<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>KLAMATH RIVER BASIN</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>Editorial: Who gets the cost and who gets the
benefit of Klamath dams? </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>Eureka Times-Standard -
6/25/04</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>It's no surprise that hundreds showed up to tell the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission that the dams on the Klamath are still hurting lower river
communities. The good thing is, they were able to make it, after the Northcoast
Environmental Center and others led a petitioned FERC to schedule a meeting in
the most affected part of the watershed, instead of just listening to a few
folks far inland.</P>
<P>FERC must now weigh what issues need to be analyzed by dam owner PacifiCorp,
out of Portland, Ore. There are a host of problems, and it will be no small task
to look into them.</P>
<P>But it seems incredible that the project would even be eligible for another
50-year license. It produces a marginal amount of electricity that the
California Energy Commission says will be dwarfed by power plants soon to come
on line in the region. PacifiCorp says the facility helps with peaking and flood
control, too.</P>
<P>The costs of the dams, though, are staggering, and they fall mostly on others
beside PacifiCorp. They block hundreds of miles of spawning grounds in a river
whose salmon runs are struggling. The reservoirs have profound effects on water
quality, generating algae blooms which later suck oxygen from the water that
goes downstream to fish. Candlefish, lampreys, and sturgeon barely manage to
hang on. Tribal, commercial and sport fishermen lose, as do the economies the
Klamath's once-heavy fish runs supported. </P>
<P>Perhaps more alarming is that while PacifiCorp profits on the electricity
generated by the dams, many American Indians on the Yurok reservation are still
without power. That arrangement is unconscionable. </P>
<P>Dam removal is complicated and expensive, but it needs to be an option. FERC
must demand that PacifiCorp consider it an option. PacifiCorp's parent company,
ScottishPower, touts its environmental record while proceeding to ignore perhaps
the most practical element of its license application: Dam decommissioning. </P>
<P>There is no doubt. The North Coast cannot afford to live under the shadow of
these dams for another 50 years without at least being able to weigh its
options. #</P>
<P></P>
<P> </P></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>