CONTACT: Mark Pfeifle, DOI

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SECRETARIES NORTON AND VENEMAN, SENATOR SMITH
OPEN "A" CANAL HEADGATES, PROVIDE WATER TO IRRIGATORS

(KLAMATH FALLS, ORE.) - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith opened the "A" Canal headgates today as a first step in delivering water to Klamath Basin irrigators for the 2002 growing season. These preliminary water deliveries will begin the process of charging the canal.

"We are pleased to be able to open these headgates to provide water to farmers," Norton said. "We have work to do. The law and the condition of the basin constrain our discretion. But our objectives are clear. As the president has directed, our goals are to protect farm families, restore the health of the ecosystem, honor our trust responsibilities to tribes and recover endangered species."

Water delivery to the Klamath Basin will begin as the consultation process for the 10-year operation of the Klamath Project moves forward with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), she said. Based on a preliminary analysis, the storage supply available in the Klamath Basin system, combined with projected inflow to the Klamath Project, is believed to be sufficient to meet both irrigation requirements and any potential endangered species needs in 2002.

"This is an important step in ensuring farmers and ranchers in the region have adequate water supplies," Veneman said. "There is still a great deal of work to be done and this administration continues its commitment to help farmers and ranchers recover from losses suffered last year."

At first, about 60 cubic feet per second will be released to charge the system. Gradually, over the next 10 days, the rate will be increased to prepare the canal to deliver water to irrigation districts by mid-to-late April. The irrigation season normally runs from April through September.

Both NMFS and FWS are working on long term Biological Opinions in response to the Biological Assessment that Reclamation issued Feb. 27, 2002. Those opinions will provide the basis for long term Klamath Basin water allocations from 2002 to 2012.

NMFS and FWS have agreed through informal consultation and interim formal consultation that the Bureau of Reclamation's operations will not jeopardize endangered species during the months of April and May 2002. Reclamation has committed to immediately take certain actions, including implementing measures to reduce entrainment of suckers into the "A" Canal.

To reduce entrainment of fish throughout the 10-year project, Reclamation plans for a fish screen at the "A" Canal Headgates have been accelerated. The cabinet-level Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group, appointed by President Bush on March 1, 2002, has announced that construction of the screen will be advanced to protect endangered species living in Upper Klamath Lake.

Reclamation's fiscal year 2003 budget request to Congress includes funding to complete the installation of the fish screen, with construction expected to begin this fall and completion scheduled by April 1, 2003. Design is essentially complete, with a contract award expected by early August.

President Bush instructed the Working Group to find short-term and long-term solutions to the challenges affecting farmers, ranchers, fishermen, tribes and others in the Klamath River. The working group is chaired by Norton. Other members include Veneman, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, and James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

U.S. Department of the Interior