By Michael A. Swiger and Sharon L. White

This article rebuts certain assertions made by Mr. Thomas Schlosser in a recent article entitled Dewatering Trust Responsibility: The New Klamath River Hydroelectric and Restoration Agreements. The Klamath hydroelectric dams are not causing degrading fish disease conditions in the Klamath Basin. Dewatering Trust Responsibility overlooks the effects of water diversions for agriculture, pollution from pesticides and industrial operations and habitat degradation from timbering, ranching and other human activities on current Basin conditions. Under the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, PacifiCorp is taking extensive measures to protect aquatic resources in the Basin prior to dam removal. The abeyance in the Clean Water Act certification process is necessary to allow the study of anticipated impacts of dam removal and water quality measures that could be implemented during the interim period prior to potential dam removal.

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The above is an abstract for an article originally published in 1 Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy 297 (2011). Access the full article here.