December 18, 2018
Liz Writes Life
Apparently, Klamath River Renewal Corp. didn’t like my
comments in my column, last week. In my old age, I have found I really don’t
like debating issues. But, KRRC spokesman, Matt Cox, is just repeating the
propaganda we have been hearing for years -- and ignoring the real issues. So,
I must respond, because Klamath dam removal is not a done deal!
First, I will remind readers and KRRC that the residents in
Siskiyou County are not stupid country bumpkins. Back on Nov. 2, 2010, there
was ballot Measure G sponsored by the Siskiyou Co. Water Users Assoc. It asked
the voters if they believed removal of four Klamath River hydro-electric dams
was a good thing and 79 percent voted against dam removal.
Second, KRRC needs to show-us-the-money. KRRC has received
$25 million to do its propaganda. KRRC claims to have $398 million for dam
removal. If it does, where did it come from and into what account is it stored?
From newest discussions, it looks like KRRC’s estimated total cost of dam removal
is millions short of the real cost. Does it have extra funds for this
possibility? Where are they?
Third, show us the insurance policies and monies that will be
readily available for liability. Are they now in place? In Cox’s rebuttal to
me, he said they will “soon” have the “guaranteed maximum price contract with a
selected design build firm.”
This is my point: At
this moment, KRRC does not have the funds needed for dam destruction or the
must-have liability insurance. Again, Klamath dam removal is not a done deal.
Do not believe the propaganda.
Fourth: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is now the
sole decision-maker regarding KRRC’s proposed purchase of the regulatory energy
licenses from PacifiCorp that would enable KRRC to remove the four Klamath
hydro-electric dams.
FERC has not made that decision. Dam removal is not a done deal!
FERC is raising significant issues brought forth by Siskiyou
County and interveners, who submitted detailed documents and letters. And, from
what I have been able to ascertain, KRRC has yet to provide detailed answers to
these issues.
As I said in last week’s column: “A FERC engineer is actively
challenging KRRC on its basic information and assumptions.” So, again, Klamath
dam removal is not a done deal.
Fifth: What are interveners? These groups or individuals have
joined a plaintiff in litigation. Loy Beardsmore is a resident with a home in
the Copco area, where the proposed removal of dams will occur. She has done the
legal work to become an intervener. Loy has raised significant questions and
even went to Washington D.C., last month, to press her concerns with government
agencies. I talked with Loy and asked why she is so adamant against removal of
the dams. Here are her responses to my questions.
“I felt an enormous responsibility to represent the people
that live around Copco. I wanted to give the White House and the DOI
(Department of Interior) a personal connection to the effects that this entire
process is having on the residents around Copco, Irongate and Siskiyou County,”
Loy said.
Through our two Siskiyou County Supervisors’, Chairman Ray
Haupt and Lisa Nixon, trip to Washington D.C. in early November, Loy was able
to meet with an Associate Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
and a Special Assistant of Intergovernmental and External Affairs. Yep, these
are fairly important people in President Trump’s White House administration
that deal directly with agencies like the Dept. of Interior.
Loy gave, both verbally and with her documents, her rebuttal
to KRRC’s Definite Plan for Klamath dams removal. She provided photos that show
the instability of slopes and the dry landscape. Loy explained how property
values truly have plummeted in the area, including her own house. There is the
real possibility of home owners losing the water in their wells, when the
reservoirs behind the dams are gone. KRRC is trying to do studies on this
possibility, but Loy said KRRC has yet to address how KRRC will realistically
fix this problem. She said KRRC has suggested hauling water to above-ground
storage tanks. For how long? And who will pay the cost of the additional electricity
to pump and haul this water?
The Paradise Camp Fire was fresh in everyone’s minds, when
Loy was in WA D.C. She asked about fire mitigation and questioned KRRC’s fire
management plan of using dry fire hydrants, pipes to the river and a pumper
truck to suck up water to fight potential fires. This may look good on paper,
but is not realistic. The reservoirs, behind the dams, are needed for aerial firefighting
and pumping of water.
Actually, that is Loy’s biggest concern – what is realistic? What really will happen, when the four dams
are destroyed? Loy and Siskiyou County and the Siskiyou Co. Water Users Assoc.
have responded to KRRC’s Definite Plan and allege there are vast amounts of incorrect
information and assumptions.
Loy said numerous aspects of KRRC’s Definite Plan utilized
old data from 2010-2011, which refers to the defunct Klamath Basin Restoration
Plan. The fact that KRRC has not updated its facts, science, financial data and
liability costs is appalling. Propaganda, rhetoric and pie-in-the sky dreams
are not answers. They are not facts. They are not realistic!
What is credible is that White House officials and FERC are
now listening to Loy, other interveners and to Siskiyou County. Loy and our
county have received additional phone calls and communications from the White
House and DOI higher-ups. If you have realistic concerns about environmental,
financial, fire management and other data Klamath dam removal, Loy encourages
you to write FERC.
Here is the address: David E. Capka, P.E. Office of Energy
Projects Director, Division of Dam Safety and Inspections (D2SI) Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E., Routing Code: PJ-13 Washington,
D.C. 20426
Oh, and I hope you have a very nice Christmas!
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and
farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County
and lives near Callahan. Call her at 530-467-3515. Check out her blog at:
LizWritesLife.blogspot.com.
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