Jan. 29, 2019
Liz Writes Life
Ok, I will get right to it. Tim Moran, the public
information officer for the State Water Resources Control Board, sent a letter
to Siskiyou Daily News Editor, Skye Kincade, asking for corrections regarding
my “Liz Writes Life” column published in the Jan. 22, 2019 edition of the SDN.
Skye sent the letter to me and I agree that I got a few things wrong.
Here are my corrections.
I did indeed claim that the recently released draft
Environmental Impact Report regarding the potential removal of the four Klamath
hydro-electric dams was written by the North Coast Regional Water Quality
Control Board. That is wrong. It is that regional board’s umbrella agency, who
wrote the draft EIR. That agency’s name is State Water Resources Control Board.
There are nine regional water quality control boards (with
staff), in California, which according to the State Water Resources Control
Board’s website brochure says -- are “working together to protect California’s
water resources.” So, in simple terms, these are different size apples in the
same bin. But, I did give credit to the wrong agency. I apologize. I usually do
question the differences in the water agencies and try to get it right.
When reading the next long paragraph in Tim Moran’s letter,
it seems he disagreed with several words that I used. Those are “announced” and
“support.” I agree that I did not wordsmith well. The draft EIR was not
announced – it was released. Also the SWRCB is supposed to show the benefits
and adverse effects of a project through an EIR and should not be biased. He
does not believe his agency shows “continued support” for dam removal.
Here is where I stop with my corrections. In reading much of
the 68-page Executive Summary of the Lower Klamath Project – draft
Environmental Impact Report, I claim most of the “Effects Found to be
Beneficial” on page ES-9 to be incorrect – to the point of being biased.
These are the issues that have been argued for more than two
decades. These are the issues that I feel are perpetually incorrect and create
a fraudulent examination, when writing an environmental impact document.
These issues are regarding “Water Quality” and “Aquatic
Resources.” I believe science shows the water temperatures will not be improved
if the dams are removed; nor will the oxygen concentrations or the pH
fluctuations; nor will there be a reduction of chlorophyll-a and algai toxins
in the Hydroelectric Reach as stated in the Executive Summary of the draft EIR.
And, the result will not be an increase in salmon populations.
This is my opinion from two decades of attending meetings,
speaking and listening to experts, including Siskiyou County natural resource
specialists, the grassroots group Siskiyou Co. Water Users Assoc., agricultural
groups, and Dr. Paul Houser, who blew the whistle on the U.S. Dept. of Interior
for using contaminated and manipulated stats regarding potential Klamath dams
removal back in 2012. Dr. Houser was working for the DOI, when he noticed
incorrect data was being used to make important decisions. Dr. Houser spoke in
Yreka, at the fairgrounds, exposing the bias and bad science at the highest
levels of government agencies. For once, those who work to save the dams and
defend local water issues felt absolved from bureaucratic ridicule – if only
for a little while.
I also disagree with Tim Moran on the issue of water quality
certification. Yes, it is a required step in the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission process, but FERC has not yet released its decision, which according
to my knowledge, is when the water quality certification aspect kicks-in – not
before the decision.
To me, it looks like SWRCB was helping the process along by
preparing a draft environmental review document “and issue appropriate
conditions to address water quality issues that may result from the proposed
project.” That was Mr. Moran’s statement.
Yes, Klamath River Renewal Corp. has released its “definite”
plan for Klamath dams removal. But, FERC has not made a final decision on the
Lower Klamath Project and FERC is the agency with authority -- not the
non-profit KRRC.
I could go on with specific reasons -- like the amount of and
destruction by the huge amounts of sediment behind the dams will create – but I
have written about that many times.
I will admit when I am wrong and did.
Yet, I do have the right to an opinion; and it is full of 25
years of watching Siskiyou County and its people being belittled by government
agencies that have been caught not following their own regulations or using
incorrect data or are not willing to accept reality. Many computerized models
that have been utilized regarding a variety of water issues, here in Siskiyou
County, are simply not correct. And this goes back to the meetings for the TMDLs
(Total Maximum Daily Loads of sediment the state will allow in our local water
ways) in the late 1990s. The agency that
held the TMDL meetings is the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.
I do remember that agency’s name correctly.
Readers: My opinion may not be your opinion. Please, I beg
you to at least read the 68-page Executive Summary of the SWRCB’s draft Lower
Klamath Project – Environmental Impact Report. Evaluate it yourself. Just
Google “Lower Klamath Project – Environmental Impact Report” and make sure the
website that comes up shows the “California Water Board” logo in the top left
corner. The entire 1,800-page report will be brought up. Look on the index for
Executive Summary and click on it.
This is a good time to be discussing this issue, as the
SWRCB is holding a public comment meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 from 5 to
8 p.m. at the Miner’s Inn Convention Center in Yreka regarding its draft
Environmental Impact Report. The comment period runs until Feb. 26, 2019, according
to Tim Moran’s letter. Read the Executive Summary of the draft EIR first. Make
your comments specific, even if you are not a scientist. Many people who are in
favor of removing the dams are not scientists -- either. We have a right to our
voice – to voice opinions, and to cite specific facts and tout reality.
Those that will have to deal with the loss of the reservoirs
behind the three dams in Siskiyou County have a right to relate facts from
other dams, where homes and property have lost value or been damaged when dams
have been removed. This is not antidotal information or supposition or
hypothesis. The (new) information from Oregon and Washington states’ destruction
of dams is now factual and has not created the benefits that were once touted. Yes,
the reality is an after-the-fact big environmental mess!
To read my Jan. 22, 2019 “Liz Writes Life”, Tim Moran’s
letter and other information regarding the draft EIR, go to my blog at:
LizWritesLife.blogspot.com.
Oh, I did get the steer manure on the rhubarb. Yay!
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.
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