[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3239-S3241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mrs. 
        Boxer):
  S. 2379. A bill to approve and implement the Klamath Basin 
agreements, to improve natural resource management, support economic 
development, and sustain agricultural production in the Klamath River 
Basin in the public interest and the interest of the United States, and 
for other purposes; to the

[[Page S3240]]

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a bill that would 
authorize the implementation of the landmark agreements that settle 
some of our country's most complex and contentious water allocation and 
species preservation issues. Water management crises this century have 
made the Klamath Basin nationally known, with all interests having 
experienced devastating water years. Overcoming that adversity, the 
parties in the basin have spent years coming together to hammer out 
solutions--essentially giving up their right to obstruct in the name of 
the greater good. With this bill the basin should now be known for the 
dedicated and enduring collaborative efforts that have honed in on a 
sustainable and more economically certain future for the basin--an 
example that other regions can emulate for their watershed challenges. 
It is time for Congress to place its seal of approval and set about 
implementing these agreements to restore the basin by passing the 
Klamath Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act of 2014.
  I am pleased to be joined by three colleagues on this bill. Senator 
Merkley has tirelessly worked to support the collaborative approach 
undertaken by two states, four Tribes, multiple Federal agencies, and 
countless stakeholders. Senators Feinstein and Boxer have answered the 
call for communities reeling from unprecedented drought, and the 
Klamath Basin--spanning Oregon and California--is yet another 
illustration of their efforts to assist communities in need while 
supporting fish and wildlife. Together, we are committed to working 
with our colleagues in the Senate and House to advance this bill and 
get it signed by the President.
  The story of the Klamath Basin revolves around water. Congress 
authorized a federal irrigation project for the basin in 1905. Now the 
Klamath Project provides water service to roughly 210,000 acres of 
productive farmland--producing such crops as potatoes, cereal grains, 
sugar beets, alfalfa and other hay, and irrigated pastures for beef 
cattle. The Klamath Hydroelectric Project supports power needs in the 
basin with seven dams, the last of which was built more than 50 years 
ago. Water needs for irrigation have increasingly come into conflict 
with the needs of fish and wildlife. In 1908, President Teddy Roosevelt 
established the nation's first waterfowl refuge, Lower Klamath National 
Wildlife Refuge. The importance of the basin for migratory birds along 
the Pacific Flyway saw the later creation of the Clear Lake, Tule Lake, 
Upper Klamath, Bear Valley, and Klamath Marsh National Wildlife 
Refuges. The basin is also home to 13 species of anadromous fish. Three 
of these species are listed under the Endangered Species Act, including 
the endangered listing of the Lost River and shortnose suckers in 1988, 
the threatened listing of coho salmon in 1997, and the threatened 
listing of bull trout in 1999. These fisheries--particularly salmon and 
suckers--are important to the six federally recognized tribes in the 
basin. Water demand often far exceeds the amount of water in a given 
year, setting up a situation ripe for conflict.
  That conflict grew to a head in the early 2000s. In 2001, biological 
opinions about the water necessary for endangered fish resulted in the 
Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior withholding 
much of the water that would have normally gone to Klamath Project 
irrigators. Researchers for Oregon State estimated that the water 
curtailment would have, in the absence of public and private emergency 
mitigation efforts, reduced agricultural output in the Upper Basin by 
$82 million, about 20 percent, and regional employment by almost 2,000 
jobs. Then in 2002, low water flows and poor water health caused the 
death of as many as 70,000 fall chinook before they could navigate up 
the Klamath and spawn, in an event known as the ``2002 fish kill.'' The 
rancor and legal conflicts only intensified with these events, creating 
uncertainty in the basin that has impeded overall growth and 
prosperity.
  Instead of accepting a future determined by acrimonious and costly 
legal battles over the water, stakeholders in the basin came together 
to chart a different path. They recognized that their respective 
interests could be better met through cooperative efforts designed to 
enhance species recovery, the certainty of agricultural operations, and 
stability in the basin for economic growth and civic relations. Years 
of complex and challenging work culminated in two historic agreements 
in 2010--the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, KBRA, and the Klamath 
Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, KHSA. The KBRA settles water 
