11/7/2014

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Dams:

(They’ll reach agreement when the project isn’t built.)Feds, public weigh in on state’s Susitna hydro studiesBy Molly Dischner, Alaska Journal of Commerce, 2014.10.23, alaskajournal.com

A proposed hydro project on theSusitna River is the impetus forsubstantial fisheries research, butstate and federal interests havedisagreed on components of thefirst year of work. The AlaskaEnergy Authority held a meeting onthe fisheries studies Oct. 15, andprovided an opportunity for federalscientists and members of thepublic to comment on the work thathas been done so far, and what isplanned for the second year ofstudies. Federal energy regulators will be tasked with sorting out the disagreements regarding the

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Some Dam – Hydro News TM

And Other Stuff

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Quote of Note: “As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey." --Thomas Alva Edison

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“Good wine is a necessity of life.” - -Thomas JeffersonRon’s wine pick of the week: 2012 Ferrari Carano Pinot Noir "Anderson Valley" “ No nation was ever drunk when wine was cheap. ” - - Thomas Jefferson

work that has been done, and must approve of the second-year plan before it can begin. The proposed Susitna-Watana project would be a 735-foot dam, with a 600-megawatt capacity, expected to supply about half of the Railbelt energy demand, according to AEA. As part of the licensing process for the proposed dam, the energy authority has had to study the various resources that could be impacted by such a project, including fish. The first year of studies was conducted in 2013, and AEA filed its initial study report regarding that work in June 2014. Under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s timeline, the second year of studies will be conducted in 2015, although research was conducted this past summer. AEA said at the October meeting that it would provide more information on some studies by the end of November. During winter and spring of 2014, AEA and the licensing partners, including federal scientists, will have the opportunity for additional back and forth on the 2013 work and year two plans.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to then make its final recommendation on the year two studies by late April. At the request of the federal scientists, much of the discussion so far has focused on the 2013 work; 2014 results were not presented at the initial study report meeting. Earlier this fall, the National Marine Fisheries Service and AEA exchanged heated letters regarding the 2013 studies, with the federal scientists questioning the validity of some studies, and AEA defending the work done on its behalf, primarily by contractors.The October meeting provided an opportunity for discussion about the differences, with fish identification one of the major sticking points. The contracted scientists hired by AEA were tasked with identifying juvenile salmon to gather information on where fish live in the river, but had difficulty telling juvenile king and silver salmon apart. That was partially because there are a large number of fish to identify quickly, and the scientists want to minimize the time any fish is out of the water or being handled. Fish distribution and abundance has been a major focus of the work so far, and one that has led to many of the questions raised by federal scientists. For the Upper River project, data so far has largely been provided with minimal analysis, as a snapshot of what was seen in the river. At the meeting, scientists questioned whether different sampling methods had been correlated and how error was accounted for. AEA’s representatives also explained some of the changes from the initial plan, and other changes they think will be necessary for the next year of work.

For a habitat study, the scientists hired by AEA were unable to complete the full sampling plan in the allotted time, and instead opted to subsample the areas to try and get an accurate, but less comprehensive, look at habitat in various tributaries. During the meeting, Sue Walker, from the National Marine Fisheries Service, and Betsy McCracken from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service said the federal agencies would like to see additional fish sampling for the upper river distribution and abundance study. McCracken noted that the preliminary results show more fish in the upper river than originally expected, and Walker said that additional sampling could show how many fish travel upstream in the mainstem, and where they go, compared to how many enter tributaries. The federal scientists also complimented some of the work done so far to track all five salmon species as they move through the river. Walker complimented the work done to count fish with a sonar, and said that study was “really well done.” She also said, however, that gauging the number of salmon swimming upstream is important so that the federal agencies can make a recommendation of what salmon passage mechanism would be appropriate at the dam. Walker also praised the radio tagging work done as part of the escapement studies. In addition to those studies, AEA and its consultants presented work to better gauge echelon distribution and abundance, fish passage barrier changes and more. AEA also proposed a change to the transmission line and road corridors being studied. Previously the agency was looking at a Chultina corridor, Denali West corridor and Gold Creek corridor; at the October meeting, the agency said it would add a Denali East option and eliminate the Chulitna corridor as a way to avoid several anadromous stream crossings in the other options. The Denali west corridor has 38 stream crossings, none of which are thought to be anadromous, and the Gold creek corridor has 17 crossings, including several salmon streams. The Chulitna corridor has 23 possible crossings, including salmon in three — Indian River, Portage Creek and Thoroughfare Creek. Cook Inlet Region Inc. Land Manager Dara Glass said that CIRI is concerned about the corridor selection process, and would prefer that AEA study all of the options before making a decision about which

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route to take. Members of the public questioned the transmission corridor studies. Becky Long, from the Susitna River Coalition, said she was concerned that AEA was trying to choose the least environmentally damaging site, but didn’t have exact locations of airports and construction camps on which to base that decision. Jeff Davis, a Talkeetna-based scientist at the Aquatic Restoration and Research Institute, also suggested that the agency look at the potential water quality impacts of the corridors.

