Klamath Basin Tribal Water Quality Work Group

Klamath Hydropower Project Relicensing

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has now issued its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) (9/25/06) on KHP relicensing and the public to is invited to comment on their approach to resolving water quality and fisheries problems associated with these dams (see How to Comment). The DEIS does not call for removal (decommissioning) of any of these dams and, while it recognizes the problems posed to water quality and fish health posed by Project operation, it does not offer remedies (see Main Points).

Tribes, conservation organizations, California and Oregon agencies and federal agencies have been conducting studies and filing comments that have increased our understanding significantly of the Klamath River's water quality and the role KHP reservoirs play in water pollution and fish disease. Examples of these studies and comments are provided on this website, by subject area, to make it easy for the public to be informed and make sure that FERC's ultimate decision on relicensing the KHP - or not- is based on sound science that will enable the restoration of the river's water quality and fish populations. Information on KHP relicensing is organized as follows:

Location: The location of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project has a great deal to do with problems that it causes for water quality and fish. Find out how the high nutrient load from Upper Klamath Lake and the Lost River creates a water quality problem that KHP reservoirs only make worse.

The Project: Each dam and reservoir within the KHP is described and depicted. Comments from agencies and participants in the relicensing process are highlighted so that issues such as fish passage, water quality and power generation can be reviewed quickly.

KHP Impacts on Water Quality: The Klamath River is officially listed as a polluted water body. Its water quality is driven by dozens of natural and man-made factors, including processes that happen in KHP reservoirs. Find out why the removal of KHP dams would help reduce Klamath River nutrient pollution significantly.

Fish Diseases: The Klamath River is world famous for salmon and steelhead fishing, but the river has become so unhealthy that sensitive species, like spring chinook, are at risk of extinction. Find out how KHP operation is linked to fish disease epidemics that are contributing to the salmon population crash. The shortage of Klamath salmon lead to major reductions and closures of 2006 commercial and sport salmon fisheries along the entire West Coast, resulting in a loss of an estimated $150 million to the region's economy.

How to Comment: The public can have substantial influence on whether dams that block the Klamath River are removed in time to save the salmon and to maintain the ability of Tribes to fish. The current opportunity for public input is to comment on the FERC DEIS, which was released on September 25, 2006 and comments are due on December 1, 2006. See Main Points page.

A Note on Social Justice

The Tribes of the Klamath River Basin were promised hunting and fishing rights in perpetuity as part of the treaties they signed, but scarcity of salmon is a major indicator that the Tribe's rights are not being honored. Recent studies have shown that lack of salmon for subsistence has negative impacts on Indian health (see New Documents for link). Although FERC stresses the importance of maintaining the minuscule power produced by the KHP, many down-river Klamath River Tribal members live in areas not served by any power grid.

If FERC should allow continued operation of the KHP with its attendant pollution and adverse effects on fish, it would be a grave injustice to the Tribes. Another 50 years of KHP operation threatens to end Native salmon-based traditions that are more than 10,000 years old!

Please provide comments to FERC!