Dismantling the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River would open up 420 miles of habitat for migrating salmon, create thousands of jobs and cost less than it would to maintain the reservoirs, a U.S. Department of the Interior report said Wednesday. The long-awaited environmental report on what would be the biggest dam-removal project in California history predicted an 81.4 percent increase in the number of chinook salmon and similar increases for steelhead trout and coho salmon. Opening up the waterway would also eliminate toxic algal blooms, the report said, and employ 4,600 people during 15 years of work. The $291.6 million estimated cost of removal is substantially less than the $450 million worst-case scenario outlined in previous reports. The cost of keeping the dams open - including federally mandated fish ladders, water-quality improvements and construction of new recreational facilities - is in the $400 million to $500 million range, officials said...more
I'm no fan of gov't dams, but can't help but notice they don't mind comparing best case-scenarios with worst-case scenarios. Does anyone believe the $291 million is accurate? It's also interesting to see how the gov't increases its own costs thru "federal mandated" requirements.
No comments:
Post a Comment