Major Dam Removal Proposals Move Forward in California and Oregon

"The owner of four dams on the Klamath River and the nonprofit corporation created to take responsibility for their destruction recently filed long-awaited applications with federal regulators to remove the dams," reports Molly Peterson.

Mike Carrier, chair of the nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corp. (KRRC), is quoted in the article describing the bureaucratic event as a major milestone. The paperwork filed by PacifiCorp recommends decommissioning the dam and transferring ownership of the dams to KRRC.

"Federal officials estimate decommissioning and removal could cost at least $290 million, with that work to be paid for by ratepayers of PacifiCorp and the state of California’s Proposition 1," adds Peterson.

The article includes more details about the contentious and complicated political history of recent years surrounding the Klamath River, which flows almost 300 miles from Oregon to California.