Significant Feds Push For Largest Dam Demolition In History

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s unanimous vote on the Klamath River dams is the latest major regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone for a $500 million demolition proposal that has been championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. The project will free up hundreds of miles of the river, which flows from southern Oregon to Northern California. Native tribes that rely on the Klamath River and its salmon for their livelihoods have been the driving force behind damming in a wild and remote area that straddles the California and Oregon border. Barring any unforeseen complications, Oregon, California and the entity set up to oversee the project will accept the permit transfer and could begin removing the dam as early as this summer, proponents said. FILE – Excess water is poured over the top of a dam on the Lower Klamath River known as Copco 1 near Hornbrook, Calif., March 3, 2020. Plans for the largest dam demolition project in U.S. history to save endangered salmon could soon become a reality, with the first stages of construction starting in California as early as this summer. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meets on Thursday, November 17, 2022, and is expected to vote on whether to approve the surrender of PacificCorp’s hydropower license for four dams on the lower Klamath River in remote northern California. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File) Gillian Flaccus / AP “The Klamath salmon are coming home,” Yurok President Joseph James said after the vote. “Humans have won this victory, and with it we continue our sacred duty to the fish that have sustained our people since the beginning of time.” The dams generate less than 2 percent of PacifiCorp’s energy output — enough to power about 70,000 homes — when operating at full capacity, said Bob Gravely, a spokesman for the utility. But they often operate at much lower capacity because of low water in the river and other issues, and the deal that paved the way for Thursday’s vote was ultimately a business decision, he said. PacifiCorp would have to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in fish ladders, fish screens and other conservation upgrades under environmental regulations that did not apply when the aging dams were first built. But with the deal approved Thursday, the utility’s cost is capped at $200 million, with another $250 million from a water bond approved by voters in California. “We’re closing coal plants and building wind farms and it all has to add up in the end. It’s not one-to-one,” he said of the dam’s upcoming demolition. “You can make up for that power in the way you run the rest of your facilities, or by saving energy so your customers use less.” The approval of the order to surrender the permits to operate the dams is the foundation of the most ambitious salmon restoration plan in history, and the scope of the project — measured by the number of dams and the amount of river habitat that would be reopened to salmon — the making it the largest of its kind in the world, said Amy Souers Kober, a spokeswoman for American Rivers, which monitors dam removals and advocates for river restoration. More than 300 miles of salmon habitat in the Klamath River and its tributaries will benefit, he said. The decision is in line with a trend to remove old and outdated dams across the U.S. as they come up for permit renewals and face the same government-mandated upgrade costs as Klamath River dams would. FILE – The Iron Gate dam, power plant and spillway are seen on the lower Klamath River near Hornbrook, Calif., March 3, 2020. The world’s largest dam demolition and river restoration project could be almost a reality Thursday, Nov. 17 , in 2022, as US regulators vote on a plan to remove four aging hydroelectric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California river habitat for endangered salmon. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File) Gillian Flaccus / AP Across the U.S., 1,951 dams have been demolished since February, including 57 in 2021, American Rivers said. Most of these have declined over the past 25 years as facilities age and come up for relicensing. Commissioners on Thursday called the decision “significant” and “historic” and spoke of the importance of taking action during National Native American Heritage Month because of its importance to restoring salmon and revitalizing the river in heart of the culture of many tribes in the region. “Some people may ask in this era of great need for zero emissions, ‘Why are we removing the dams?’ First, we have to understand that this doesn’t happen every day … many of these projects were permitted several years ago when there wasn’t as much focus on environmental issues,” said FERC Chairman Richard Glick. “Some of these projects have a significant impact on the environment and a significant impact on fish.” Glick added that, in the past, the commission has not considered the effects of energy projects on tribes, but said that was a “very important element” of Thursday’s decision. Members of the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa Valley tribes and other supporters lit a bonfire and watched the vote on a remote Klamath River sandbar via satellite uplink to symbolize their hopes for the river’s renewal. “I understand that some of these tribes are attending this meeting today at the (river) bar, and I raise a toast to you,” Commissioner Willie Phillips said. FILE – Jamie Holt, chief fisheries technician for the Yurok Tribe, right, and Gilbert Myers count dead chinook salmon retrieved from a trap in the lower Klamath River on June 8, 2021, in Weitchpec, California. The world’s largest dam demolition and river restoration project could be close to reality Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, as U.S. regulators vote on a plan to remove four aging hydroelectric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California river habitat to endangered salmon. Several tribes in the area, including the Yurok, have been fighting for years to see the dams come down to help their struggling salmon populations recover. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File) Nathan Howard / AP The vote comes at a critical time as human-caused climate change hits the western United States with prolonged drought, said Tom Kiernan, president of American Rivers. He said allowing California’s second-largest river to flow naturally and its floodplains and wetlands to function normally would mitigate those impacts. “The best way to manage increasing floods and droughts is to allow the river system to be healthy and do its part,” he said. The Klamath watershed covers more than 14,500 square miles, and the Klamath itself was once the third largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast. But the dams, built between 1918 and 1962, effectively cut the river in half and prevent salmon from reaching upstream spawning grounds. Consequently, salmon runs have been declining for years. The smaller dam, Copco 2, could fall as early as this summer. The remaining dams — one in southern Oregon and two in California — will be drained very slowly starting in early 2024 with the goal of returning the river to its natural state by the end of that year. Plans to remove the dams have not been without controversy. FILE – The Klamath River winds its way along Highway 96 on June 7, 2021, near Happy Camp, California. The world’s largest dam demolition and river restoration project could be a near reality Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, as U.S. regulators vote on a plan to remove four aging hydroelectric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of its river habitat. California on endangered salmon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s vote on the Klamath River dams is the latest major regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone facing a $500 million demolition proposal that Native American tribes and environmentalists have championed for years. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File) Nathan Howard / AP Homeowners on Copco Lake, a large reservoir, strongly oppose the demolition plan, and taxpayers in rural counties around the dams worry about taxpayers shouldering the cost of any overflows or liability issues. Critics also believe that removing the dam will not be enough to save the salmon because of the changing ocean conditions the fish face before returning to their native river. “The whole question is, will this add to increased salmon production? It’s about what’s happening in the ocean (and) we think it’s going to be a futile effort,” said Richard Marshall, head of the Siskiyou County Water Users Association. “No one has ever tried to deal with the problem by taking care of the status quo without just removing the dams.” US regulators raised flags about potential cost overruns and liability issues in 2020, nearly killing the proposal, but Oregon, California and PacifiCorp, which operates the hydroelectric dams and is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway , partnered to add another $50 million in emergency funds. Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said Thursday’s vote underscores the importance of fulfilling commitments to farmers and ranchers, tribes and others whose futures are tied to dam removal. They have introduced legislation to address the drought in the Klamath Basin and protect salmon with screens to prevent them from entering irrigation canals. “As dam removal moves forward, we will continue to push to ensure that every piece of the landmark agreements that paved the way for today are fully implemented,” the two Democrats said in a joint statement. PacifiCorp will continue to operate the dams until demolition begins. The biggest…