I am concerned about the ways that Klickitat County Commissioners Struck, Frey, and Thayer have been choosing to spend county dollars in regards to the legal battle with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over Condit Dam.
Consider the following:
1) Accurate tallies of the testimony of citizens at the FERC meeting show that, of those in attendance, the majority (2-1) were in favor of the removal of Condit Dam;
2) Klickitat County is approximately $15 million in debt. The state of Washington currently mandates that our county not go more than $18 million in debt;
3) Klickitat County is involved in litigation with the state of Washington over the county's refusal to adopt a "Critical Areas" ordinance, as well as separate litigation with the Yakama Nation. These lawsuits are costing Klickitat County citizens money;
4) At present, 2,761 residents of Klickitat County are receiving some form of public assistance, and our unemployment rate is consistently the highest in the state;
5) Condit Dam has the possibility of producing a maximum of 14 megawatts, but never has produced that much power. It is an engineering possibility in the best of circumstances; the reality of the power output has hovered around 9 megawatts;
6) As of April 18, 2002, our commissioners had spent nearly $52,000 for three months' worth of legal fees to fight FERC and PacifiCorp;
7) If we were to `win' this voluntary litigation and gain ownership of Condit Dam, then Klickitat County would be required to put in a $33 million fish ladder, spend several million to upgrade the powerhouse, generator, and sluice, and pay $2 million for relicensing. We would than have the potential to create 0.1 percent of the total power that the Bonneville Power Administration sells in the open market on the power grid;
8) No substantial jobs or revenue would be created from keeping and/or owning Condit Dam;
9) If we `win' ownership of Condit Dam, then Klickitat County assumes the liability and responsibility for costs associated with the dam. As it stands now, PacifiCorp and the federal government are liable and responsible for those costs.
Our county money should be going to address the social and economic needs of our citizens. We are already about $15 million in debt, yet our commissioners still choose to spend large sums of money for litigation against the federal government and PacifiCorp.
Does this make sense? Is this more beneficial to Klickitat County citizens than education, small business development, job training, tourism, public transportation, or community enhancement?
Don Struck, Joan Frey, and Ray Thayer are employees of the citizens of Klickitat County. Let us make sure that they consider what is best for all their constituents, and that they don't run Klickitat County into bankruptcy over this dam.
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