Deal to alter Klamath River

Peter Sleeth
The Oregonian

PORTLAND, Ore. — A unique gathering of government agencies, Native Americans, farmers and fishermen Tuesday proposed removing four dams on the Klamath River, with a cornucopia of benefits running to river users ranging from $80 million to tribes to guaranteed irrigation water for farmers.

Yet the linchpin of the historic deal -- an agreement from Portland-based PacifiCorp to remove its four dams–- is missing.

Also absent are agreements from Oregon, California and Congress to pay nearly $1 billion in costs.

Without the utility’s agreement, the proposal is only so much paper. A spokesman for PacifiCorp said Tuesday it was largely in the dark, having been kept out of the two-yearlong negotiations. PacifiCorp is owned by Warren Buffett’s Mid American Holdings.

“We were a little surprised they decided to release this given that it is predicated on an agreement with us,” said Toby Freeman, a spokesman for the utility in Klamath Falls.

A spokesman for the Klamath Settlement Group said the proposal would now go to PacifiCorp to be included in confidential talks over dam removal. If an agreement is reached, the dams could come out as soon as 2015, the group said.

In the past, the utility has said it would consider dam removal only if it did not mean charging the costs to its ratepayers.

“Calling something a comprehensive, basinwide settlement of all the issues without renewable hydro in the discussion is just a tad irresponsible,” said Paul Vogel, a PacifiCorp spokesman in Portland. “What really needs to be restored is the presence of the license holder and hundreds of thousands of customers in the room.”

The discussions began in 2004 when PacifiCorp applied for a new license to operate its dams for the next 30 to 50 years. Part of the relicensing is expected to cost the utility $300 million to build fish ladders.

PacifiCorp brought dozens of interest groups together in private settlement negotiations to discuss the relicensing -- discussions that would grow to include a possible deal for taking out some dams. PacifiCorp was asked to leave negotiations by the other groups while they crafted their own solution. Until Tuesday, a deal eluded negotiators as each group made more demands.