Klamath Tribes Sue Portland, Ore.-Based Utility PacifiCorp for Salmon Loss
By Michelle Cole, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore. -- May 15
The Klamath Tribes filed a lawsuit against PacifiCorp, citing the loss of salmon in the upper Klamath Basin created by the Portland-based utility's hydroelectric operations.
Court documents filed in U.S. District Court this week assert: "The
Tribes' traditional reliance upon salmon for subsistence and trade is
undisputed; and the existence of dams blocking salmon passage beginning in 1911
is undisputed."
On Friday, Klamath Tribes Chairman Allen Foreman declined to comment further
about the complaint, which also lists seven individuals and the Klamath Claims
Committee as plaintiffs.
Jon Coney, a PacifiCorp spokesman, also declined to comment. PacifiCorp's
lawyers are reviewing the complaint, he said.
PacifiCorp operates a 151-megawatt hydroelectric project on the Klamath River
that includes five dams and generates enough power to serve about 77,500 homes.
The utility's license to operate the Klamath projects expires in 2006, and
PacifiCorp has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for renewal.
Coney said the Klamath River project is important to PacifiCorp because it
allows flexibility to adjust water flows to meet peak summer energy demands.
Conservationists and others argue the utility should not receive new licenses
for an outdated hydropower operation built between 1908 and 1962.
Migrating salmon stopped coming up the Klamath River following completion of
the Iron Gate Dam, located in Siskiyou County, Calif. The dam is not equipped to
allow for fish passage.
A 2003 report by the National Research Council recommended evaluating the
removal of the Iron Gate Dam to aid salmon recovery.
Glenn Spain, an Oregon-based representative of the Pacific Coast Federation
of Fishermen's Associations, said the National Research Council Report made it
clear "that Iron Gate Dam be considered for decommissioning because of the
water quality problems it creates."
"At this point," Spain said, "it's doubtful whether PacifiCorp
could ever meet modern water quality standards with the dam at that
location."
--Joe Rojas-Burke contributed to this report.
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