(Sounds like Congress better get off of their duff!)Cost of new lock rises as old lock at Chickamauga Dam is repairedby Dave Flessner, 10/31/14, timesfreepress.com

As crews work this week to assessthe damaged condition of the idledlock at Chickamauga Dam, theestimated cost for its replacementcontinues to increase. Theprojected cost of finishing a newand bigger lock at theChickamauga Dam rose another$162 million this summer after theU.S. Army Corps of Engineersreassessed the project using a newrisk-based system the agencyhopes will be more reliable. Thehigher projection swells theestimated cost of the new Chickamauga Lock to $860 million,nearly triple the original estimate when the project wasauthorized by Congress in 2003. The extra expense ismaking it harder to complete the new lock from theInland Waterways Trust Fund, which is equally funded bydiesel fuel taxes from the barge industry and federaldollars appropriated by Congress. There currently isn’tenough money in the trust fund to sustain work at thenew Chickamauga lock even though the existing lockhas been temporarily shut down because of a crack in asteel support beam on the upper gate.

“The shutdown of the Chickamauga Lock is a realhardship for river shipments on upper part of theTennessee River, but hopefully this will be a wake up callfor the Corps and Congress to do more to make sure thenew replacement lock is funded and can be completed,”said Cline Jones, the executive director for theTennessee River Valley Association in Decatur, Ala.The existing lock, which was built by the TennesseeValley Authority in the 1930s, suffers from “concretegrowth” in the rock aggregate of its chamber walls. TheCorps, which took over operation of the lock in the1980s, is having to do “aggressive maintenance” to keepthe old lock in operation. The lock is the most heavilymonitored of any in the United States because of itscrumbling condition. On Monday, a routine inspection bythe Corps found a crack in the gate beam and engineersordered the lock shut down until the gate is assessedand repairs are made. The closing of the lock Monday forced Serodino Inc. to shut down its

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Chickamauga Lock at a glanceDeveloper: The Tennessee Valley Authority originally built the lock along with the Chickamauga Dam in the late 1930s.Operator: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the lock and took over its maintenance in the 1980s.Existing lock: The lock through the Chickamauga Dam is 360-feet long, 60-foot wide and was opened in 1940.New lock: The replacement lock will be 600-feet long, 110-feet wide and could be finished in six to eight years, if more funding is provided.Traffic: The lock handled about 1 million tons of freight last year, down from 2.7 million tons a year before the recession. The lock also allows hundreds of recreational boats to travel from Chickamauga Lake to Nickajack Lake.The problem: The existing lock suffers from “concrete growth” in the rock aggregate, requiring “aggressive maintenance” to maintain the lock. A new and bigger lock also would cut the time for multi-barge shipments to go through the lock.Status: Construction began on the new lock in 2005 but was largely halted in 2010 when funding ran out.Cost: The new lock is projected to cost $860 million. The Corps of Engineers has spent $186 million so far.Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

tugboat operation between Chattanooga and Knoxville and temporarily lay off 16 employees. Peter Serodino said he hopes the old lock is soon repaired so his employees can get back to work and industry on the river can resume river shipments. TVA and the U.S. Department of Energy rely upon the river and the Chickamauga Lock for delivery of major nuclear and power plant equipment, and manufacturers like Olin in Charleston and A.E. Staley in Loudon need the river for commodity and product deliveries.“We need this lock to stay open,” Serodino said.

