All work associated with removal of the first of four hydroelectric dams slated for demolition on the Klamath River in California and Oregon has been completed by contractor Kiewit, said dam owner Klamath River Renewal Corp. earlier this month.
Planned demolition of four Klamath River dams in Oregon and California, in the works for years, still awaits final Federal Energy Regulatory Commission vote, set for the fall.
Washington state is weighing controversial proposal to breach four lower dams to boost recovery of threatened salmon populations, with potential cost in billions to replace their power generation.
Kiewit would start $445M Klamath River work next year to take down four dams in Oregon and California after FERC and Interior Dept. sign off on key environmental review.
A concept floated by Republican Mike Simpson, a U.S. congressman from Idaho, holds the potential to loosen the intractable logjam that has persisted for years among lawmakers, community members and federal officials to find a way to save the dwindling salmon population in the Columbia River Basin before it is too late.
California and Oregon now are dam co-licensees for estimated $450M Klamath River project to resolve federal concerns, but major work by contractor Kiewit is pushed back one year.
Removal of four dams on the Klamath River in California by 2020 will close the book on one of the most intractable issues in Western environmental management.