KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. – The Klamath Tribes say they recently rejected an over $40 million proposal for the Swan Lake Hydro Power project.
At a special council meeting Saturday, the Tribes voted 77 to 8 against allowing the project to continue as planned.
The Tribes said the project would lead to the destruction of an important historic site for the Tribal people – an ancient cathedral site.
Tribal Chairman Clayton Dumont says this rejection does not mean they reject the idea of new renewable energy sources in the area.
“We are very pro renewable energy,” Dumont said. “We have been hurt badly by global warming so we support that. The problem is where this project is going to go.”
The company who originally wrote the proposal, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, based in Denmark, released a statement in response to the Tribes’ decision.
It says the company respects the Tribes’ decision and plan to continue working with Tribal officials on project proposals in the future.
The full statement from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners can be seen below:
CIP can confirm that Swan Lake North Hydro, LLC presented a proposal to the Klamath Tribes for a Settlement Agreement related to the construction, operations, and maintenance of the Swan Lake project. We respect the decision of tribal members who were present at the September 30th meeting. We plan to continue working with the Klamath Tribes to ensure respect for its land, people, and sacred resources of the region while ensuring that the Klamath Tribes and the entire Klamath Falls community can share in the economic and environmental benefits of the Swan Lake Energy Storage Project.
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