Toby Freeman, right, discusses Pacific
Power’s position in the water settlement with a group of interested
parties as moderator Steve Miller, left, editor at the Herald and
News, listens.
For Todd Kepple, issues involved in the Klamath water
settlement came alive Tuesday during a roundtable discussion sponsored
by the Herald and News.
“It did give me a different perspective on things to
hear people directly involved talk about how it affects their goals and
interests,” said Kepple, director of Klamath County Museums. “When you
sit down across the table from someone who can tell you in a personal
way how important issues are to them, it makes things more real.”
Presenters
Kepple was among those at the table for the discussions
at Oregon Institute of Technology. The main presenters were Edward
Bartell, representing Upper Klamath irrigators; Bud Ullman, representing
the Klamath Tribes; Paul Simmons, representing the Klamath Water Users
Association; and Toby Freeman, representing Pacific Power.
Those at the table questioned the presenters throughout
the two-hour session. A full report will be published next month in a
Herald and News’ special section on the Klamath Basin Restoration
Agreement.
The agreement, released Jan. 15, allocates water in the
Klamath River watershed among irrigators, fisheries, tribes and
conservationists. It also advocates removal of four hydro - electric
dams.
Dams interesting
Kepple said he was particularly interested in
discussions of four dams PacifiCorp owns and operates on the Klamath
River — and whether those dams will be removed, as proposed in the
settlement . He understands there could be an environmental risk to
releasing sediment behind the dams.
“But what do you do? ” he asked. “Wait another 50 years
until another layer of sediment builds up? ”
Ultimately, he said, it comes down to a question of
choosing between clean hydroelectric power and trying to build a healthy
run of salmon.
“Most of us who are on lookers to this like giving the
salmon a chance to reach Klamath Falls,” he said. “On the other hand,
most of us like clean, non-emitting power. That’s a wrenching
decision.”
Power rates
At the roundtable, Bartell
emphasized the off-Project irrigators want protections from water claims
by the Tribes, and they want guaranteed power rates.
Bartell said he doesn’t believe a 3-cents per kilowatt
- hour rate, a goal of the settlement agreement, can be realized. The
document once called for $250 million to develop alternative power
sources but the current draft includes only $33 million for that purpose
for Oregon irrigators, he said.
Bartell said off-Project irrigators also are unhappy
with the settlement because they are asked to voluntarily idle 30,000
acre-feet of water without receiving compensation for doing so.
Toby Freeman, Pacific Power spokesman, called the
roundtable a good chance to gauge concerns of the public.
“I’m always glad to get out into the community,” he
said.
“I know folks are very interested in Pacific Power’s
perspective on this agreement and the dam removal.”
Continued discussions
He noted the Portland-based utility is continuing to
discuss dam removal issues with a sub -group of the 2 stakeholders who
hammered out the proposed water settlement.
“We continue to be willing to talk about that,” Freeman
said, adding he was not surprised to hear questions Tuesday about
benefits and risks of dam removal.
Kate Marquez, an educational video producer, said the
roundtable was a chance to learn that PacifiCorp’s application to
re-license its hydroelectric project had been a catalyst for initial
settlement talks. However, she came away from the evening uncertain
about the off-Project irrigators’ concerns.
“There are differences of opinions on what the facts
are, and there are strong and hard feelings,” Marquez said.
She also wondered whether it’s possible to implement
some of the settlement proposals even if the full document isn’t
adopted. “You want to make it as good as possible for as many people
possible,” she said.
Joe Spendolini, a member of Klamath County Chamber of
Commerce, said the discussions were valuable although he didn’t change
his opinions on any issues.
‘Enormous hurdles’
He said there are “two enormous hurdles ”to
implementing the settlement. Those are whether the dams will come out,
and whether Congress will allocate funding to pay for projects contained
in the settlement.
“ We’re talking about Congress giving nearly a billion
dollars to a small community,” Spendolini said.
Ullman, of the Klamath Tribes, could not be reached for
comment Wednesday by the Herald and News.
He said Tuesday the Tribes support the settlement
rather than continuing with status quo. Simmons said the Klamath Water
Users Association takes the same stance.
