State and federal officials
praised the Klamath Basin
Task Force members Wednesday
and congratulated the group
for defusing issues that
have polarized the area for
years.
Gov. John Kitzhaber, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Mike Conner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, met with the task force at the Oregon Institute of Technology to celebrate preliminary agreements reached by upper Basin stakeholders to allocate limited water resources and stabilize agricultural, economic and environmental interests in the region.
“This is a momentous day
for the region and
state,” Kitzhaber said.
“We are poised to move
forward with federal
legislation that
supports a stable
agricultural economy and
sustainable fisheries.”
For nearly six months,
members of the Klamath
Tribes and Klamath Basin
agriculture community,
energy corporations and
state officials have
hashed out
recommendations for one
comprehensive piece of
legislation that will
provide a foundation for
long-term solutions to
upper Basin issues.
The task force members
were appointed by Wyden,
who said he was happy to
be there at the end of a
process that many
thought was completely
impossible.
The task force Tuesday
provided an overview of
the final report draft
and the agreement in
principle (AIP).
Kitzhaber said the AIP
sets standards for
economy for tribes and
creates a more
predictable situation
for the agriculture
community.
In addition to
agreements set by the
task force, conditions
of the Klamath Basin
Hydroelectric Settlement
Agreement (KBHS) and the
Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement (KBRA),
such as the Klamath
Tribes Mazama Forest
acquisition, will be
facilitated with the new
legislation.
“The task force builds
upon the good work that
was done by the KBRA and
KHSA,” Wyden said.
Wyden is confident the
legislation will receive
bipartisan support in
Congress because of the
three areas it covers:
saving water, protecting
habitat and providing
economic certainty.
Initial estimates
indicated as much as
$800 million could be
requested for allocation
from Congress; however,
after the task force’s
budget committee
reviewed the budget and
eliminated expired and
unnecessary programs and
identified other funding
sources, that amount was
reduced to $250 million.
According to Wyden,
determining a plan for
reducing power rates,
which have increased
ten-fold since a 50-year
contract with PacifiCorp
expired in 2006, is
still mired in a maze of
complicated
technological and
regulatory issues.
“I expect the Bonneville
Power Administration and
PacifiCorp to meet the
members of the task
force half way to
resolve this issue,”
Wyden said.
According to Kitzhaber,
signing of the agreement
in principle has poised
officials to begin
moving forward with
legislation.
“This is a huge
milestone toward the
vision that has been
worked on for years,”
Merkley said.
ljarrell@heraldandnews.com;
@LMJatHandN