrestoration.org/index.php/ klamath-hydroelectric-settlement-agreement [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019].

Www3.epa.gov. (2017). Watershed Priorities: Klamath | Region 9: Water | US EPA. [online] Available at: https://www3.epa.gov/region9/water/watershed/klamath.html [Accessed 20 Mar. 2019].