Judging by the love fest inside the Capitol Rotunda this morning, it’s hard to imagine that the Klamath water wars ever existed.
The room was filled with smiles, applause and some humor courtesy of Governor Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger joked it was finally time to say, “Hasta la vista to the dams.” The crowd ate it up.
The two deals signed today are designed to end the decades long battles over water, salmon and dam in the Klamath Basin. One deal, called the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement lays out a plan to share water between farmers, towns and tribes, while still trying to leave enough left over for salmon.
The other deal, called the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, sets into a motion a plan to remove four dams along the Klamath River. The dams are owned by Pacific Power. If they are demolished, it would free up another 300 miles of the river for salmon.
As Governor Kulongoski noted, “The two agreements we sign today do not completely address this decades old conflict. Everyone involved in today’s agreement knows there’s still much more work to be done.”
That works includes finding at least a billion and a half dollars to finance the two agreements. Oregon has already committed $200 million to dam removal. California is supposed to come up with another $250 million, part of an $11 billion dollar water bond measure that goes before state’s voters in November.
And where’s the rest of the money going to come from? That’s the billion dollar question hanging over these deals. At the ceremony, Kulongoski seemed sure of the Obama Administration’s commitment to coming up with the money. But Congress will have the final say on that.
The other loophole – there’s no guarantee the dams will be demolished. The hydroelectric agreement gives Interior Secretary Salazar a couple of years to study the issue, and then decide if removing the dams are a good idea.
But considering the difficulty of bringing together farmers, fishermen, tribes, government agencies and conservation groups into a single cause, today’s focus was on the possible.
“This agreement brings together dozens of groups that for years and years have stood toe to toe,” said Schwarzenegger. “But now they stand side by side united in this cause.”
“I can see the salmon fishes screaming ‘I’ll be back.’” he added. And again, the crowd ate it up.
