WATCH: Doug LaMalfa And Dem Lawmaker Throw Jabs At Each Other During Testy Exchange

4 months ago

During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing earlier this month, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) questioned witnesses

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00:00 >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:02 I got a little geographic update.

00:05 Mr. Huffman claims he represents the basin.

00:07 No, you represent the last 50 miles of the river

00:10 from Selma's Bar to the ocean.

00:11 >> I said lower.

00:12 I said lower.

00:12 >> Huh?

00:12 >> I said lower.

00:13 I represent the lower.

00:15 >> It's not the basin.

00:15 The basin, Mr. Benson, I have.

00:18 >> Get back to geography class.

00:19 >> You need a geography class.

00:22 >> Gentlemen, gentlemen.

00:22 >> You've been screwing around up there for long enough.

00:24 >> Gentlemen.

00:25 >> Mr. Liske, I hear you're --

00:29 I hear your concerns with the agreement there.

00:34 And they use the word minimize in the process

00:39 up there of impacts to you.

00:41 And that's probably enough of wiggle room for them to do a lot

00:43 of regulatory things that are still to come

00:45 after the dams have been destroyed,

00:48 as well as a good chunk of the economy up there.

00:50 So talk to me a little more about your concerns, though,

00:55 with the Keno Dam being turned over to the Bureau

00:58 and what kind of implications that could be

01:00 for new costs to the growers there.

01:02 >> Well, I mean, Keno Dam right now is being regulated strictly,

01:08 mainly for the fish going downstream.

01:11 And it looks like there's

01:13 over a $20 million upgrade that needs to be done,

01:16 plus fish ladders upgrades.

01:18 The salmon are coming back upstream.

01:21 And all those costs, as it looks like now, will be put

01:24 on to the Klamath Project users.

01:27 And in our agreements, that has been said it would not be.

01:31 And this is what the bill is trying to do, is make sure

01:34 that those costs do not come to the Klamath Project users.

01:36 >> Right, right.

01:37 But that'll probably be seen as a handout to the growers,

01:39 rather than the original promise of the project,

01:42 which was set up for agriculture,

01:44 not fish, not other things, right?

01:45 >> Correct.

01:46 I mean, the water that's stored in the lake is

01:48 under Oregon water law, stored for irrigation.

01:52 >> Yeah, they keep ignoring that law.

01:55 So, Mr. Palumbo, the Klamath Project was the second one

02:04 to ever authorize, and it has a responsibility to the basin

02:06 and the adjoining counties, Klamath, Modoc, and Siskiyou.

02:10 Does the Bureau have any accounting for these costs

02:12 and proposals to compensate the counties for all the things

02:16 that have been mentioned with removal,

02:18 the mitigation, et cetera?

02:22 >> Thank you very much for the question.

02:26 I appreciate that perspective.

02:28 Reclamation is in the process of developing cost estimates

02:31 for all elements of the agreements that are going

02:34 to be in place if this law is passed,

02:38 including Keno Dam replacement costs,

02:42 or Keno Dam improvement costs,

02:44 Link River Dam improvement costs, and costs

02:47 to restore the Klamath River after the dam removal.

02:52 >> I mean, I'm talking about the damage

02:54 to the local economy as it is.

02:55 The dam being removed in Klamath is the largest property tax

02:59 asset they have there, as well as the three dams

03:02 in Siskiyou are the three largest property tax assets

03:04 that they have there.

03:06 So, they're already, you know, you're talking

03:09 about forward-going plans.

03:10 What about the ones that are already,

03:11 the effects already there in place?

03:14 Is that something that you're looking at with some kind

03:18 of compensation for the property owners or those counties?

03:22 Congressman LaMalfa, we'd be happy to sit down and work

03:25 with your office to determine what --

03:26 >> No, no, no.

03:27 These are already happening.

03:28 These things are already damaging the economy

03:31 and the people of those areas.

03:33 You have no, so far, no plan in place after all these years

03:36 of KBRA and all these other years

03:38 of all the movements been made by both states,

03:42 as well as FERC and such, to do so?

03:44 >> There's several elements that are part

03:47 of the amended KHSA agreement, as well as the KPFA

03:52 that provide revenues to the counties.

03:54 And reclamation supports the agreements that were made.

03:57 I think, furthermore, the legislation, if passed,

04:00 moves those agreements into law, which will ensure

04:04 that those benefits do go to the counties and go

04:07 to the other beneficiaries that are identified

04:09 in the legislation.

04:10 >> All right.

04:11 So, part of the effort is that the, and as I said,

04:17 minimize the effects on people up there with power rates.

04:21 So, can you point to any specific plans

04:24 that would decrease the cost of the basin for power

04:29 or through energy conservation or efficiency?

04:32 >> Right. There's a number,

04:34 reclamation undertook a study in 2018 as a result

04:37 of the agreements that were passed to look at ways

04:39 in which to offset, defray, minimize cost impacts resulting

04:43 from the removal of the dams.

04:45 They include looking at hydropower purchases,

04:49 other power purchases.

04:50 >> Purchases from where?

04:50 >> Excuse me?

04:52 >> Purchases of hydro from where?

04:53 >> From the western grid through the western area

04:56 of power administration.

04:57 >> So, I'm going to run out of time here quick.

04:59 Currently, hydropower is about $20 a megawatt.

05:03 Wind is about 53.

05:04 Solar is about 68.

05:05 And offshore wind is 115.

05:07 So, how are you going to, if you don't get the hydro

05:12 from somewhere else, or is there a plan

05:14 to install new hydro on the Klamath River

05:16 to keep the low-cost energy?

05:18 How do you intend to have the lowest cost power in the area?

05:22 >> Currently, there are no plans for additional hydro

05:26 on the Klamath River.

05:27 There are provisions in the legislation

05:29 that cap the reimbursable requirements for power

05:33 that would be implemented.

05:34 That would have the net effect--

05:36 >> Cap it on the users or cap it on the government?

05:38 >> Gentlemen, time has expired.

05:39 >> On the users.

05:40 >> Cap the user costs or cap the government?

05:41 >> Gentlemen, time has expired.

05:43 on the users.

05:44 I answered the question for the record.

05:45 Go ahead.

05:46 Did you have an answer?

WATCH: Doug LaMalfa And Dem Lawmaker Throw Jabs At Each Other During Testy Exchange

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