EPA Approves Historic Salmon Restoration Plan for Klamath River
News Release
EPA
01/04/2011
SAN FRANCISCO – The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved California’s water
quality improvement plan for restoring salmon fisheries and water
quality in the Klamath River. The plan calls for massive pollution
reductions for the California portion of the river, including a 57 %
reduction in phosphorus, 32% in nitrogen, and 16% in carbonaceous
biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD). The plan also calls for annual
reductions in the river's reservoirs of more than 120,000 pounds of
nitrogen, and 22,000 pounds of phosphorus.
The Klamath River, a federally protected "Wild and
Scenic River," flows 255 miles southwest from Oregon through northern
California, and empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Klamath River drains
an extensive watershed covering over 12,600 square miles, and has been
called the "Everglades of the West.” The Klamath River and its
tributaries support the highest diversity of anadromous fishes of any
river in California, including salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead and
sturgeon. Upstream in Oregon, the river hosts the state's most robust
population of redband and bull trout. In 2002, a massive die-off of
more than 33,000 salmon brought national attention to this area.
The tribes that live along the Klamath rely on the
river for subsistence, transportation and ceremony, as they have for
thousands of years. These tribes include the Yurok, Hoopa Valley,
Karuk, Quartz Valley and Resighini Rancheria on the lower stretches of
the river (California), and the Modoc and Klamath in the upper basin
(Oregon.)
Under the Clean Water Act, states and authorized
tribes are required to develop a list of waters that do not meet water
quality standards. For these “impaired” waters, jurisdictions must
calculate the maximum amount of pollutants allowed to enter them so they
can meet water quality standards into the future. These pollution
limits are called Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs.
Today, the entire Klamath River is listed as
“impaired.” In 1992, the California State Water Quality Control Board
(Water Board) proposed that the Klamath River be listed for temperature,
organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen, and nutrients, requiring the
development of TMDL limits and implementation plans. The Water Board
subsequently added sediment and microcystin (an algal toxin) to this
list for parts of the Klamath. The Klamath River’s aquatic habitat
degradation is due to organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen,
excessively warm water temperatures and algae blooms associated with
high nutrient loads, water impoundments, and agricultural diversions.
Algal blooms can release toxins, posing moderate to significant health
risks. Harmful results range from skin rashes and fevers, to livestock
poisoning and liver toxicity. Since 2004, levels of cyanobacteria and
microcystin toxins at several locations on the lower Klamath have
exceeded World Health Organization standards.
TMDLs for several water bodies in the Klamath Basin -
the Trinity River, Scott River, Shasta River, Lost River, and the
Klamath Straits Drain - are also being implemented to address
impairments due to excessive pollution. Reductions vary for each reach
of the Klamath River, with the most significant reductions required from
Stateline through the Klamath Hydroelectric Project reservoirs.
“This historic Klamath River plan charts the path to
restoring one of our nation’s largest, most scenic and biologically
important watersheds,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional
Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “By establishing clear
benchmarks and accountability this plan will ensure that Klamath River
can thrive long into the future.”
This plan reflects a multi-year collaborative effort
to develop pollutant limits for the full Klamath River. A partnership
between EPA, California’s North Coast Regional Water Quality Control
Board and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality began in 2003.
California’s plan received extensive public review and was approved by
both the Regional Board and the State Water Board prior to EPA’s
approval. The companion plan for the upper reaches of Klamath River in
Oregon was released by Oregon DEQ on December 21, 2010; EPA’s Pacific
Northwest region is expected to act on Oregon’s plan in January 2011.
"The Klamath particularly is a troubled river system,
and once supported the third largest salmon runs in the nation.
Implementation of these Klamath Mainstem TMDLs will go a long way toward
helping restore those key salmon runs, and the jobs those salmon once
supported," said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen's Associations.
“It is truly good news that the current round of
water quality planning for the Klamath River is complete,” said
Catherine Kuhlman, Executive Officer of the North Coast Regional Board.
“Now, it’s time for action to reduce water pollution and restore the
river in order to enhance the myriad of beneficial uses of the river.”
