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DEQ News Release
News Release
For release: Dec. 5, 2001
Contacts:
Steve Kirk, Water Quality, TMDL Coordinator, Bend, (541) 388-6146, ext. 235
Scott Fairley, Communications & Outreach, La Grande, (541) 975-1129DEQ Releases Draft Clean Water Plans For Upper Klamath River Drainage
Sixty-day public comment period ends Feb. 4, 2002
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has released for public review a draft water quality report and management plan for the Upper Klamath Lake Drainage in south Central Oregon. The report -- known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)-- and management plan define steps needed to meet clean water standards and protect watershed health in the Upper Klamath Lake Drainage.
The draft Upper Klamath Lake Drainage TMDL water quality report and management plan focus on improving water quality, assuming continuation of existing uses of water within the basin. They do not attempt to limit the amount of water withdrawn from lakes and rivers within the basin.
The documents are scheduled for a 60-day public review beginning Dec. 6, 2001 and ending Feb. 4. 2002.
The draft water quality report and management plan were developed by DEQ and a local citizens committee consisting of landowners, business owners, agency and industry representatives, local government officials, and representatives from the Klamath Indian Reservation.
According to Joni Hammond, DEQ's Eastern Region Administrator in Pendleton, completion of the draft TMDL water quality report and management plan is a significant step toward improving water quality in the Upper Klamath Lake Drainage.
"I greatly appreciate the efforts of all the people who assisted us with the Upper Klamath TMDL. We’ve been completing TMDLs in Oregon for a number of years now, and we know they are helping to improve water quality,” said Hammond.
The Upper Klamath Lake Drainage includes Upper Klamath Lake, the Williamson, Sycan and Sprague rivers, and all streams and tributaries in the 3,800-square mile area that stretches between Gearhart Mountain, Crater Lake and the southern end of Upper Klamath Lake.
Water quality suffers in the Upper Klamath Lake Drainage in part due to human activities. Vegetation loss along stream banks reduces shade and causes water to heat up, and high nutrient levels from city, agriculture, and forestland run-off contributes to excessive algae growth. These conditions reduce water quality, including reducing fish survival rates and recreational opportunities.
The draft Upper Klamath Lake Drainage TMDL water quality report sets goals for the reduction of temperature and nutrients that are causing poor water quality, while the management plan describes how these goals can be met. The management plan addresses pollution from various sources, including outflows from the municipal sewage treatment plant at Chiloquin and run-off and infiltration from public and private forest lands, crop and grazing lands, urban areas, and transportation corridors such as roads and highways.
In addition to calling for pollution reductions from the City of Chiloquin sewage treatment plant, a significant finding in the TMDL water quality report is that increasing streamside vegetation, particularly trees, will improve water quality by increasing shade, reducing stream temperatures and reducing the amount of pollutants that reach streams through runoff.
Information Meeting and Public Comment Period
DEQ will present an overview of the Upper Klamath Lake Drainage TMDL and water quality management plan at an information meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oregon Institute of Technology, Student Union, Mt. Bachelor Room, Klamath Falls.
In addition to the information meeting, DEQ will hold a public hearing and review all public comments on the draft Upper Klamath Lake Drainage TMDL and water quality management plan before submitting the documents to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for final approval.
The public hearing will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002, at the Oregon Institute of Technology, Student Union, Mt. Shasta Room, Klamath Falls. The public is encouraged to attend.
Written comments can be submitted at any time during the public comment period. Comments can be sent to: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Attention: Steve Kirk, 2146 NE Fourth, Bend, OR 97702
Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4, 2002.
The documents are available for public review and can be viewed at the Klamath County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Klamath Tribes Department of Natural Resources, and the Klamath Falls Public Library, or by accessing DEQ's TMDL Web page at: Oregon DEQ Water Quality TMDL page
The above is a DEAD LINK. Just did some searching for a good link, and most all are dead, or say, Not Authorized.
Found this cached page:
If ANYONE can give me any real data or links or anything to fight this thing, please do so. We are contacting everyone we can to be at this meeting tonight! Again, it wasn't even in our newspaper!...not that we could find, anyway.