Klamath Dam Removal Project Staff Report - June and July

Klamath Dam Removal Project Staff Report - June and July

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (“KRRC”), along with the states of California and Oregon, (“Project Proponents”) have been participating in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to take ownership of four PacifiCorp dams comprising the Lower Klamath Project (P-14803), three of which lie in Siskiyou County—Copco No. 1 & No. 2, and Iron Gate, and propose to remove the lower Klamath Dams.

On November, 17, 2022, FERC issued its order approving the surrender of the license for, and removal of the facilities of, the Lower Klamath Project subject to terms and conditions that are discussed in more depth below. In FERC’s order, FERC stated that after “balancing the[] environmental benefits with the issues raised by opponents of dam removal, [FERC] find[s] that license surrender, decommissioning, and removal of the project developments are in the public interest.” (Order at p. 29). Additionally, FERC stated that the Project’s funding was sufficient at $450 million.

Staff is providing this report to keep the Board and public up to date regarding activities related to the Klamath Dam Removal.

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