Nov 13 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - John Driscoll Times-Standard, Eureka, Calif.

The federal government and Pacificorp have reached an agreement in principal on removing four dams on the Klamath River and have floated the deal to tribes, fishermen, farmers and conservation groups.

The White House is expected to release details of the plan today, but sources say the agreement includes beginning to tear down the dams by 2020, with Pacificorp putting tens of millions of dollars toward the effort.

Participants in the briefing were being tightlipped about the deal, which until today was confidential.

"It's going in the right direction," said Steve Rothert -- with the group American Rivers -- about the agreement.

The dams have for decades blocked salmon from migrating into the upper reaches of the Klamath River, and salmon and other fisheries have suffered. The four dams that are the target of the proposal are Iron Gate, Copco I, Copco 2, and J.C. Boyle. The Pacificorp project in total produces up to 151 megawatts of power a year. It would be the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

In 2004, Pacificorp applied for a new license for the dams, triggering a massive review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC recommended keeping the dams in place, but federal fisheries agencies demanded that fish ladders be built to pass salmon upstream.

The California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior have estimated that removing the dams could be $32 to $286 million cheaper for Pacificorp than leaving them in place but having to build fish ladders and make other required changes.

An earlier agreement among 26 agencies, tribes and other stakeholders addressed a host of other issues the basin has struggled with. It looked to improve conditions for salmon, improve the Klamath's notorious water quality and secure irrigation supplies for farms upstream. The agreement did not contain a dam-removal deal, however, and some groups criticized those who signed onto the arrangement without that provision.

Humboldt County Supervisor Jill Geist said she appreciated the hard work of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, the U.S. Interior Department and Pacificorp.

"I believe that the agreements in principle are largely consistent with the work of the Klamath settlement group to date," Geist said, "and now we have a green light to finalize this agreement."

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