Thompson co-sponsors bill that would lead to dam removal from Klamath River

A bill introduced Thursday in Washington would authorize implementation of two landmark agreements to remove four dams.

Estimated to represent $536 million in new federal spending and $262 million in existing funding that would be redirected, the Klamath Basin Economic Restoration Act is widely anticipated to face a tough road in Congress, where budget cutting has been a top priority among Republicans.

"This legislation is proof that through collaboration and hard work we can move beyond the disputes of the past and create a stronger foundation for economic growth," co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a statement.

Co-sponsor Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said in a statement the agreements represent the best way forward for the Klamath Basin.

"The dam removals will not only benefit our river basin by restoring fish and wildlife habitats, it will strengthen our economy by creating more than 4,600 jobs," Thompson said.

The agreements were signed in 2008 by Oregon and California, tribes, conservation groups and farmers to end decades of battles over sharing scarce water between farms on a federal irrigation project and fish.

The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Interior to decide whether to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River to open some 300 miles of spawning habitat to salmon blocked for a century and give farmers better assurances of irrigation water that was shut off during a drought in 2001 to protect threatened salmon.

When irrigation was restored in 2002, tens of thousands of adult salmon died before they could spawn in low and warm water conditions that spread disease.