The original agreement contained a termination stipulation if not passed legislatively by Dec. 31, 2012, and this meeting seeks to extend that deadline to Dec. 31, 2014.
Ahead of this KBRA meeting,
the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
held a public hearing about the amendments
and extension to the agreement.
The Times-Standard newspaper
reported the majority of the public who
testified at the meeting supported allowing
the KBRA to expire, although the supervisors
voted unanimously to sign on again.
Inside the KBRA
meeting
Humboldt County’s Fifth
District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said of
Wednesday’s meeting, “Status reports were
provided by PacifiCorp on progress in
implementing interim measures and other
actions related to the Klamath agreements.
“The KBCC (Klamath Basin
Coordinating Committee) also took public
comments on the amendments to the KBRA,”
Sundberg added. “A number of very passionate
individuals provided comments. All of the
comments were in favor of dam removal.”
Thus far, only five of the
more than 40 parties have attached their
signatures to the extension and amendments,
according to meeting facilitator Ed Sheets.
Sheets said that was a main reason to hold
this meeting.
Vice-chairman of the Klamath
Tribes Don Gentry said the amended KBRA will
be put to a second referendum vote for all
tribal members.
In order to pass, the vote
needs to be a simple majority of 50 percent
plus one. Gentry plans to have the ballot
mailed by late November or early December.
The KBRA and the related
Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement
aim to remove four dams on the Klamath
River, establish reliable water supplies and
affordable power rates for irrigators,
restore fish habitat and help the Klamath
Tribes acquire a 92,000-acre parcel called
the Mazama Tree Farm.
In addition to the deadline
extension, the new version of the KBRA
includes amendments regarding the release of
Clear Lake, Gerber Reservoir and the Lost
River from providing water to wildlife
refuges; requiring the co-support of the
Department of Interior and specifically
affected tribes for changes to budgets or
claims against the government; and the
inclusion of a new party called the Klamath
Basin Power Alliance (KBPA).