US regulators to vote on largest dam demolition in history

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The largest dam demolition and river restoration plan in the world could become reality as U.S. regulators vote on whether to approve the removal of four aging structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California river to imperiled salmon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission vote Thursday on the lower Klamath River dams is the last major regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone for a $500 million demolition proposal championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. The project would return the lower half of California’s second-largest river to a free-flowing state for the first time in more than a century. But some homeowners worry demolition could decrease property values and project overruns could fall on taxpayers.