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Dam Removal Issue

Dr. Paul Houser blows the whistle on the Dept. of the Interior's science in the case of the Klamath dams
February 21, 2012 article on Hetch Hetchy - enviromentalists in a bind over their OWN water for a change!!

SCWUA - Siskiyou County Water Users Association

The SCWUA request that Congress introduce legislation as soon as possible along the following lines to block the Secretary of the Interior from making a determination that the Klamath River HYDRO-ELECTRIC (creates CLEAN electricity) Dam Removals related to the KBRA and KHRA is in the Public interest and will promote anadromous fish rehabilitation.

The people of Siskiyou County, State of California, hereby request the U.S. Congress to pass legislation blocking the Secretary of the Interior from making any determination for the removal of hydro-electric dams on the Klamath River for the following reasons:

CA planning and zoning laws commencing with government code 65,000 authorizes authority to the local governing body for land uses within their jurisdiction and for any proposed changes in private land use, NOT the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Agencies under the Secretary's authority are only considering two alternatives (Dams IN or Dams OUT). They have neglected to consider "truck and haul", "fish ladders" and the Shasta Nation "unassisted tunnel fish passageway". Each of these provides a viable and far superior alternative to hydo-electric dam removal. All viable alternatives must be thoroughly analyzed and discussed under Federal EPA and CEQA requirements.
Agencies under the secretary's authority have endorsed breaching these hydro-electric dams and NOT removing the remaining dam embankment. In excess of 20 MILLION cubic yards of contaminated sediments contained within the reservoirs will be allowed to naturally erode down the river. This is a flagrant violation of both State and Federal Water Quality Regulations.
Resolution No. 10-185 approved by Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors on August 6, 2010 gave Siskiyou County Voters the opportunity to express their opinion as to whether Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2 dams and hydro-electric facilities be removed. The voters of Siskiyou County overwhelmingly voted 79% to retain these dams and hydro-electric facilities. Agencies under the Secretary's authority have since contracted with an NGO (non governmental organization) firm to conduct a survey to offset the outcome of this election results.

The FACTS About Dam Removal and River Conditions

FACTS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW~!! http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/tribes/letters/CohoResearchwaddell102909.doc
A very special thanks for the above document to Jim Waddell, a Karuk Tribal Member and past 50 year Klamath River resident.

FACT - The California Department of Fish and Game, in their July 2004 Scientific Report on the August-September 2002 Klamath River Fish Kill, implied that the Klamath River Dams are the most desired mitigated criteria to protect the annual salmon and steelhead migration habitat for safe river passage to lay eggs sustaining future generations of fish sustenance takes.

FACT - Dam removal will expose Shasta People's, Burial, Spiritual and Ceremonial grounds and villages which are currently protected by reservoirs behind the dams that are earmarked for removal. By exposing said sacred sites, the KBRA/KHSA agreements will lay waste to Shasta Human remains to be lost or horrifically put on display.

FACT - Ingestion of Klamath Lake's Blue-Green Algae pills since the early 1990's has not killed anyone yet. In Puritan's Pride fall 2009 vitamin catalog on page 86 they advertise, "Klamath Lake Blue Green Algae 500mg capsules."

FACT - In August 1855 at a campsite near the confluence of the Klamath River and KlamathLake, Lt. Henry L. Abbott, Corps of Topographical Engineers made an entry into his expedition journal, "the water taken from the lake had a dark color and disagreeable taste, occasioned apparently by decayed tule."

FACT - On August 16, 1855, Lt. Abbott wrote, "the taste of the water was so disagreeable that several vain attempts were made to discover a spring in the vicinity."

FACT - Hydro-electric energy is 10 times cheaper than wind energy, and 20 times cheaper than solar.

FACT - Hydro-electric energy adjusts output almost instantly to compensate for peak demands. Wind and solar can not.

FACT - Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement transfers fishing rights from the Shasta People to neighboring Tribes without due process or cooperation and coordination with the Shasta People.

FACT - The U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy and Interior, and their agents, have neglected to cooperate and coordinate with the Shasta People during the planning of this proposed Klamath River dam removal and ancillary activities.