The timeline for two
Klamath River agreements continues to flow, with the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) releasing a
number of documents Monday related to utility
PacifiCorp’s request for a permit allowing the
incidental take of listed fish species during the
next 10 years.
PacifiCorp anticipates that under the Klamath
Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement it will see four
of its dams on the Klamath River removed in 2020,
and in the interim, the company is seeking
Incidental Take Permits for a variety of species
that may be killed, or “taken”, during dam
operations.
According to the draft environmental assessment
issued by NMFS, PacifiCorp must implement a Habitat
Conservation Plan, developed in concert with the
agency. Included in that plan is a turbine venting
action that would increase dissolved oxygen
downstream from the dams, an increase of flow
variability that could scour disease-causing
organisms from the riverbed, an increase in large
woody debris downstream from the dams and the
establishment of a fish disease research fund and a
coho enhancement fund.
The environmental assessment is summarized with the
statement, “While there are a myriad of adverse
impacts to the environment, including aquatic
species, which have occurred from past Federal and
non-Federal actions in the basin, NMFS believes that
the proposed action will not contribute to
significant adverse impacts.
“To the contrary, NMFS believes the proposed action
will result in beneficial impacts as PacifiCorp will
be taking actions to improve the human environment
over the next 10 years until fish passage is
established either through dam removal or volitional
fish passage.”
All of the documents related to the incidental take
permit assessment and habitat conservation plan can
be found at
http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov / by clicking on
“Latest News.”
– David Smith can be reached at
dsmith@siskiyoudaily.com
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