Document - Klamath River Dam Removal Comments of American Whitewater
Abstract
We thank you for the recent webinar and update on the Draft Klamath River Recreation Facilities Plan (Recreation Plan) provided by Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC). These comments supplement our written comments of November 5, 2018; March 31, 2019; June 28, 2019; and October 30, 2019. We are specifically following up on comments made during the December 5th webinar hosted by KRRC regarding the responsibility to address recreation in a dam decommissioning process. We understood your position to be that addressing recreation was outside the “core mission of removing dams and creating free-flowing river conditions and volitional fish passage, per KHSA and the license surrender order sought from FERC.” You further suggested that recreational mitigation was not a requirement of decommissioning. We disagree and note that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) has yet to issue a decommissioning order for this project; definitive statements on what that order will require are premature. We provide the following comments and additional information from past decommissioning proceedings we have participated in to inform future discussion. These include Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Dillsboro Dam on the Tuckaseegee River, and Mill Pond Dam on Sullivan Creek.Description
Overview of Recreation in Dam Removal and Project Decommissioning, December 16, 2019Document Information
Filename - Klamath River Dam Removal Comments of American Whitewater2066.pdf
Size - 170.62KB
Associated Projects
Klamath Restoration (OR & CA)
American Whitewater supports restoration of the Klamath River for the benefit of salmon while providing appropriate opportunities for whitewater recreation.
Sullivan Creek (WA)
Two dams in the Sullivan Creek watershed no longer generate power. One was removed in 2017 as the result of a 2010 Settlement Agreement.
Tuckasegee Relicensing (NC)
AW signed a settlement calling for new dam releases, sweeping conservation measures, new access, and the removal of Dillsboro Dam in North Carolina.
White Salmon Restoration (WA)
American Whitewater has been engaged in a long-term effort to protect and restore one of the Pacific Northwest's most spectacular year-around whitewater rivers.