Feds withhold $500K for Upper Klamath water study

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) – The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is withholding $500,000 allocated for a water quality study of Oregon’s Upper Klamath Lake, citing potential budget cuts.

The Herald and News reports the bureau’s Klamath Basin Area Office Manager Jeff Nettleton told the Klamath Tribes that the funding will be reprogramed to other activities to avoid losing that money.

Nettleton says the bureau is expecting budget cuts between 13 percent and 20 percent next year.

Klamath Tribal Chairman Don Gentry says in a statement the recent decision is a “giant step backwards.” He says negotiations about water allocation agreements cannot proceed until there is progress on improving water quality.

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Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com