Oregon fund bill would go to Klamath dam removal

Senate Bill 76, introduced by Governor Kulongoski on Tuesday, is one step on the pathway to dam removal, salmon recovery and would ultimately save ratepayers money.

A bill introduced by Oregon legislators Tuesday would create a fund for removing dams on the Klamath River.

The legislation would direct money from Pacificorp electricity customers' bills into the account, which would then be used toward the effort to remove four dams on the river. The bill would cap Pacificorp's contribution to the project at $200 million.

An agreement in principle has been reached between Pacificorp, Oregon, California and the federal government to embark on the largest dam removal in U.S. history. A California bond and other federal dollars would also be needed for the project. That could become part of a larger settlement to restore the Klamath River basin's fisheries and shore up water supplies to farms.

Advocates of the bill said that dam removal would be cheaper for ratepayers than keeping the dams would be, considering that federal agencies would require fish ladders and other expensive in order to relicense the project.

”Gov. (Ted) Kulongoski has helped negotiate a win-win-win situation that we hope legislators will support,” said Klamath Tribal Councilman Jeff Mitchell in a statement. “Tribes and fishermen win because we will recover salmon runs, farmers win because dam removal is a cornerstone of our water sharing agreement, and Pacificorp and their customers win because they control costs.”