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Berkshire Hathaway: Open the River, Close the Deal!
Klamath Riverkeeper, Karuk Tribe, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
Press Release - 5/1/09
For the last two years Klamath tribal members, fishermen, and river advocates have traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to educate shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway about the urgent need to remove its subsidiary PacifiCorp’s dams on the Klamath River. This year, we're as organized and determined as ever to get Klamath River people b
ack to Omaha to call on PacifiCorp to close the dam removal deal and open our river.
While we are cautiously optimistic regarding PacifiCorp’s ongoing negotiations with local communities on a dam removal plan, we want the corporation to know we are anxious to see a final binding agreement that removes dams and protects our water quality.
To this end, we’ll be holding a film night in collaboration with Progressive Omaha to help inform members of the public on Klamath River issues, we’ll hold a press conference for national and international media, and we’ll educate shareholders on the progress to date to remove PacifiCorp’s Klamath River dams.
Please support us in telling dam-owner PacifiCorp’s parent company Berkshire Hathaway to Close the Deal and Open our River!
In addition to co-sponsoring the Omaha trip, Klamath Riverkeeper is circulating an open letter to negotiating parties reiterating that a final dam removal agreement must:
- Comply with the mainstem Klamath TMDL and preserve the integrity and enforceability of all water laws and regulations.
- Preserve and respect the roles and authorities of water quality regulators.
- Limit immunity to the act of dam removal.
- Commit to locate funding for dam removal independent of a bond that would build a peripheral canal or any new dams.
- Eliminate or drastically improve the secretarial finding clauses that give the federal government veto power over dam removal in 2012.
- Increase certainty of dam removal by eliminating rights of withdrawal or qualifying them with written consequences for exercising those rights.
As soon as our crew comes home, we'll start working on the California Governor's office, California legislature and Obama administration to get stronger commitments to dam removal from each of them. We'll also continue building a coalition against trading Klamath dam removal funding for environmentally damaging projects in other watersheds.
More on the Agreement in Principle to remove Klamath dams
More on Klamath dams and Berkshire Hathaway