The PR wars over the four PacifiCorp-owned dams on the Klamath River — the same dams that are largely throttling the life from the river’s salmon runs — continues with a new volley from the California Energy Commission (CEC).


The Klamath River last summer. Ummmm, good.

I snarked PacifiCorp’s salvo in a previous post, but I’m going to play this one wholly on the straight and narrow. You can trust me this time. Really.

From a fairly confusing Los Angeles Times article comes:

SACRAMENTO — Firing the latest salvo in a battle over the future of the Klamath River, the California Energy Commission on Monday reaffirmed its stand that removing four hydroelectric dams that block salmon migration would cost less than trying to keep them.

For those who have been trying to keep up, here is the Trout Underground’s snark-free, journalistically accurate, thirty-second synopsis:

PacifiCorp: “You want us to remove those dams? Hell, tell you what — we’ll send Frank over in a pickup and he’ll grab some of those salmon and drive ‘em up above the dams. That’s cheaper than fixing ‘em. Whaddya say?”

California Energy Commission: “You PacifiCorp guys are hilarious. Fucking hilarious. We just shot Coca-Cola out our noses. Trucking? It’s never worked. We got some numbers that say taking the dams down is $100 million cheaper than trying to fix them. Here’s a shovel. Get to work.”

PacifiCorp: “Yeah well, your mother wears boots. Your numbers are wrong, and the consultants you hired say so. We say it’s cheaper to keep ‘em to the tune of $46 million, and now we’re gonna stick fish ladders on ‘em, even though we said before that the dams are too tall for fish ladders.”

CEC: “You guys are slaying us here, really. We laughed so hard we almost wet ourselves. We ran your numbers and they tell us it’s $114 million cheaper to just take the things out. Your mother says to take the dams down, she told us that last night in the sack.”

As you can see, it’s all been very grown up and dignified, right down to the part where the protagonists engaged in a beer-drinking contest and smashed the empties against their foreheads.

Where are we at now? More from the Los Angeles Times:

In recent weeks, the state Energy Commission’s consultant ran the numbers anew, taking in numbers PacifiCorp said it ignored. The results were far different from PacifiCorp’s.

The commission’s latest report said that dam removal would be even more cost-effective than its consultant originally determined — about $114 million less than relicensing the dams and installing the fish ladders.

California Energy Commissioner John Geesman said in a statement that the new analysis, which used PacifiCorp’s numbers, “clearly indicates” that the utility’s electrical customers would save money with dam removal.

OK, we’re back pretty much where we started.

They’re arguing over the costs associated with keeping or removing the dams without truly considering the economic impacts the dams are having on commercial and sport salmon fisheries (not to mention significant water quality issues).

Last year, the direct costs to commercial fishermen of the salmon closures were estimated at $16 million, and that number ignores the opportunity costs of a far more vibrant salmon fishery and the economic benefits of a stronger sport fishery, which would likely boost that number significantly.

But for now, that’s all just water over the dam.

Still, know that the Trout Underground will continue to report on this issue in a straightforward, unbiased way that delivers nothing but crystal clarity to its readers.

You’re welcome. (Save a Salmon. Eat a Dam.)

[tags]pacificorp, klamath, klamath river, klamath dams, california energy commission, cec, salmon[/tags]

Posted in Environment, News.