This resolution of the House of Representatives (H.R. 4447) was adopted about a month after the Huffman Roundtable to recognize the environmental, economic and tribal problems caused by the dams and to discuss a conciliation agreement between the tribes, PacifiCorp, the state and many other signatories, which has been under negotiation for 10 years. After signs were given in July that PacifiCorp could withdraw its commitment to dam removal, Huffman, chairman of the House of Representatives Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee, organized a public forum to study the terrible effects of dams on salmon and river water quality. In September, he successfully proposed an amendment to the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, passed by the House of Representatives, to protect tribal communities from further damage to the Klamath River and its ecosystem caused by PacifiCorp delays. In response to PacifiCorp`s response to FERC`s decision, Jared Huffman, a representative of the Del Norte County Convention, successfully added a change to H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, in September. The amendment to Klamath Hydroelectric`s Tribal Fairness Settlement Agreement would impose new conditions of reauthorization on the distribution company if it withdraws from KHSA. Earlier this month, Yurok Tribal Council President Joseph L. James sent this letter of support for the amendment on behalf of the Yurok tribe. The Yurok have been dependent on the Klamath River for generations and have been disproportionately affected by the damage caused by the PacifiCorp dams. The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement Tribal Fairness Amendment also aims to protect downstream indigenous communities from damage caused by obsolete dams. Huffman and others claim that the dilapidated dams have altered the river`s ecology and affected salmon fishing and local tribal communities. “With today`s adoption of the amendment to the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Tribal Agreement, the company has sent a very clear message to PacifiCorp that we will no longer accept business as usual with its destructive dams on the Klamath River,” said Rep.
Huffman. “PacifiCorp should not expect automatic annual licences for these dams that affect tribal fishing and downstream water quality: they will be held accountable for the needs of the tribes and states of Oregon and California, and they will have to report regularly to the public on the serious negative effects of the dams.
Komentáře