Is Klamath River Renewal Corporation Engaged In Discriminatory Settlement Practices?

Since the initial release of 5-7 million cubic yards of polluted clay sediments into the Klamath River on January 23, 2024 by the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (aka: ‘KRRC’), the river has been sediment-choked ever since. 

According to Klamath River monitoring gauges down river from Iron Gate Dam, including at the tribal operated monitoring station at Orleans, the dissolved oxygen in the River has crashed to zero dissolved oxygen for 2-days after the initial sediment release in January 23rd, and yet again for two more days within hours of the release of even more polluted clay sediments on September 4th, 2024. 

Today, as I write this article nearly two weeks since the breach of the coffer dam at Iron Gate on Sept. 4th, the clay sediment-loading in the Klamath River is quite evident and be easily seen in the main-stem of the of Klamath River at varied densities, all the way to the coast, 180-miles down-river.

And this toxic clay sediment will be meeting any returning salmon and steelhead head-on, making life, and spawning for them impossible in the Klamath River. The clay sediment is so dense that some/all of these returning salmonids may not even make it into many of the tributaries that they use for spawning.

A handful of rancher-famers whose livelihoods depend upon their irrigation rights from the Klamath River have been effectively been shut down by the extreme clay sediment contamination. 

In fact, McMillen spent weeks cleaning intakes and pipes, and installing special filtration systems which failed because the clay contamination is so heavy that the best irrigation water filtration systems installed at the ranch, failed. This rancher was nevertheless paid a significant sum, as discussed below.

The system engineered and installed by McMillen simply couldn’t handle the microscopic clay sediments, which overwhelmed the newly installed expensive, state-of-the-art system. The system was subsequently removed from the rancher’s property by McMillen.

Now that same rancher, who owns 17 impacted irrigated acres, that would normally be lush from irrigation water from the Klamath River is watching his land dry-up along with the vegetation. As a result of the damage to his irrigation system and the lands, KRRC paid this white rancher over $80,000.00! That works out to about $4,700.00/per acre. The payment agreement did not include waivers or any non-disclosure requirements. 

Other irrigators on the Klamath River and those with water rights for ponds, or other non-domestic water uses, who depend on the life-giving waters of the Klamath River and the former lakes behind the now demolished dams, are also suffering the same fate and worse. Some have filed claims for dried-up wells, damaged lands and more. As of this writing, we are unaware of others who have been properly compensated. 

Dave Vargas, a Latino rancher who owns and operates a cattle ranch on about 250-acres fronting the Klamath River, has likely suffered more damage to his ranch and livelihood than most others, starting with initial damage to his irrigation system. 

Mr. Vargas maintained communication with ranchers operating a few miles up-river from his location in order to attempt to mitigate any further damage to his irrigation systems and his lands. And when he learned of the serious adverse impacts that stemmed from the continued use the polluted sediment-rich river water from ranchers up-stream, he halted the irrigation of his lands to prevent further equipment damage and the potential-of polluting his agricultural lands with the toxic clay sediments. Now, his formerly lush irrigated pastures are dying and during the early spring sediment flow, Vargas was unable to grow his annual crop of alfalfa that he requires to carry his herd of cattle through the winter. Now he has no hay for the upcoming winter and may have to sell-off his cattle, or buy hay, which will create a huge financial burden.

According to a major scientific corporation, there are numerous bio-accumulative toxins in the lakebed sediments of Iron Gate and Copco Lakes. And only about thirty percent of those toxic sediments have been released into the Klamath River by KRRC. The balance of these polluted sediments are remaining and will likely be continually eroded down the River during the upcoming winters, or in large quantities during floods.These toxins were discovered and documented in a published study by CDM Smith titled; 

Screening-Level Evaluation of Contaminants in Sediments from Three Reservoirs and the Estuary of the Klamath River, 2009-2011- Prepared for U.S. Department of the Interior Klamath Dam Removal Water Quality Sub Team Klamath River Secretarial Determination Prepared by CDM 2295 Gateway Oaks Dr., Ste. 240 Sacramento, CA 95833Mr. Vargas contacted KRRC with his claim for compensation, similar to what the rancher up river submitted. Here is the Vargas letter to KRRC:

Dave Vargas can’t understand why his proposal to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation to save his ranch was denied, while the white rancher just 3-miles up the Klamath River was paid over $80,000.00 for the loss of his irrigation system and for remediation of his damaged 17-acres of formerly irrigated lands.

