[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 30, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7380-H7382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHILOQUIN DAM FISH PASSAGE FEASIBILITY STUDY ACT OF 2001
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2585) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
conduct a study of the feasibility of providing adequate upstream and
downstream passage for fish at the Chiloquin Dam on the Sprague River,
Oregon.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2585
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chiloquin Dam Fish Passage
Feasibility Study Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. CHILOQUIN DAM FISH PASSAGE FEASIBILITY STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall, in
collaboration with all interested parties, including the
Modoc Point Irrigation District, the Klamath Tribes, and the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, conduct a study of
the feasibility of providing adequate upstream and downstream
passage for fish at the Chiloquin Dam on the Sprague River,
Oregon.
(b) Subjects.--The study shall include--
(1) review of all alternatives for providing such passage,
including the removal of the dam;
(2) determination of the most appropriate alternative;
(3) development of recommendations for implementing such
alternative; and
(4) examination of mitigation needed for upstream and
downstream water users, and for Klamath tribal non-
consumptive uses, as a result of such implementation.
(c) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Congress a
report on the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of
the study by not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs.
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2585 is another of my bills that will address the
current plight of fish and farmers in the Klamath Basin. The Klamath
Basin is in both southern Oregon and northern California, and has
Endangered Species Act-listed suckers, salmon and bald eagles. There
are several tribes with treaty rights that must be respected.
The Klamath Project, operated by the Bureau of Reclamation, has
historically delivered water to about 200,000 acres. This year,
however, the basin is experiencing a severe drought, on top of which
the Klamath Project has been asked to provide additional water for
species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The feasibility study required in this legislation is needed to
address an imminent endangered species habitat claim against the
Chiloquin Dam in southern Oregon, which is the Modoc Point Irrigation
District's current gravity flow diversion source. This dam blocks
suckers from reaching 95 percent of their former spawning and juvenile
rearing habitat in the warm water reaches of the Sprague River.
Several parties have identified the Chiloquin Dam as constituting a
significant habitat problem for endangered suckers. They include: the
Klamath Tribes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation, Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Klamath Water Users
Association.
I have worked in consultation with the Modoc Point Irrigation
District and the Klamath Tribes to craft this legislation requesting
this study of this dam. The study will include review of all
alternatives for providing passage, including removal of the dam;
determination of the most appropriate alternative; development of
recommendations for implementing the alternative; and examination of
mitigation needed for upstream and downstream water users as a result
of such implementation.
I would also point out that this legislation was cosponsored by
several members of this committee, including the gentleman from Oregon
(Mr. DeFazio).
This legislation is long overdue. The need to study this impediment
is long overdue. Despite the crisis our Nation faces today, the farmers
in this basin continue to face a crisis of their own, both economically
and for their future. We need to move forward to resolve the issues
that have blocked their ability to get water and the other help they
need. Madam Speaker, I ask for the support of the entire House for this
common sense, straightforward and balanced legislation.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2585, and I note that a
long-standing member of the Committee on Resources, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), is a cosponsor of this bill.
Restoring fish habitat in the Klamath Basin is complicated and often
controversial. Making decisions based on scientific studies of water
operations and habitat requirements can help prevent more
confrontations over scarce water supplies.
The studies authorized by H.R. 2585 need to be carefully designed and
carried out. These studies should consider all factors that affect fish
survival in the basin, including the possible need to restore wetlands
and riparian habitats. I thank the sponsor and cosponsors of this bill,
and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2585.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding
me this time.
[[Page H7381]]
Madam Speaker, I am here to support H.R. 2585 introduced by the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden). It is true that we have a great
deal of tension and frustration in the Klamath Basin these days, and I
commend the gentleman for taking specific steps to help relieve some of
that pressure.
This bill is an important step in studying alternatives for the
improvement of fish passage for the endangered species. These
endangered species have generated a great deal of controversy and
attention. I for one feel that in some instances some of the
frustration was misplaced in terms of trying to divert the blame for
the problem in the Klamath Basin somehow to the fish themselves.
I note with some interest that one of the Klamath Basin Native
American leaders pointed out to me that blaming the fish for the water
problem is a lot like blaming the gas gauge on your car if one runs out
of gas. Having the gas gauge register empty, it is not the problem of
the gas gauge, it is the fact that the car has run out of gas.
What we are facing here is a condition that is the result of
systematic action on the part of the Federal Government for over a
century of making too many demands on scarce water in this arid basin.
We must not lose sight of the big picture within the Klamath Basin.
It once held 350,000 acres of shallow lakes, fresh water marshes, wet
meadows, and seasonally flooded basins throughout southeastern Oregon
and northern California. Today, nearly 80 percent of the basin's
wetlands have been drained and converted to agriculture; in some cases,
water-intensive agriculture. It is no mystery that we have run into
problems. The Federal Government has not had appropriate policies to
deal with the overcommitment of the water in this basin.
