Water quality suffers as Congress dithers

Oregon Wild and Friends of the River point to the need for urgent action to help improve Klamath River water quality and the dangers of waiting for Congress to act.

The Klamath River will soon flow with warm water and toxic green algae, as it does every summer. Klamath River dam operator PacifiCorp has continually violated water-quality standards on the river, while reaping profits from its antiquated hydropower dams that block over 300 miles of native salmon habitat. Every year noxious agricultural runoff collects behind these dams and results in algae blooms that can exceed World Health Organization safety standards by a factor of 3,000.

Meanwhile, fishing seasons have been closed as dwindling populations of salmon continue to suffer in the toxic water running downstream. So why won't state water quality regulators in Oregon and California do anything about it?

Ironically, the fine print in a deal sold as "the path to dam removal" is preventing the Klamath from running clear and free.

The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) was born when PacifiCorp — faced with the reality of its aging dams and slim hopes of receiving necessary Clean Water Act approvals permits — helped craft a deal to send the dams and their problems to Congress for resolution. In order for the KHSA to work, it needs congressional approval to change laws and move the process forward. Moreover, it's linked to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), a controversial partner deal with a $1 billion price tag. In a gridlocked Congress with some representatives hostile toward the deals and to dam removal in general, the prospects for passing the KBRA and KHSA are slim.

As signatories to the KHSA, Oregon and California have deferred their responsibility on water quality in the Klamath, waiting for someone else to fix the problem. They wait — and will continue to wait. The KHSA has put the future of clean water for the Klamath in limbo. Buried deep within the KHSA is a provision that allows PacifiCorp to withdraw from the deal should the states move forward with their independent process to protect and restore water quality. This provision forces the states' water-quality regulators to either turn a blind eye towards the Klamath, along with the fish, wildlife and human communities that depend on its clean water, or risk being labeled opponents of dam removal.

Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality has silently avoided the issue (as a signatory to the KHSA, it is "encouraged" to back off on enforcing water quality), while California's State Water Resources Control Board had provided the settlement parties with the opportunity to prove the KHSA can deliver on its promises. Although some supporters have suggested that federal legislation will be introduced soon, the process has stalled under tight budgets, conservation opposition, and political objection. More directly, the KHSA continues to miss important deadlines, notably those set forth by California's Water Board.

Not only has the KHSA failed to deliver the promised congressional legislation, but the deal still requires California to promise an extra $250 million in funding. As California faces a record budget deficit, it is inconceivable to assume this money will come from the state's empty coffers, further affecting education and public safety, or from taxpayers themselves to clean up PacifiCorp's legacy. Dam removal is essential to restore the Klamath, as is clean water. Unfortunately, a "sure path for dam removal" does not exist under the KHSA, and with continued deferral from the states, prospects for improvement in the river's water quality are even dimmer. If the settlement parties are committed to a restored Klamath River, why are they waiting for Congress to do what the states can do now?

The Klamath River cannot wait to see if the politics improve, and clean water must not be caught in never-ending political delay. In the absence of any feasible alternative, we must return to the existing water-quality framework. The Clean Water Act certification process is the only opportunity currently available to fix water quality, restore salmon runs for commercial fishing, and return a healthy river to all who use it.