Arguably, KRRC has a history of being uncooperative and showing distain for having to collaborate with local Siskiyou County authorities. And by example, KRRC as a role model for contractors has arguably led to the ongoing unchecked disrespect for the locally impacted landowners and residents by some of KRRC’s contractors.

The fallout from this bad situation has led to KRRC contractor trucks running residents and even school buses off the local roads, littering on the local roads, and extremely abnormal damage to local roads, which has caused local residents to be financially impacted in regard to the extreme wear and tear on their own vehicles. In some cases costing residents hundreds of dollars per year above normal maintenance costs.

Siskiyou County Supervisor, Ray Haupt, whose district has been adversely impacted in many ways, has stated on-record in an article by Brad Jones for Epoch Times, and republished at Siskiyou News, that:

“The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors received an email from Bransom on April 4, essentially stating that the corporation was curtailing communications with the county, according to Supervisor Ray Haupt.

“They actually sent an email to us back in June and said they were done with us. They weren’t going to communicate with us anymore,” Haupt told The Epoch Times.

The county responded by sending its own letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which referred to Bransom’s email and included it as an attachment.

Bransom wrote in the email that the KRRC would no longer attend the county’s biweekly public information meetings, claiming that they resulted in the spread of misinformation about the project.

“It does not behoove any of us to dedicate time to these meetings on a regular basis, when the outcome is the perpetuation of inaccurate information about the project,” Bransom wrote.

Haupt said the KRRC has been “putting out constant propaganda” about the success of the dam removal project “to beat back any scrutiny” despite widespread concerns from the county and local residents about the project’s impacts, including the condition of the river and its negative effects on fish and other wildlife.

“It’s just this constant mantra about how great it is. Their overarching strategy was to do this here in a big way, so American Rivers can take down dams across the country,” he said.

Politically, there is a lot at stake for the governor and KRRC, he said.

“They can’t politically afford for this thing to be a failure or even scrutinized. There is much more afoot here than just the Klamath,” Haupt said.

These celebrations are “made-for-TV photo ops” to promote more dam removal projects across the nation, including the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Washington state and Oregon, he said.”

And now the Collier Rest Area off Interstate 5 has been adversely impacted by the sticky clay sediments coming down the Klamath River from KRRC’s flawed dam removal project, and must be closed. 

What is being unsaid is that like with the ranchers and their Klamath River water sources, the sticky clay has infiltrated into all the piping at the Collier Rest Area. The microscopic clay particles are able to penetrate and stick to the insides of pipes, valves, toilets and sink plumbing and more. And given much of the piping is underground, it may have to be excavated and replaced. Now taxpayers have to foot the bill for this little disaster.

This is yet more of the fallout that was foreseen by many experts, including CDM Smith, who provided a detailed plan to remove the lakebed sediments BEFORE draining the lakes and removing the dams. But alas, that would have dug into the profits for this so-called project.

It’s time for the citizens of Siskiyou County, and the County, to sound an alarm so loud that it can be heard around the world about what is happening here. 

And as far as Latino rancher Dave Vargas, KRRC owes him, and other impacted citizens fair and just compensation, ASAP. 

Nobody and no county should have to endure this kind of financial and societal-social abuse just so big corporations can make $-billions off taxpayers, while having local citizens subsidize their own losses, contrary to the proper doctrine and procedure for such a process, known as ‘Eminent Domain‘