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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on an agreement to remove hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California (all times local):
11:40 a.m.
Endangered salmon blocked for nearly a century from hundreds of miles of the Klamath River in Oregon and California are expected to return en masse under unusual new agreements to tear down four hydroelectric dams.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says the agreements involve one of the largest river restoration projects in the history of the United States.
She signed the agreements Wednesday along with the governors of both states.
The deals also protect farmers and ranchers from rising power and water prices as officials try to end long-running water wars in the Klamath basin over dividing scarce water between farms and fish.
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12 a.m.
Officials from Oregon, California and the Obama administration are preparing to sign an agreement pledging to seek permission to tear down four hydroelectric dams that are blamed for killing fish and blocking their migration.
They will also agree Wednesday to protect farmers and ranchers from rising power and water prices as they work on a broader pact to bring peace to long-running water wars in the Klamath River basin, which straddles the Oregon-California border.
The agreement revives a dormant settlement process that died at the end of last year when Congress failed to approve it. That original settlement would have removed dams, restored tribal lands and provided more water for farmers and ranchers.
By removing the dams without congressional approval, advocates hope the larger deal will become more politically palatable.
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