Oil Pollution from Dams

You can add oil pollution to the list of reasons why the lower for Snake River dams need to be removed.

For the first time in its history, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have to disclose the amount of pollutants its dams are sending into waterways in a groundbreaking legal settlement that could have broad implications for the Corps' hundreds of dams nationwide.

The Corps announced in a settlement Monday that it will immediately notify the conservation group that filed the lawsuit of any oil spills among its eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington.

The Corps also will apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution permits, something the Corps has never done for the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

LINK (via: US News)

Fish Ladders and Elevators Not Working

For reasons no one completely understands, fish ladders and elevators are not helping fish at some mainstem dams in the East.

Scientists and engineers set targets for the transport capacity of fish passages. And yet, the study lays bare that those targets are being missed by orders of magnitude. For instance, the first Merrimack River dam aims to let 300,000 river herring pass through; the mean number for the years 2008 to 2011 was 706 per year. The goal at the first Connecticut River dam is 300,000 to 500,000 fish. There, the mean for those same years was 86. And for the Susquehanna, the goal is 5 million river herring spawning above the fourth dam, which passed an average of seven herring from 2008 to 2011. This means that very few fish are reaching quality breeding grounds, which has likely contributed to the decimation in river herring populations.

LINK (via:Science)

Dam Politics

Tom at the Trout Underground has penned a must read on Siskyou County politics and the Klamath Dam removal.

While Siskiyou County ranks pretty far down the list of California counties in terms of economic output, its comedic potential remains unchallenged.

For some time, I’ve been trying to write a comprehensive piece about river access, dam removal and salmon recovery in Siskiyou County — and the vicious, detached-from-reality politics surrounding them — but it’s like trying to drink from a fire hose pumping “crazy” instead of water.

Instead, I decided to feed the Undergrounders the crazy in bite-sized chunks, starting with today’s post, which amounts to a singular appetizer: A Bold, Constitutionally Based Declaration From An Angry Voter That Just Happens To Be Wholly Wrong.

LINK

Now the comedy duo of Siskyou County Supervisors Jim Cook and Michael Kobseff are headed to Washington DC to talk to members of Congress about the Klamath dam removal plan.