Water deal has some on the alert

“While I strongly support dam removal on the Klamath River, this water package is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” North Coast Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro said Tuesday. “We need to find a way to fund the dam removal without putting the Trinity and other rivers at risk.”

Chesbro voted against the comprehensive water legislation, calling it “shortsighted” and a “bad deal” for the Northern California. He’s particularly concerned about wording in the bills that he said would streamline the process of building a peripheral canal that would take water from the northern part of the state and move it south.

Diversions on the Trinity started in the 1960s as part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project, which consists of 22 reservoirs and is one of the largest water storage and transport systems in the world. And while the U.S. Department of Interior in 2000 ordered increased flows on the Trinity to help protect struggling fish species, such as salmon and steelhead, Chesbro said conditions in the water package could reverse that trend.

About $3 billion in the proposed bond is for water storage projects that would be selected and approved by a governor-appointed commission. Chesbro said this entity could move forward with plans that divert more water from the northern sources without legislative approval.

“The Trinity River is at the greatest risk because it has an existing system of dams and pipelines to ship water to the Sacramento River,” Chesbro said. “But over the long term all North Coast rivers are at risk.”

He added, “We need to be concerned about the salmon fisheries on the entire California water system and not just on one river.”

The Yurok Tribe is involved in restoration work on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers. It’s also one of the biggest backers of removing the four PacifiCorp dams on the the Klamath.

Yurok Tribe Policy Analyst Troy Fletcher said that while he’s pleased bond money will be set aside for dam removal, he noted that careful scrutiny will need to be given to the water deal in terms of how it might affect the Trinity.

“The priority for the Yurok Tribe is to make sure the money for dam removal is available,” Fletcher said, but he added, “The Yurok Tribe cannot support anything that would involve additional Trinity River water being shipped down south.”

He acknowledged no specific plans have been made for increasing water diversion from the Trinity River.

As part of the final agreement with PacifiCorp to remove the dams along the Klamath, California must pay for $250 million of the total $450 million projected cost of deconstruction. PacifiCorp ratepayers in Oregon and California will shoulder the remaining $200 million.

The California Natural Resources Agency, which was involved in dam removal negotiations, was the agency responsible for including the $250 million in the $11.1 billion water bond.

“It’s a comprehensive water package, and this is a purpose that is consistent with the broader goals of the package, ” Natural Resources Agency Deputy Secretary and General Counsel  Kirk Miller said. “As such, we felt it was very appropriate to be included.”

If voters don’t approve the water bond in November, he said there will still be some time to work on other ways for California to pay its share of the dam removal costs because the agreement allows until March 2012 to finalize a funding mechanism.

“There would be an opportunity between 2010 and 2012 for alternative funding,” Miller said, adding that “the parties can agree to other measures.”

Reach Nick Grube at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it the northern sources without legislative approval.

“The Trinity River is at the greatest risk because it has an existing system of dams and pipelines to ship water to the Sacramento River,” Chesbro said. “But over the long term all North Coast rivers are at risk.”

He added, “We need to be concerned about the salmon fisheries on the entire California water system and not just on one river.”

The Yurok Tribe is involved in restoration work on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers. It’s also one of the biggest backers of removing the four PacifiCorp dams on the the Klamath.

Yurok Tribe Policy Analyst Troy Fletcher said that while he’s pleased bond money will be set aside for dam removal, he noted that careful scrutiny will need to be given to the water deal in terms of how it might affect the Trinity.

“The priority for the Yurok Tribe is to make sure the money for dam removal is available,” Fletcher said, but he added, “The Yurok Tribe cannot support anything that would involve additional Trinity River water being shipped down south.”

He acknowledged no specific plans have been made for increasing water diversion from the Trinity River.

As part of the final agreement with PacifiCorp to remove the dams along the Klamath, California must pay for $250 million of the total $450 million projected cost of deconstruction. PacifiCorp ratepayers in Oregon and California will shoulder the remaining $200 million.

The California Natural Resources Agency, which was involved in dam removal negotiations, was the agency responsible for including the $250 million in the $11.1 billion water bond.

“It’s a comprehensive water package, and this is a purpose that is consistent with the broader goals of the package, ” Natural Resources Agency Deputy Secretary and General Counsel  Kirk Miller said. “As such, we felt it was very appropriate to be included.”

If voters don’t approve the water bond in November, he said there will still be some time to work on other ways for California to pay its share of the dam removal costs because the agreement allows until March 2012 to finalize a funding mechanism.

“There would be an opportunity between 2010 and 2012 for alternative funding,” Miller said, adding that “the parties can agree to other measures.”