A lack of Congressional approval almost killed a controversial dam removal project on the Klamath River in Oregon and California. The states and the Interior Department have found a way to proceed.
Jonathan Cooper reports for the Associated Press about a deal between Oregon, California, and the U.S. Department of the Interior that would remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. According to the article, the coalition of state and federal interests will move forward with the dam removal projects without waiting for a reluctant Congress to act.
Cooper provides more details of the deal, which would create a new non-profit corporation to take ownership of the dams and target the removal of the dams in 2020. Rather than Congress, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will likely decide the fate of the project.
Amy Sours Kober provides follow up coverage of the dam removal proposal for the American Rivers website, comparing the proposed dam removal project on the Klamath River to earlier dam removal projects around the country.
FULL STORY: Oregon, California, federal agencies will seek removal of Klamath dams
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Four dams are coming down along the Klamath River. The final decision to remove the dams is a milestone political and legal victory for indigenous tribes living in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
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Dams have been decimating the population of salmon in Northern California's Klamath River for years, and now Native Americans who depend on the salmon are traveling to visit the owner of the dams to appeal for their removal.
Last Dam in Klamath River Removal Project Comes Down
Salmon can now move freely along the river and its tributaries for the first time in over a century.
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