Klamath River cleanup wins federal approval

The federal government has approved a state plan that calls for significant reductions in pollution from agricultural runoff and dam operations on the Klamath River, setting the stage for a long-awaited cleanup of one of California's major salmon rivers. The new water quality standards are intended to help restore a river once home to bountiful salmon runs but more recently known as a polluted, water-starved battleground for farmers, tribes and salmon fishermen. But it will take years, if not decades, to meet the standards. The pollution problems are spread across southern Oregon and Northern California and arise mainly from hydropower dams and runoff from farms, ranches and logging operations. The dams are slated for removal under a separate long-term agreement. But farmers, ranchers and the U.S. Forest Service will have to change some of their practices in order to reduce erosion and runoff that have loaded the river with sediment and such nutrients as phosphorus and nitrogen, which promote the growth of oxygen-depleting aquatic life. Administrators of the Klamath National Forest are working on decommissioning old logging roads, and ranchers are beginning to erect fences to keep cattle off river banks, officials said. Keeping contaminated irrigation runoff out of the river will take more effort...more