4/25 Advisory-Urgent call for largest dam removal project in US history

Press Advisory
For Immediate Release                                                               Contact: Christina Haro
April 25, 2007                                                                                               (415) 453-0430
                       
PEOPLE OF THE KLAMATH VS. PACIFICORP
Klamath Basin Tribes and Fisherman Make Cross Country Pilgrimage to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting
Case Builds for Largest Dam Removal Project in History
 
A showdown is taking place between Berkshire Hathaway’s PacifiCorp and a growing chorus of California fishermen, Native American tribes, public health officials, as well as state and federal agencies calling for the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.
           
A confluence of public health and environmental disasters taking place on the Klamath River as a result of PacifiCorp’s four dams (which generate less than 2 percent of the company’s electricity) has prompted these diverse stakeholders to take their case on the road.  From San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf to PacifiCorp headquarters in Salt Lake Center, to Omaha, Nebraska where CEO Warren Buffet will meet with Berkshire Hathaway shareholders at the company’s annual “Woodstock of Capitalism,” tribal elders and commercial fisherman will hold events to urge the company to do the right thing: protect the people of the Klamath.
 
"It's no longer just a matter of fish. It's now a human health issue," said Zeke Grader, director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.  Toxic liver-damaging algae blooms and massive fish-kills are common day occurrences for Klamath communities.
 
The Klamath communities want Warren Buffet and other Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to have all the facts.

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service recommends that removing the Klamath dams would be “the best alternative."

• The California Energy Commission concludes, “Replacing electricity from the Klamath project can be done without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.”

• The California Department of Water Resources expert on the algae called the Klamath toxic algae blooms a serious situation, dangerous to all wildlife and humans.

• Klamath reservoir water samples found toxic microcystis algae concentrations 3,900 times greater than a standard set by the World Health Organization. 

• A joint release from the federal EPA and California Water Quality Control Board warns that an adult who ingests just four ounces of water from the Klamath reservoirs could be exposed to microcystis at 100 times the standard.  A child’s exposure would be nearly 400 times the standard.

• The California Energy Commission economic analysis concludes that removal of dams would save PacifiCorp over $100 million.

• National Marine Fisheries and Interior Department ordered PacifiCorp to build fish ladders, screen turbines and devote a smaller proportion of the river to power production in order to secure a 50-year license renewal from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Estimates put the cost of building fish ladders at $3-$400 million.

• FERC estimates that the federal fish mandates would leave PacifiCorp with an annual loss of $28.7 million if it continues to operate the dams.

• The California Energy Commission concludes “Because of the small (electricity) capacity of the Klamath hydro units… removal of these units will not have a significant reliability impact on a larger regional scale.”
 
 
WHO:         Klamath Basin Indian Tribes & Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association.
 
WHAT:      The Klamath Basin Stakeholders Pilgrimage (with two dugout canoes and a salmon fishing boat) to Omaha, Nebraska. During the trip, a group of 5 fateveenan, or World Renewal Priests, will perform a 9-day ceremonial fast and make medicine to ensure a successful trip to Omaha.
                  
WHEN:      Trip itinerary includes:
·        APRIL 26 10 AM SAN FRANCISCO: BOAT DRIVE LAUNCH EVENT at Fishermen’s Wharf, where fishermen and consumers experienced the fallout from the closure of 700 miles of west coast salmon fishing last year due to the dams.
·        APRIL 27TH 10 AM SACRAMENTO: BOAT ON CAPITOL STEPS EVENT
·        MAY 1ST 10 AM SALT LAKE CITY: PROTEST IN FRONT OF PACIFICOPRS HQ
·        MAY 3-5TH OMAHA, NEBRASKA: CALL TO SHAREHOLDERS EVENTS:  Brush Dance ceremony, rarely witnessed by public, press conference and traditional Salmon Cook.  In addition, tribesmen have secured proxies to attend Berkshire Hathaway meeting. Demonstration at Shareholders’ meeting at the Qwest Convention Center, downtown Omaha.
 
WHERE:               
§         San Francisco Pier 47 (next to Fisherman’s Wharf). In front of Scoma’s Restaurant, at Jones and Jefferson Streets.
§         Sacramento West Steps of the Capitol Building
§         Salt Lake City Rocky Mountain Power (PacifiCorp) 201 South Main Street, Salt Lake City
§         Omaha, NE.  Location TBA
 
 
*** B-ROLL OF KLAMATH DAMS, ALGAE, FISH KILL AVAILABLE ****