Partner Scott W. Williams Appointed to Board of Directors of Klamath River Renewal Corporation

The Yurok Tribe recently designated Scott Williams to be its representative on the Board of Directors of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation.  The sole mission of the Corporation is to secure the removal of the four major dams on the Klamath River.  The Corporation, a non-profit, California-chartered organization, was established by the signatories to the amended Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (April 2016).  The Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe, California, Oregon, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, PacifiCorp, and conservation and fishing organizations agreed that the Klamath River dams (owned by PacifiCorp) would be removed by 2020.  Funding for dam removal was established in the Agreement in the amounts of $200 million from PacifiCorp ratepayers in Oregon and California, and $250 million from a bond approved by California voters.  Board members, who serve as volunteers, are appointed by the governors of the two states, the two Tribes, and the conservation and fishing organizations.  Scott will continue to represent tribal clients during his Board service.  According to American Rivers, the restoration of a free-flowing Klamath River will be “the most significant dam removal and river restoration effort in the world.”