CA Water Board Releases Key Permits For Removal Of Four Klamath River Dams
The State Water Board on Tuesday, April 7 issued key documents that move the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) significantly closer to removing four dams and re-opening 360 miles of the Klamath River and its tributaries to imperiled salmon, according to a news release. The board issued a Final Water Quality Certification permit and Final Environmental Impact Report. The permit conditions will become part of the broader Lower Klamath Project License Surrender Order that must be issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) before the dams can be decommissioned and removed.
One of the largest dam-removal efforts in United States history, the project primarily consists of removing three dams in northern California (Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate) and one in southern Oregon (J.C. Boyle).
The State Water Board action comes after an extensive process that began with the KRRC’s application for a Water Quality Certification in 2016. The process involved numerous public meetings in the project area and resulted in adoption of an environmental impact report that considered and responded to more than 2,600 comments.
“Decades in the making, this historic and comprehensive project will help restore native fish populations, and improve water quality in the Klamath Basin,” said State Water Resources Control Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. “The strategic removal of aging dams contributes to the restoration of our watersheds and reconnects our landscapes and ecosystems in critical ways. This major restoration project that began in 2008 to remove the dams is now one step closer to becoming a reality.”
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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/california-state-water-board-approves-key-permits-for-krrc-dam-removal/article_81e05f96-855a-57b8-8dee-3a8f7ee916eb.html
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