Bill Peoples, chief of public affairs for the Corps’ Nashville District Office, said engineers from the Corps were studying the gate problem Thursday to assess what repairs will be needed before the old lock can resume operation. The Corps estimates the lock will be closed for three weeks, although that time could be changed once the lock problem is assessed and its fix is determined.Since the lock unexpectedly shut down Monday afternoon, barge and recreational boat traffic on the Tennessee River between the Chickamauga and Nickajack reservoirs has been halted.The closing has brought a new urgency to finishing the replacement lock even as rising costs and budget constraints make it harder to fund. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said each barge replaces 65 trucks on Interstate 75 and the river provides cheaper and more energy efficient movement of goods in the region. “Failure of the existing lock – a real possibility if the delay in funding takes too long – would threaten jobs in Chattanooga and throughout East Tennessee, including at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, nuclear weapons facilities, nuclear power plants and manufacturing facilities,” Alexander said in a statement earlier this week. “If the Lock is closed it will put at least 150,000 trucks back on I-75, and if the new expanded Lock is built it will take 100,000 trucks off I-75.” The Corps of Engineers invested $186 million in design and construction work for the new lock from 2005 through 2010, but there has been no funding for the project since and work has been suspended and the concrete batch plants used to start the project have been moved elsewhere. “With additional funding we could probably restart work in six months or so, and we estimate we could complete the project in six to eight years,” Don Getty, project manager for the new Chickamauga Lock, said Thursday. Getty said the delays and uncertainty of funding have pushed up the construction costs of the Chickamauga project. The new estimate also is higher because it is based upon 2024 costs, not the original estimates prepared more than a decade ago. The new risk-based estimating process is designed to ensure at least an 80 percent probability of finishing a project at the estimated price or lower. The Corps adopted the new cost-projection approach to limit the agency’s frequent cost overruns on major projects. At the Olmsted Lock and Dam on the Ohio River, for instance, the projected cost of the project jumped the original 1995 estimate of $775 million to a new estimate of $3.1 billion in 2024 dollars. The extra funds required to replace two 1920’s era Ohio River dams has absorbed virtually all of the money available to build new locks and dams in the federal Inland Waterways Trust Fund. The House and Senate have voted differing budget versions for fiscal 2015 to allocate more money for inland waterway projects and Alexander said he hopes in the lame duck session after next Tuesday’s election that Congress might also raise the diesel tax on barges to provide even more funds. The Chickamauga Lock replacement project is fourth in line for federal funding, behind the Olmsted lock and dam in Ohio, the lower Monongahela lock and dam in Pennsylvania and the Kentucky Dam in Kentucky.

Hydro: (Looks like this might shut down over the fish passage issue. Anyone need some used hydro equipment?)Foot-dragging on fish ladder cuts power from Juliette damBy Jim Gaines, macon.com, October 23, 2014

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Federal officials have ordered ahydroelectric plant on an OcmulgeeRiver dam shut down by Sunday,following a 12-year effort to get theoperator to build an access route formigrating fish. The East Juliette dam,about 20 miles north of Macon, blocksfish -- especially American shad --from returning to their spawninggrounds. The Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission issued anorder Oct. 16 for EasternHydroelectric Corp. to permanentlydisable its powerhouse at the damwithin 10 days. Eastern Hydro has 30days to appeal the shutdown order, but that right of appeal doesn’t supersede the requirement to cease operations, said Craig Cano, a spokesman for the commission’s electric division.

Such a mandate from federal officials is fairly unusual, he said. “A more common outcome would be that a licensee would surrender its license because it was unable to comply with a condition imposed by the commission,” Cano said. Neither Robert Rose, president of Eastern Hydro, according to Florida corporate records, nor other company representatives replied to a request for comment Thursday. Electricity from the 678-kilowatt station is bought by Georgia Power, according to documents filed with the commission. “We were happy to see FERC take action on this,” said Gerrit Jobsis, Southeast regional director for American Rivers, a conservation group that lobbied for the shutdown decision. Jobsis said he doesn’t know if Eastern Hydro has appealed the shutdown order or plans to. American Rivers has been involved in this and similar cases since requirements for fish passages at dams were instituted, he said. This doesn’t happen very often. Most hydropower operators comply with license requirements, Jobsis said. Whether anything further is done, and what Eastern Hydro’s long-term response will be, is unknown, said John Biagi, chief of fisheries for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division. “That’s where it gets really fuzzy,” he said. “We’re kind of at a loss ourselves on trying to find answers as to what the next steps will be.” The long-term intention has been to get Eastern Hydro to install a fish ladder at the dam so American shad could get to spawning grounds upstream, Biagi said. American shad spend their first year in rivers such as the Ocmulgee, but they live most of their adult lives in the ocean off the northwest coast of Canada, he said. They return to their home streams to spawn and die, and there are “high quality” spawning grounds upstream from the Juliette dam, Biagi said. American shad aren’t regulated under the Endangered Species Act, but they are more scarce than they once were, he said. They’re commercially and recreationally fished in Georgia and provide food for other popular fish such as bass and crappie, Biagi said. “It’s a fish that really can drive a system in the river,” he said. While they’re found in other rivers too, the Oconee/Ocmulgee/Altamaha system probably holds the largest spawning population in Georgia, Biagi said.

