- A Day of Action Against PacifiCorp
- Send a quick note for dam removal
- Send a letter to stop harmful mining
- Write a letter to the editor
- Contact the Oregon PUC
- Support CALIFORNIA FISHERMEN
- State Hearings begin on dams' water quality - CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
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State Hearings begin on dams' water quality - CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE - Find out why...
Will California give PacifiCorp's dams a green light?
For the last four years the Klamath dams’ reservoirs have created one of the worst toxic algae problems ever recorded. While downriver communities are continually exposed and warned to stay out of the river, no action has been taken by the state of California to regulate the problem. PacifiCorp has argued states do not have the authority to enforce the Clean Water Act on federal projects, and has fought impacted communities in court while suppressing their own water quality monitoring results.
After successul legal action from Klamath Riverkeeper forcing California to enforce clean water law and regulate PacifiCorp, the state is finally beginning its Clean Water Act certification process (called a 401 permit) on the dams this summer. The 401 permit may be the single most crucial process within the movement to un-dam the Klamath. If California denies PacifiCorp’s clean water permit for the dams, it is likely that the only realistic solution to the algae pollution is dam removal.
TAKE ACTION!
If you could do one thing to un-dam the Klamath, this is it! We are depending on the Klamath-loving public to stand up for clean water on our river, and say no to dams that threaten it. In the next six months there will be multiple public hearings, rallies and comment periods on the decision to issue PacifiCorp a 401 permit. We absolutely need you to attend whatever hearings are in your area and to submit comments on this issue.
July 22nd - Sacramento 3 pm in the Sierra room at EPA offices, 1001 I street
Call Klamath Riverkeeper for info on carpools leaving from the Klamath, southern Oregon and the North Coast
July 31 - Klamath at the Yurok offices 11-1 pm
July 31- Orleans at the Karuk DNR, 6 to 8 pm
August 1 - Yreka at the Yreka Grange 11-1 pm
For rides from Northern California to Sacramento call Georgianna Myers, Klamath Riverkeeper Empowerment Project Coordinator at 707 599-0877 or call Molli White from the Karuk Tribe at 530 627-3346 ext. 6. Or email sregonlady at gmail.com.
For rides from Oregon call Malena Marvin 541-821-7260.
Contact Jennifer Watts at the State Water Board at jwatts at waterboards.ca.gov or (916) 341-5397 for background information on the 401certification process.
Facts to consider:
- Water samples from PacifiCorp's reservoirs have contained levels of the toxic algae Microcystis aeruginosa 4000 times the concentration considered by the World Health Organization to be a moderate risk to human health.
- The toxin produced by M. aeruginosa is now listed by the US EPA as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act in the sections of the Klamath River containing PacifiCorp's reservoirs.
- Reservoir gamefish bioaccumulate these algae-associated toxins in their flesh. Yellow Perch fillets harvested from areas where the algae blooms are hazardous to human consumption.
- Last year, 190 river miles were posted with health warnings when the toxic algae blooms were released from PacifICorp's reservoirs into the river.
- PacifiCorp has known about its algae problems for 5+ years but has not taken serious action to solve the problem.
- Toxic algae in PacifiCorp's reservoirs is best addressed by Klamath dam removal, a solution supported by all four Klamath River Tribes, prominent fisheries and hydrology scientists, state and federal agencies, and Upper Basin irrigator's associations, NOT chemical algicide, as PacifiCorp is currently testing.
- The Klamath dams should not be issued a 401 clean water permit, they should be decommissioned. Dam removal is the solution consistent with basinwide stakeholder consensus and scientific analysis.
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Recreational Suction Dredge Mining Threatens Klamath Salmon
Urge Gov. Schwarzenegger to agree to a moratorium on mining
With the price of gold sky high, recreational mining clubs are gearing up for a big season on the Klamath. Suction dredge mining's impacts to the river include destroying critical habitat used by salmon and lamprey species, releasing large volumes of mud and sediment into the water, and potentially turning loose toxic mercury tailings buried in the riverbed.
Your help is needed to urge the Governor to side with the California legislature, and agree to a moratorium on suction dredge mining attached to the state's 2008-9 budget. The temporary moratorium would halt recreational suction dredgers on the Klamath until Cal Fish and Game can issue proper regulations. Copy and send the letter below, or write your own.
Sample Letter
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number )
Email contact form
Dear Governor Schwartzenegger:
Recreational gold-mining poses a serious threat to Klamath River salmon, whose dramatic declines have already hurt California's commercial fishing industry and Klamath Basin Native Tribes. I strongly urge you to agree to the temporary moratorium on this harmful practice that the state legislature has attached to the 2008-9 budget.
While the commercial fishing crisis was triggered this year by the Sacramento River, a similar crisis was triggered last year by the Klamath, whose salmon runs currently average 1/10 of their historic numbers. Klamath coho (Southern Oregon/Northern California coho salmon Evolutionarily Significant Unit) are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, and dramatic recovery efforts must be made to avoid future ESA listing of other salmonid species.
