Connect the dots on taking out the dams The H&N View There are still big hurdles left for the proposed Klamath Basin water agreement now in Congress, but, yes its approval by a key U.S. Senate committee last week was a big step. Until last Thursday, the agreement, a package of three separate but tightly connected measures, hadn’t shown many signs of life since being put together last spring by many of the stakeholders in Klamath River issues. Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved it, 17-5. On Friday, the Klamath County commissioners worked on a draft of a letter opposing the settlements, primarily in the misguided belief that there can be an overall settlement without dam removal. Commissioners should stop kidding people in the Klamath Basin, even if it is the posture that got them elected. The owners and operators of the four dams want them removed and so do the Klamath Tribes, whose first priority water rights have been affirmed by Oregon’s adjudication process. The Tribes will make decisions that govern water allocations in low-water years. Their primary focus has been to keep water in the river and in Upper Klamath Lake to improve the Basin’s ecosystem. There is no reason to think that will change. For the rest of the editorial, which concludes, “As for Klamath County commissioners, they should stop posturing and connect the dots,” go to bit.ly/1EWhSxe.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:44:15 +0000
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