County eyes dam removal

After being left out of Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement negotiations for the past several years, Del Norte County is now poised to join in the discussion that could one day lead to the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

On Tuesday, Yurok Tribe Policy Analyst Troy Fletcher implored members of the Board of Supervisors to take a stance on dam removal and include the county in discussions on the topic given developments over the past several months that indicate a resolution to move forward is on the horizon.

“We need Del Norte County not just to support the agreement,” Fletcher said. “Del Norte needs to be part of the governance that is part of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.”

The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement is an arrangement between various stakeholders up and down the river, including tribes, fishermen and farmers, that is meant to rebuild fisheries and sustain agricultural communities that rely on the river’s water.

It is a key component of a final Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which is the mechanism that will actually remove the four PacifiCorp-operated dams by 2020 if it is deemed feasible. Completion of a draft of this agreement was announced  by the U.S. Department of the Interior on Sept. 30, and once finalized it is supposed to work concurrently with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.

“The county has an interest” in what happens on the Klamath, Fletcher said. “Nobody can keep the county out of the negotiations.”

According to Fletcher and county attorney Dohn Henion, Del Norte tried to enter into Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement negotiations, but was, in essence, vetoed out of the process by Siskiyou County, which — along with Humboldt and Klamath County, Ore. — was already involved.

The board seemed supportive of partaking in dam removal discussions, and Supervisor David Finigan, whose district includes Klamath, even suggested holding workshops with officials from the Yurok Tribe.

“I think it’s time to get back in the governance and implementation,” he said, later adding that the downriver portion of the Klamath is just as important as the headwaters. “Some of us in Del Norte would like to think the river starts at the mouth.”

A few of the issues supervisors were hoping would be addressed included how to finance California’s $250 million portion of dam removal costs should an $11.1 billion water bond fail, how to mitigate impacts on the Klamath’s main tributary, the Trinity River, and ways to ensure the sediment from behind the structures doesn’t impact the Crescent City Harbor when they are removed.

“We’re the outlet of the river,” Chairman Gerry Hemmingsen said. “We have a responsibility to our constituents to protect that part of the county.”

No dates have been set for any sort of meeting between the county and Yurok Tribe officials. But Fletcher said after the meeting he was pleased with the Board of Supervisors’ commitment to work with the tribe.

“We look forward to working with Del Norte County,” he said. “They’re going to be strong partners.”