Just as important, if not more important than the improvement of fish
passage, is the restoration of wetlands to improve the spawning grounds
of the fish that are vital to the tribes of this area and to the entire
ecosystem.
While I fully endorse this bill, which will authorize the feasibility
study to improve the fish passage at Chiloquin Dam, I urge my
colleagues and the Department of the Interior to remain aware of the
interconnectedness of the resources and the user needs throughout the
Klamath Basin.
I hope that this Congress will yet come forward, when we are spending
hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster relief, when we have a
whole host of pressing problems, that we do not turn our back on the
needs of the environment of the Klamath Basin, of farmers who were
encouraged to farm there as a result of government policies, and that
we take steps to help reclaim some of that natural environment, reduce
the stress on water in that basin.
Madam Speaker, this is an important step; but I hope we continue to
look at the big picture.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the gentleman from Oregon
(Mr. Blumenauer) and for his willingness to support this legislation,
and to find balanced solutions for the problems that we face in the
Northwest.
Madam Speaker, it is interesting, I had not visited this dam until a
year or so ago, and at that point I invited the Modoc Point Irrigation
District directors and the tribal leaders from there to both join me at
the site of this dam. I did not know what to expect. I had not seen it,
but I had heard and read a lot about it.
As we approached the dam, walked down, the skies were dark and it
began to pelt rain and snow, not heavily, but it was one of those cold
wet days. As I stood and looked at this concrete obstruction that backs
water up and then allows water to be diverted into the Modoc Point
District, we have to make sure that they continue to get access to
water.
When one looks at the dam itself, the top is wood and wire and it is
all kind of broken down and disheveled. It is a mess. There is evidence
of three fish passage ladders, two of which have crumbled down to
basically the rebar and the concrete. The third one against the side
where we were standing seemed to function fairly well. The biologist
told us there are some 700 suckers that make their way through and up
to the upper end where the habitat is impaired, and there is a lot of
work we can do there, I think.
I said, How many fish try to get up here? They do not know. It is
hard to measure success if we do not know how many are trying to get up
versus how many that do. The long and short of it is, this has been an
impediment for at least a decade and yet nothing has happened. Like my
colleague, I want to make something happen. I want to try to solve
these problems so we have a viable environment and a vibrant
agricultural economy because I think they can co-exist in the Klamath
Basin. The comments of the gentleman regarding farmers invited to
settle, not only were they invited, we invited our veterans, our men
and women who wore the uniform of this country and defended our freedom
abroad, to participate in a lottery. We promised to give them land and
a guarantee of water for life if they would settle and develop this
area.
{time} 1615
It is one of the oldest irrigation projects in America. It was one of
the first.
Over time, more and more promises have been given, more and more
people settled. These are real people who are facing real bankruptcy
right now. This Congress and this administration helped with a $20
million commitment to kind of tide them over, but it is not enough. We
have got to do more. We have got to break through some of these
barriers and solve some of these problems if we are going to have a
long-term solution. We have got to act quickly. This study will still
take a year, but it is a lot less time than it would have taken if we
did not pass this legislation because they have had 10 years to try and
figure it out.
The Klamath water users have put together a very comprehensive report
on how to deal with a whole host of solutions in this basin, to improve
habitat, to improve water quality and still have viable agriculture. A
lot of those have fallen on deaf ears over time. Many of them were at
the agency level and not enacted. We cannot stand by and let this
happen. This is a huge crisis for many, many, many families. A
thousands plus farms are affected right now, today. They do not know
what is going to happen next year. They come to us and ask, will we
have water? We do not know. We do not know. That is why this
legislation and legislation to grant them other relief from operation
and maintenance costs that is pending in the committee that is going to
help me get it through here, and other emergency relief legislation we
have just got to act on.
I commend the Committee on Resources. I thank them for their effort.
I commend my colleagues. I ask for their approval of this legislation.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2585, the
Chiloquin Dam Fish Passage Feasibility Study Act of 2001. This bill
takes an important step into studying alternatives for the improvement
of fish passage for endangered fish species.
However, we must not lose sight of the big picture within the Klamath
Basin. The Klamath Basin once held 350,000 acres of shallow lakes,
freshwater marshes, wet meadows, and seasonally flooded basins in
Southeastern Oregon and Northern California. Today, nearly 80 percent
of the Basin's wetlands have been drained and converted to agriculture.
Just as important, if not more important than the improvement of fish
passage, is the restoration of wetlands to improve the spawning grounds
of the fish that are vital to tribes in the area.
While I fully endorse this bill, which will authorize a feasibility
study to improve fish passage at the Chiloquin Dam, I urge my
colleagues and the Department of Interior to remain aware of the
interconnectedness of resources and user-needs throughout the Klamath
Basin.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2585.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
[[Page H7382]]
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