disputes in exchange for greater water certainty for farmers and 
ranchers, water for fish and wildlife needs, reduced power costs for 
irrigators, and restoration efforts for fisheries. The KHSA sets out a 
process whereby four hydroelectric dams may be removed, at no federal 
cost, should removal be in interest of fish restoration and the public 
interest considering local community impacts. Together these 
cooperative efforts can achieve more for the basin than asserting 
individual interests could. The collective efforts will promote 
economic stability and growth, while ensure a full suite of restoration 
efforts are in place for the recovery of listed fish species.
  The latest agreement in the basin became final just this year, the 
Upper Basin Comprehensive Agreement, UBA. I am especially proud of the 
work that produced the UBA, having helped convene the special task 
force that worked mightily to find agreement on the key remaining 
issues in the basin. The task force came about after a June 2013 Senate 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on water issues in the 
basin that I chaired. The Committee heard from 17 diverse witnesses and 
received roughly 4,000 comments via email prior to the hearing. Most 
acknowledged the clear impetus for a comprehensive solution given that 
the Oregon Water Resources Department found in March 2013 that the 
Klamath Tribes held a time immemorial water right, making them the most 
senior water right holder in the basin. And after months of arduous 
work on the task force, members including irrigators, 
environmentalists, and tribes found common ground on habitat protection 
and restoration and swallowed hard to reduce the federal expenditures 
needed as I had called for in the Senate. The UBA lays out specific 
water management and restoration measures for the Upper Basin, 
including 30,000 acre feet of increased stream flows into Upper Klamath 
Lake. The agreement provides crucial economic certainty to small 
business in the basin who sell equipment to farmers growing the crops, 
certainty for the cattle ranchers who manage their herds, certainty for 
the tribes who want to pursue promising opportunities in forestry, like 
biomass and other economic development.
  The Klamath Basin Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act of 2014 
authorizes these historic agreements and paves the way for the 
restoration work needed to achieve their goals. In so doing, it sets 
out a new cooperative management plan that the Bureau of Reclamation 
will administer. For the first time, the Klamath Reclamation Project 
will include fish, wildlife, and National Wildlife Refuges as 
authorized purposes for the project. This will allow water managers to 
increase in-stream flows and lake levels. Private landowners and others 
will undertake permanent protections for riparian areas and other 
enhancements that will help restore hundreds of miles of fish habitat. 
Fish biologists estimate that these efforts will boost annual 
production of adult Chinook salmon by 80 percent. Additional water and 
flexible releases for the National Wildlife refuges means greater 
numbers of migratory waterfowl, non-game water birds, wintering bald 
eagles, and other sensitive species.
  Achieving these benefits for fish and wildlife correspond to economic 
benefits to the basin. The restoration efforts will also produce jobs. 
The Department of the Interior calculates that more than 4,000 farming, 
ranching, commercial and recreational fishing, construction, and other 
jobs will be created or preserved. The water management plan provides 
for more predictable water for farmers and ranchers to ensure irrigated 
agriculture continues in the basin. A drought management plan assists 
in navigating the challenges created by drought and climate change in 
the basin. To deal with the escalating electric costs faced by 
irrigators, the bill lays out a path to

[[Page S3241]]

affordable power including renewable energy development. There are also 
economic benefits to tribes, beyond what a water right alone can 
achieve. The legislation sets up an economic development fund for the 
Klamath Tribes so they can create tribal jobs while sustainably 
managing their natural resources. By modifying some parties' interests 
for the greater good, the basin can move beyond years of polarizing 
debate and create a stable future from which to plan and prosper.
  These historic agreements didn't happen by osmosis. They represent 
years of hard work among parties who have stood up to incredible 
pressures and made very real sacrifices to better their communities and 
the associations they represent. I have thanked many parties for their 
dedication over the course of these agreements and want to again 
express my deepest thanks to the members of the task force and those 
who went before them to tee up the work for Congress. With this bill, 
it is now time for Congress to step up and deliver on this package of 
agreements. The spirit of compromise on these thorny water issues has a 
message for not just Congress, but provides an example of how other 
vexing water situations across the Nation can sit down to work out 
their differences.
                                 ______