SEVERAL EXTENSIONSThat’s why all the agencies involved thought it was important to allow American shad access past the East Juilette dam, he said. That conviction is reflected in the Oct. 16 commission order.“The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service state that restoring access to historical spawning habitat for American shad is among their highest priorities for the region,” wrote commission Secretary Kimberly Bose. The concrete dam, 20 feet high and 1,230 feet long, dates from 1921. There are two powerhouses on the river’s east bank, but the southern powerhouse hasn’t operated since 1999. Eastern Hydro has held a license for the dam since 1995. In June 2002, the commission authorized building a third powerhouse on the river’s west bank. It was never built, but the authorization included a requirement to build some sort of passage for migrating fish.

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The East Juliette dam is the first barrier that fish migrating back to their birthplaces face when coming up the Altamaha and Ocmulgee rivers from the Atlantic Ocean. Fish passage facilities have been required at dams since 2002. After getting several extensions on that requirement, Eastern Hydro filed a plan in 2006 to build a “fish lift” that was supposed to be working by March 2007. But nothing happened, despite a 2007 compliance order from the commission. Following that failure, in 2011 the commission ordered Eastern Hydro to show some reason it shouldn’t revoke the power-generating license. Eastern Hydro said it wanted to build a fish ladder instead of a fish lift and filed plans in June 2012. Commission staff approved a 4-foot-wide ladder that that would let fish, mostly American shad, climb around the dam.But Eastern Hydro didn’t file its plans until May 2013, a month past deadline. In September 2013 the commission sent out another compliance order, warning that the dam’s operating license could be revoked.

After another year of back-and-forth, the commission, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service all concluded that Eastern Hydro wasn’t actually going to build the fish ladder, based on its history of failure.What conservationists really want is for the dam to be removed -- especially if it’s not generating power -- restoring free access for fish, Jobsis said. Even if a fish passage was built, it wouldn’t be as effective as dam removal and would require ongoing maintenance, he said. “If the dam is not actively being used, there’s no way of assuring that that passage is being maintained,” Jobsis said. While hydropower dams are beneficial in some ways, they can cause problems too, including hazards for swimmers and boaters, he said. On Aug. 18, American Rivers and the Altamaha Riverkeeper conservation groups asked federal officials to revoke Eastern Hydro’s license, followed by removal of the dam itself. That’s further than the commission was willing to go, at least so far. “While we understand the conservation group’s interest to see removal of all project facilities owned by the licensee, we will not condition license revocation upon a licensee’s completion of such extensive remedial action,” Bose wrote.

(Just a great hydro picture!)From water to watts: Lay Dam’s centennial celebratedBy Staff Reports Published, October 24, 2014, clantonadvertiser.com

Editor’s note: Alabama Power is celebrating the centennial of Lay Dam. Built on the Coosa River near Clanton between 1912 and 1914, Lay was the first of four dams the company constructed before 1930 that helped move Alabama from the 19th into the 20th century....

(How much is a hydro project really worth?)Hinsdale, TransCanada reach valuation settlement

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By Domenic Poli / Reformer Staff, 10/25/2014, reformer.com

Hinsdale, N.H. -- The town reached anagreement on Friday with TransCanadaon the valuation of the Vernonhydroelectric station, resolving thepending property tax appeals for taxyears 2010 through 2013. According toTransCanada, the agreement sets thestation valuation from 2014 through 2021and establishes the value of theHinsdale portion of the TransCanadafacility at $73 million for those first threeyears, and at $75 million for theremaining five. Bernie Rideout, thechairman of the Hinsdale Board ofSelectmen, said the agreement allows for peace of mind for the future municipal management of Hinsdale.

"This arrangement allows long-term planning for the town without concern over how changes in the regional power market might alter the value of the hydro station, which makes up 24 percent of our tax base," he said. "We are pleased that TransCanada recently expanded its station to generate more renewable power from the Connecticut River and increased its investment in the town. TransCanada has always operated responsibly in the town." Rideout told the Reformer New Hampshire owns the Connecticut River around the Vernon dam up to the high-water mark, making the majority of the generating facility in Vernon property of the Granite State. He said Hinsdale's interests in the agreement were represented by Town Administrator Jill Collins, Town Attorney John J. Ratigan and Utility Assessor Skip Sansoucy. Mike Hachey, TransCanada Hydro's vice president, said the deal means a continuation of friendly partnership between TransCanada and Hinsdale. "We are pleased to have reached this settlement after amicable and productive discussions with the town," he said in a statement. "The long-term nature of the deal provides certainty and stability for both Hinsdale and TransCanada."

TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard said the North American energy giant always works hard to be a good neighbor and a responsible team member in the 53 communities it operates out of throughout the northeastern United States. According to the statement he sent to the Reformer, TransCanada has more than 60 years of experience as a leader the development and operation of energy infrastructure, including natural gas and liquids pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. The corporation operates a network of natural gas pipelines that extends more than 42,500 miles and is one of the continent's largest providers of gas storage and related services, with more than 400 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. This agreement has no bearing on TransCanada's long-running tax dispute with Vernon, Vt., though it involves the same facility. The separate dispute has been scheduled for trial early next year, but Vernon Selectboard members hope that can be avoided and voted this week to allow town attorney Richard Coutant to "continue settlement discussions" regarding the assessed value of the dam. The two parties' assessments are nearly $13 million apart.

(Brave soul, weathered the Feds. and his neighbors who aren’t too neighborly.)Homeowner wins federal OK for personal hydro damBy Rick Harrison, The Republican-America, October 25, 2014, sfgate.com

Woodbury, Conn. (AP) — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a 40-year license Thursday for Andy Peklo's hydroelectric dam project beside his home on the Pomperaug River.In its written decision, the commission denied a request from opponents of the project seeking a formal hearing, concluding there were no issues of fact that could not be resolved through the application's written record. In addition, the commission rejected accusations from opponents that Peklo intentionally submitted false information. "While there have been instances where Mr. Peklo

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provided deficient or incorrect information, either the information was not material to the proceeding or Mr. Peklo resolved the issue by providing the required information," the commission's decision said. "In any event, there is nothing to suggest that Mr. Peklo knowingly and willfully misled the Commission." Peklo expressed satisfaction with that conclusion, coming five years after beginning the approval process. "I feel there is a certain amount of vindication," Peklo said. "That I'm not a bad boy. I'm not a monster."

The commission did require Peklo to reduce his planned energy generation to allow a regular flow of water over the dam for aesthetic purposes, a compromise Peklo said he would need to evaluate before moving forward with the project. Peklo had originally proposed reducing flows over the dam so as to eliminate any flow on about 212 days of the year. In addition, the commission required Peklo to construct fish and eel ladders and to create a public access safety plan, a noise monitoring plan, and a debris management plan. The commission estimates the project will generate an annual average of 264.4 megawatt-hours and concluded that the changes to the project area would be minor and not negatively affect neighboring property values.Lee Sherwood, a Pomperaug Road resident who opposes the project, derided the integrity of the approval process and said he was not surprised by FERC's decision.

"This remains an endeavor that benefits no one and requires sacrifice by many with no gain," Sherwood said. "If seen to completion the neighborhood of Pomperaug and the town of Woodbury will lose one of its most iconic spots. All for the sake of one man and a means of justification of a detached, uncaring bureaucracy in Washington." The commission's economic analysis of the project estimated that the first year's generation of power will cost $19,897, or $75.25 per megawatt-hour more than the $164.22 per megawatt-hour cost of Connecticut Light & Power's Zero Emissions Renewable Energy Credit Program. Peklo declined to discuss the economics of the project. He must submit plans for financing the project at least 90 days before any construction begins. The commission refused to rule on disputes between Peklo and his detractors over whether Peklo has all the necessary property rights to construct, operate, and maintain the project, calling such issues a matter for the courts, if necessary. The commission said Peklo has five years to acquire all the necessary rights, setting a deadline for him to provide an update in four years. In response to complaints that Peklo's project would reside in a residential and not a commercial district in violation of the town's zoning regulations, the commission said that the Federal Power Act takes precedence. "Generally, we expect our licensees to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, where possible, including obtaining any necessary permits required to be obtained prior to project construction under local zoning classifications and ordinances," the commission said. "However, to the extent that state or local regulations make compliance with our orders impossible or unduly difficult, the FPA preempts such regulations." Peklo expressed relief at the ruling while bracing for any additional obstacles thrown by his neighbors. "I'm glad it's over," he said. "We'll go on from here."