Suction dredge mining destroys spawning habitat used by Klamath salmon species and Pacific Lamprey. Lamprey young mature in the riverbed for up to 7 years, and are an important subsistence food for Native people. Suction dredge mining can also release buried mercury tailings as it puts long-buried river sediment into the water column.
Gold mining clubs claim that up to 2,500 miners will be affected by a moratorium on Klamath gold-mining. However, 2.2 million California anglers are impacted by diminishing fish populations, and California's three largest Native Tribes rely on Klamath salmon culturally, economically, and nutritionally. Studies show every sport-hooked Chinook brings $200 to the Klamath basin economy.
The Klamath truly cannot afford a flood of recreational miners, many of whom are from out-of-state, further damaging its already compromised fishery. Please act with the legislature to impose a moratorium on recreational suction dredge mining on the Klamath River.
Sincerely,
Your Name
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Tell the Oregon Public Utilities Commission - Un-Dam the Klamath for Ratepayer Savings!
Contact the Oregon PUC with talking points from the sample letter below:
Public Utility Commission of Oregon
550 Capitol St NE #215
PO Box 2148
Salem OR 97308-2148
1-800-522-2404
puc.commission@state.or.us
Sample letter:
"Relicensing Pacific Power's Klamath Hydroelectric project could cost ratepayers a lot of money. Both the California Energy Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission compared the cost of a relicensed project to the cost of removing the dams and replacing the power. they found that removing the dams and buying replacement power would save ratepayers $100 million dollars!
Please take a stand for ratepayers! We have a chance to save money and restore one of America's most important salmon rivers.
If PacifiCorp insists on spending the $400-$500 million to bring these antiquated dams into compliance with modern environmental standards, ratepayers should NOT have to pay for it since there is a cheaper and more responsible alternative - dam removal."
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Send a quick note to your representatives supporting Klamath dam removal
Last week Siskiyou and Klamath County Supervisors travelled to Washington DC to protest dam removal on the Klamath River. It's up to us to remind our elected officials that dam removal is supported by the best possible science and economics, and that these county officials told a biased and sensationalist story unsupported by the facts. Contact information and a sample letter/email are below, please call, or send a fax, letter, or email today. More talking points on Klamath dams.
Sample Letter
Dear [Your Senators and Representative] :
I'm writing to voice my strong support for the removal of 4 dams on the Klamath River, currently owned and operated by PacifiCorp. Removing these dams is the best possible way to recover Klamath salmon, and may be the only way to solve the Klamath's toxic algae problem.
The Klamath was once the third most productive salmon river on the West Coast, and now has only 10% of its historic runs, largely due to lack of fish passage to over 300 miles of habitat in the Upper Basin. The dams are also responsible for dangerous outbreaks of toxic algae in the Klamath River that threaten the health of recreationalists, Tribal people, and the region's rural, tourist-based economy. The Executive Director of the California Water Board recently told the press that dam removal may be the only effective way of dealing with the algae, which is listed as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act. It is also estimated that 1/8 of the carbon displaced by the dams is replaced by increasing levels of methane emmissions as algae decomposes in the reservoirs' stagnant waters.
State and federal economic analyses show that removing the dams and buying replacement power will be far cheaper for PacifiCorp - and its customers - than building fish ladders. When you factor in hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts for the commercial salmon fishing industry when the Klamath shuts down ocean fishing, we see the true costs of the Klamath dams. Clearly, the Klamath dams are not clean, green, or cheap!
Dam removal is supported by Tribes, irrigators, scientists, communities, and conservation groups because it is a systemic solution that begins to restore one of the West's most important rivers. Please do everything you can to ensure that all four of these dams are removed - Klamath communities, Tribal people, and commercial fishermen are depending on it.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Contact Info for Oregon and California Senators and Representatives:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
Email Senator Feinstein
Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3553
(202) 224-0454 fax
Email Senator Boxer
Senator Ron Wyden
Washington, DC
223 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-3703
Phone: (202) 224-5244
Fax: (202) 228-2717
Email Senator Wyden
Senator Gordon Smith
404 Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202.224.3753
Fax: 202.228.3997
Email Senator Smith
Ca. Rep. Wally Herger
2268 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3076
Email Rep. Herger
Ca. Rep. John Doolittle
2410 Rayburn HOB
Washington D.C. 20515
202-225-2511 (Phone)
202-225-5444 (Fax)
Email Rep. Doolittle
Or. Rep. Greg Walden
1210 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Main: 202-225-6730
Fax: 202-225-5774
Email Rep. Walden
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Write a letter to the editor
Setting the record straight on the opinion pages of our local and regional papers is a great way to tell the Klamath story. Check out the information below and then craft your own letter. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can point you toward useful studies or resources. Thanks for your hard work in support of removing Klamath dams - it will pay off!
Talking points on Klamath dams
Contact info for regional newspapers
Studies and info on Klamath dam removal
Frequently Asked Questions on Klamath dams
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Support CALIFORNIA FISHERMEN
Sign California Fishermens' petition for Klamath dam removal
10 actions you can take to save the salmon fishery!