Klamath River dams may fall, but cleanup costs still unaccounted for

Republishing Guidelines

Yes, unless otherwise noted, you’re welcome to republish InvestigateWest’s original articles and photographs for free, as long as you follow a few simple conditions:

  • You must credit both the author and InvestigateWest in the byline. We prefer: “Author Name, InvestigateWest.”
  • You have to include the tagline provided at the end of the article, which typically reads, “InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org) is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Visit investigatewest.org/newsletters to sign up for weekly updates.”
  • You can write your own headlines as long as they accurately reflect the story.
  • You may not edit our work except to reflect your own editorial style or to update time references (changing “yesterday” to “last week,” for instance).
  • You may use InvestigateWest artwork (photos, illustrations, etc.) ONLY if you publish them alongside the stories with which they originally appeared and do not alter them. You may not separate multimedia elements for standalone use.
  • If you share our stories on social media, we’d appreciate it if you tag us in your posts.

Keep in mind: InvestigateWest sometimes republishes articles from other news outlets and we have no authority to grant republication permission. These stories are identifiable by their bylines and other credits.

We send story alerts to editors at news outlets across the Northwest. Let us know if you want to be included on that list. Questions? Contact us at editors@investigatewest.org.

Copy this

The utility company that owns four dams on the Klamath River in Oregon has reached a deal with federal and state officials, as well as an alliance of non-governmental parties, to remove the dams as part of a larger plan to restore the river and its salmon runs as well as help farmers in the area.

Matthew Preusch of the Oregonian writes that after months of closed-door discussions, the groups have agreed on a dam-removal plan for the Upper Klamath basin. Disputes over diminishing water levels and mass fish die-offs have pressured PacifiCorp to abolish the dams that fragment the river, which runs from southern Oregon to the California coast.

While environmental groups such as Oregon Wild have long called for removal of the Klamath River dams, they're not exactly keen on the entire basin plan. Perhaps that is because part of the deal exempts PacifiCorp from any liability, should unexpected environmental clean up costs occur.

American Rivers issued a press release saying the pact "sets in motion (the) world's largest river restoration."

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has already sang his praises to the plan, but Congress has until 2012 to decide whether the dam deal can be done. This includes allocating $500 million for the removals -- $250 million of which must come from the California legislature, whose budget has seen better days.

-- Natasha Walker

Get the inside scoop in your inbox, free.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletters and never miss an investigation.

Great! You’ve successfully signed up.

Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.

You've successfully subscribed to InvestigateWest.

Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.

Success! Your billing info has been updated.

Your billing was not updated.