SAXTONS RIVER — March 1 marked a major deadline for public comments on five hydroelectric facilities on the Connecticut River seeking renewal of their operating licenses.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) submitted more than 100 pages of comments and study requests to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for additional information needed to make sound decisions about license renewal.
The five hydro projects included in the 2018 relicensing are Wilder, Bellows Falls, and Vernon dams in Vermont, and Turners Falls Dam and Northfield Mountain Pump Storage Project in Massachusetts. These facilities account for more than 30 percent of hydropower generation in New England.
The new licenses will be virtually unalterable, and the operating conditions FERC places on the new licenses will affect 175 miles of the Connecticut River for the next 30 years.
CRWC's comments focus on improvements to the ecological health of the river and recreational opportunities for the public. It believes that recreational and educational opportunities, such as improved fishing and boating access, reasonable walkable portage facilities, more and better campsites, and migratory fish viewing facilities that support educational programs and are ADA accessible, must continue.
The group said it also wants to see riverbank erosion minimized by moderating river flow and reservoir fluctuations, and wants studies conducted exploring the option of a closed-loop system at the Northfield Mountain Pump Storage Project in Massachusetts.
Many more studies are needed to improve aquatic species habitat, CRWC says. Important factors to consider include efficient and successful fish passage; minimum river flows to support fish habitat and spawning; and impacts of dams on American shad, American eel, dwarf wedgemussel, and the endangered shortnose sturgeon.
Finally, CRWC wants studies to be conducted exploring the option of decommissioning one or more of the dams.
“The power companies have made a good start putting information forward,” said CRWC executive director Andrew Fisk. “But there is a tremendous amount of additional information that we all need in order to make good decisions about our river and our environment. It's important to remember that this river belongs to all of us.”
The federal government will decide what additional studies will be required of the companies by July, after releasing a draft document based on the information submitted to them this past week by many different organizations and individuals.
CRWC river stewards Andrea Donlon and David Deen are participating in the formal proceedings and are working to engage the public in the process.
For more information about these projects, visit CRWC at www.ctriver.org.