One of many in a series...
In a message dated 3/30/2007 10:44:39 AM Pacific Daylight Time, aeb@inreach.com writes:
http://www.upi.com/Energy/analysis_suit_adds_twist_to_klamath_dams/20070329-101219-9015r/
Analysis: Suit adds twist to Klamath dams
By HIL ANDERSON
UPI Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, March 30 (UPI) -- A California environmental group this week opened a new front in the battle to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River that had become bogged down in a standoff over economic forecasts.
By alleging that a fish hatchery maintained at one of the four dams was actually damaging the Klamath salmon habitat with its waste products and toxic algae, Klamath Riverkeeper raised the ante in the process of issuing a new federal license to PacifiCorp, the company that operates the dams.
PacifiCorp is part of MidAmerica Energy, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, a fact not lost on Klamath Riverkeeper as it appealed directly to the Oracle of Omaha's legendary business judgment.
"We call on Mr. Buffett to scrutinize PacifiCorp's operation of these dams and take action to prevent further devastation to the River and the salmon," the organization said in a news release this week. "Hopefully, our citizens' enforcement suit will be the first step in resolving these issues and restoring the Klamath River, and the communities that rely on the river, to what they once were."
Unspoken in the statement was the implication that shutting down the 40-year-old Iron Gate Dam hatchery would leave PacifiCorp without the cushion it provided in the form of salmon hatchlings to offset the loss of population wrought by the dam itself. And without that cushion, PacifiCorp might find it impossible to meet federal environmental regulations without taking the draconian step of removing the dams and allowing the Klamath to theoretically return to its "natural" pre-dam state.
The idea of tearing down hydroelectric dams on the Klamath and other western rivers has been a vision -- or a pipedream -- depending on one's view, of the ambitious notion that the electricity supply given up for the sake of white water and great fishing can be replaced without a significant impact on the regional economy.
The Klamath Hydroelectric Project is located on the California-Oregon border and has a capacity of 169 megawatts (MW). That is a fairly small output when compared to coal power plants, but nonetheless larger than most wind farms, and big enough to supply power to about 1.6 million customers. Proponents of western dam breaching contend that it is easy enough to replace the electricity produced by hydropower.
The cost of procuring power to replace cheap hydropower is an issue that depends on a number of economic variables; however, the bigger issue on the Klamath is the cost of accommodating the migrating Coho salmon, which are listed as a "threatened species."
The California Energy Commission this week issued a consultant's report that contended it would be cheaper for PacifiCorp and its ratepayers to close down the Hydroelectric Project than it would be to take on the cost of constructing the fish ladders that will likely be mandated by FERC in order for PacifiCorp to receive a new operating license.
"The ... report finds that mitigation to stop and begin reversing the environmental damage from the Klamath hydroelectric operations will cost between $230 and $470 million; power production will be reduced by 23 percent, and the project will be unable to provide quick power during peak periods of electricity demand," the Energy Commission said in the accompanying news release. "The PacifiCorp ratepayers will bear the greatest economic risk for unsuccessful mitigation strategies aimed at fisheries and water quality."
The Energy Commission report was a direct counterpoint to PacifiCorp's own estimates that relicensing the four dams and continuing to sell the electricity would actually save the company $46 million, even with the mitigation measures on behalf of the salmon.
"This is complex and not a simple matter of removing some concrete slabs," said PacifiCorp President Bill Fehrman. "This is low-cost power now used by our customers with virtually zero emissions. Taking the dams out will certainly cost money. Replacing the power will necessarily cost our customers more money, and potentially a lot more money."
There is also the issue of possibly toxic sediment that has built up behind the dams over the years that would be washed downstream if the dams were removed. As with the projections of the long-range costs of shutting down the dams or relicensing them, any level of certainty can appear fuzzy. But if a lawsuit could shut down the Iron Gate Dam hatchery or force PacifiCorp to pay for improvements, it would have a concrete impact on the size of the Klamath salmon population that would add to the liability side of the ledger.
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Write to Mr. Buffett. Make it clear that no other alternative will be acceptable. The dams on the Klamath must come down.
Warren E. Buffett c/o Berkshire Hathaway 3555 Farnam St. Omaha, NE 68131, email c/o dcray at brka.com
or leave a message for him at: (402) 346-1400.
copy your letters to: (Pacific Corp is owned by MidAmerica)
David L. Sokol CEO, MidAmerica P.O. Box 657, Des Moines, IA 50303-0657
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTERIOR_SCIENTISTS?SITE=MOSTP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Mar 29,
Report raps Interior official over leaks
By JOHN HEILPRIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A government official broke federal rules and should face punishment for leaking information about endangered species to private groups, the Interior Department's watchdog said.
The department's deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks acknowledged releasing information that was not supposed to be made public to organizations such as the California Farm Bureau Federation and Pacific Legal Foundation, according to the agency's inspector general.
Environmentalists and other critics contend Julie MacDonald undermined federal endangered species protections. In the report by Earl Devaney, Interior Department officials describe MacDonald as a political appointee bent on manipulating science to fit her policy goals, which they said favor developers and industry.
The report said MacDonald:
-Removed more than 80 percent of almost 300 miles of streams that were to be protected to help bull trout recover in the Northwest's Klamath River basin.
-Tried to remove protections for a rare jumping mouse in the Rocky Mountains based on a questionable study.
-Pressured the Fish and Wildlife Service to alter findings on the Kootenai River sturgeon in Idaho and Montana so dam operations would not be harmed.
Interior Department spokeswoman Tina Kreisher said MacDonald was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
Rep. Nick Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said he would hold a hearing in May about the report and the broader issues it raises.
The hearing will provide "a sweeping review on whether politics is infiltrating decisions" and subverting science in the government's handling of endangered species, said Rahall, D-W.Va., who released Devaney's report.
The findings were first reported in Thursday's New York Times.
Devaney said his office began investigating after an anonymous complaint in April 2006 that MacDonald acted unethically and illegally when she "bullied, insulted and harassed the professional staff" of the Fish and Wildlife Service to alter scientific evidence.
"A lot of that is true," Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall is quoted as saying in the report, adding that he has been in a "running battle" with MacDonald since he took over the service in October 2005.
Devaney said he uncovered no illegal activity by MacDonald. But he said she broke rules that prohibit the disclosure of private agency information and that require public officials to avoid appearing to give anyone preferential treatment.
Twice, according to the report, she sent internal Environmental Protection Agency documents to people whose e-mail addresses ended in chevrontexaco.com; ChevronTexaco was the name used after oil companies Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. merged in 2001, though it was changed to Chevron in 2005.
Devaney referred the matter to Interior Department officials for potential punishment. Kreisher said the report was under review and that officials would have no comment on a personnel issue.
MacDonald is a hydraulic engineer with a master's degree in management but no background in natural sciences. She joined the Bush administration in July 2002 as a senior adviser for fish, wildlife and parks. She was promoted to deputy assistant secretary in 2004.
"It's a travesty that a high-level political appointee with no training in biology is rewriting the conclusions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists," said Melissa Waage, legislative director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group.
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On the Net:
Interior Department's inspector general: http://www.doioig.gov/
House Natural Resources: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/
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