â    WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU NEWSWATCH

Aug. 23, 2001                                                                                        No. 120

THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION CLOSED THE HEADGATES TO THE KLAMATH Irrigation Project in Klamath Fall, Ore., before dawn this morning, catching protestors and newspaper and TV reporters off guard. (Klamath Falls Herald and News, Aug.23) The headgates were closed less than a month after Interior Secretary Gale Norton ordered the release of 75,000 acre-feet of water from the Upper Klamath Lake into irrigation ditches that had been dry since April. That water has been exhausted.

THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION HAS INCREASED FLOWS THROUGH    the Columbia River hydropower system to generate electricity to sell on the open market and increased spills for fish. (N.W. Fishletter, Aug. 23) BPA said there was more water in the river system from January to July than it forecast, which allowed for the increases. Instead of spilling 45,000 cubic-feet of water per second for five hours every night at Bonneville Dam, BPA is now spilling 50,000 cfs around the clock. Spills at the Dalles were increased 30 percent to 40 percent. 

THE KENNEWICK IRRIGATION DISTRICT SAYS IT HAS ENOUGH WATER FOR ALL ITS customers, at least for a while, because of increased flows in the Yakima River. (Tri-City Herald, Aug. 23) According to the irrigation district, the increased flows are probably due to irrigation water used in the upper Yakima Basin last year working its way into the aquifer and then into the river.

A TOP OFFICIAL FOR THE U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION WANTS IRRIGATORS involved in the federal-agency consultation process that led to shutting off water to 1,500 farmers in the Klamath Basin this spring. (Klamath Falls Herald and News, Aug. 21) Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies must consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before taking any action that may impact a listed species. NMFS or U.S. Fish and Wildlife then issues a biological opinion that the other agencies must follow to protect the species. But in a letter to the two controlling agencies, Kirk Rodgers, director of the Mid-Pacific Region for the Bureau of Reclamation, said Klamath Basin irrigators should be involved in future consultations. He also said water-usage guidelines need to be more flexible to ensure the future of the region’s farmers, and called for the agencies’ biological opinions to be reviewed by independent scientists. 

THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL WENT TO COURT WEDNESDAY IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP a water-conservation initiative off the November ballot. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Aug. 22)  The initiative would require Seattle to increase water rates for the top 10 percent of the city’s commercial customers and force Seattle Public Utilities to speed up conservation measures, such as installing water-efficient appliances in low-income houses. The initiative would also prohibit the city from selling water saved through conservation to other districts to allow for more suburban growth. The lawsuit asks King County Superior Court to rule that Initiative 63 goes beyond what a city initiative is able to accomplish. (Seattle Times, Aug. 22)  

THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT MAY ASK CONGRESS THIS FALL TO EXEMPT MILITARY training operations from the Endangered Species Act, according to internal Defense documents obtained by an environmental group. (Greenwire, Aug. 22) The documents list five laws that the department says inhibit military training and preparedness in marine environments, including the ESA, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Marine Sanctuaries Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

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