	Introduction

The Klamath River Basin, a region along the California-Oregon border, has been a focal point for local and national discussions on water resources and species management. Water management issues were brought to the forefront when severe drought conditions in 2001 exacerbated competition for scarce water resources and generated conflict among several interests—farmers; fishermen (commercial and sport); other recreationists; federal wildlife refuge managers; environmental organizations; and state, local, and tribal governments. Low water conditions and a call for water by senior water rights holders in 2013 have again brought these issues to the forefront. The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement (KHSA), collectively referred to as the Klamath a greements in this report, were signed in 2010 by a wide array of basin interests (although not all basin interests support the agreements). The KBRA would, among other things, set limits for water allocations for irrigators and wildlife refuges under a range of conditions related to the amount of water forecast in a given year; attempt to make available supplemental water and power supplies in the basin; and provide for restoration and monitoring of certain fish species. The KHSA lays out a process that could lead to removal of four nonfederal hydroelectric dams currently owned and operated by a private entity, PacifiCorp. If carried out as envisioned, the project would be one of the largest, most complex dam removals in history. Although the Klamath agreements require congressional authorization to move forward on key components, some activities under existing authorities have already been undertaken. More recently, in the summer of 2013, a call on water rights under the newly released Oregon water rights adjudication resulted in limitations on water deliveries for junior water rights holders in the upper part of the basin. The 2013 "call" on water rights (in which senior water rights holders gave notice that their demands exceeded available flows) limited or shut off water deliveries to some junior water rights holders (for the most part, off-project irrigators) in the upper basin. Originally, both agreements were set to expire without congressional authorization by 2012, but this deadline has been extended to 2014. In response to concerns and outstanding issues in the upper basin, in 2013 a task force was convened to incorporate additional issues not addressed by the KBRA and KHSA. Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement

The KBRA was negotiated by stakeholders and other groups in the Klamath Basin. Most significantly, the KHSA lays out a process for additional studies and environmental review by the Secretary of the Interior to consider removal of the dams (known as the Secretarial Determination ). To be implemented, the Upper Klamath Basin agreement would need to be ratified along with the KBRA in any future authorizing legislation. Similar to legislation in the 113 th Congress, S. 133 would add new reporting requirements for dam removal (including a report on planned facilities removal to be published one to two years prior to the removal of the dams) and ecosystem restoration, plus several smaller alterations to individual provisions of the agreements. There is no formal estimate of potential future savings to state and federal governments associated with the agreements. Since authority for the Secretary of the Interior to make a final determination on dam removal is a key step in the KHSA, some argue that authorization of the agreements is the primary opportunity for Congress to weigh in for or against this decision. These same groups are also party to the KHSA. The Yurok Tribe, which initially supported the Klamath agreements, issued a notice of withdrawal from the agreements in September 2015.
The Klamath River Basin on the California-Oregon border is a focal point for local and national discussions on water allocation and species protection. Previously, water and species management issues have exacerbated competition and generated conflict among several interests—farmers; Indian tribes; commercial and sport fishermen; federal water project and wildlife refuge managers; environmental groups; hydropower facility operators; and state, local, and tribal governments. Drought conditions and a call for water by senior water rights holders in 2013 have again brought these issues to the forefront.
In 2010, the Secretary of the Interior and the governors of Oregon and California, along with multiple interest groups, announced the results of a multiyear negotiation process to resolve long-standing issues in the basin: two interrelated agreements, supported by the federal government and signed by the two states and numerous other parties. These agreements, known as the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA), together aim to provide for water deliveries to irrigators and wildlife refuges, fish habitat restoration, and numerous other related actions. Generally, the KBRA provides for actions intended to restore Klamath fisheries and for assurances for water deliveries to wildlife refuges and federal project irrigators under certain circumstances, among other things. The KHSA lays out a process that could lead to the removal of four privately owned dams on the Klamath River. This dam removal would be one of the largest and most complex projects of its kind ever undertaken.
Some parts of the Klamath agreements are being carried out under existing authorities. Studies to inform a determination on dam removal under the KHSA by the Secretary of the Interior are complete, and some restoration actions have been initiated. However, congressional authorization is required for the most significant components of the agreements to be implemented.
The KBRA and KHSA did not address all outstanding issues in the basin. A water rights adjudication by the state of Oregon (in progress since the 1970s) is ongoing. In 2013, the adjudication reaffirmed "time immemorial" tribal water rights in the upper part of the Klamath Basin, confirming that tribal water rights are senior to those of other water rights holders. This resulted in a "call" on water rights (i.e., notice by senior water rights holders that their demands exceed available flows), and led to reductions to water supplies for some junior users during the low water year of 2013. To resolve these issues and prevent such a scenario from occurring again, a separate settlement agreement (the Upper Klamath Basin Settlement Agreement) was negotiated by stakeholders and finalized in April 2014. To be implemented, the agreement would need to be authorized along with the KBRA and KHSA.
The KBRA and KHSA were originally set to expire in 2012 if no authorizing legislation was enacted, but they have since been extended (most recently through 2015). Parties may also withdraw individually from the agreements, and several parties initiated this process of withdrawal.
In the 114th Congress, S. 133 would authorize the Klamath agreements, including a suite of new federal actions that have received support from disparate parties and are required for the agreements to be implemented. Previous legislation in the 113th Congress (S. 2379) was ordered to be reported out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on November 13, 2014.