(The more hydro, the better!)Construction on Blue Lake dam is completeby Emily Kwong, KCAW, October 27, 2014, kcaw.org

Sitka marked a major milestone today(Monday, 10-27-14): construction on the BlueLake dam is done. Contractors this morningpoured the final layer of concrete onto the topof the dam, which now rises 83 feet above itsoriginal level Jessica Stockel is a projectassistant with McMillen LLC, the firmcoordinating the project. “This is a moreintricate pour,” said Stockel, standing at thesite of the dam with a hard hat and yellowvest. “This is just finishing off the last little bitto bring it to 100% complete.” The final pour

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was a delicate business. Workers with the contractor Barnard Construction operated a crane the length of a football field, with a giant bucket of concrete swinging at its end. The bucket was gently lowered down to a crew waiting on the dam itself, who guided the pour — like a set of pastry chefs piping a layer of frosting on a 425 foot cake. The project uses the largest crane in Alaska, with a boom of 396 feet. Here, the crane is used to ferry concrete across the far side of the dam. (KCAW photo/Emily Kwong) For those working on the project, the moment was bittersweet. Stockel says that a strong sense of camaraderie has developed among the crew, who have been together for the past two years. “Some people may have seen us in the Alaska Day parade. I think there’s an excitement around this project and everyone can feel it. And now that we’re wrapping up, there’s a nostalgia and we’re getting a little bit sad to leave.” Members of the project crew marched together on Alaska Day. They have been working on the expansion project since Nov. 2012. (Blue Lake Expansion Project Facebook)Now that construction is done, there are just a few more steps before the entire hydro project is complete. The water treatment plant must be commissioned, the powerhouse inspected, and the new tunnel flushed, which is expected to happen on Tuesday. Testing of the water treatment plant will also take place this week. If all goes well, Sitka will switch its water source back to Blue Lake by the end of next week (or earlier). The full project is expected to be complete in Jan. 2015, one month ahead of schedule.

Judge hears NC challenge to Alcoa's rights to damsBy Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press, October 29, 2014, sfgate.com

Raleigh, N.C. (AP) — A dispute between North Carolina officials and Alcoa Inc. over the right to control the water and electricity coming from the state's second-largest river system was set to go before a federal judge Wednesday. Both sides were scheduled to argue that U.S. District Judge Terrance Boyle should decide the bulk of the case in their favor. State attorneys said Alcoa hasn't produced any documents showing ownership of the riverbed below four dams operating there beginning a century ago. The company counters that if North Carolina ever had any ownership rights in the dams or the riverbed under them, they were lost because state officials failed to claim them until Gov. Pat McCrory backed a federal lawsuit last year.McCrory joined his Democratic predecessor, Beverly Perdue, in opposing a new federal license letting Alcoa run the dams for another 50 years. Both governors have said inexpensive energy from the dams could generate thousands of jobs and that the river's water is important to supply North Carolina's 9.5 million residents. The state's lawsuit asks Boyle to rule that North Carolina has had riverbed ownership since it became a state after the American Revolution and that the public now has a stake in Alcoa's four hydropower dams. Ownership of riverbeds beneath commercially navigable waterways has historically gone to state governments upon statehood. Non-navigable riverbed ownership stays with the federal government.

The dams powered a local aluminum smelter that Pittsburgh-based Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum producer, closed in 2007. The company has since sold the electricity to commercial customers. The dams generated electricity sales of about $30 million over the 12-month period ending in September 2013, the most recent period reported to regulators. Alcoa declined to provide details about operating costs for the Yadkin River dams, or how much the company banked as profit. The Yadkin River extends for about 200 miles from the Appalachian foothills south through central North Carolina and becomes the Pee Dee River before entering South Carolina on its route to the Atlantic Ocean.

(Wow, this will raise a stink! You need to do a better job clearing the reservoir. BTW, this is not a hydro project.)Hydropower May Be Huge Source of Methane EmissionsOctober 29th, 2014, By Bobby Magill, climatecentral.org

Imagine nearly 6,000 dairy cows doing what cows do, belching and being flatulent for a full year. That’s how much methane was emitted from one Ohio reservoir in 2012. Reservoirs and

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hydropower are oftenthought of as climatefriendly because theydon’t burn fossil fuels toproduce electricity. Butwhat if reservoirs thatstore water and produceelectricity were amongsome of the world’slargest contributors ofgreenhouse gasemissions? HarshaLake, a large reservoir near Cincinnati, Ohio, emitted as much methane in 2012 as roughly 5,800 dairy cows would have emitted over an entire year. Scientists are searching for answers to that question, as they study how much methane is emitted into the atmosphere from man-made reservoirs built for hydropower and other purposes. Until recently, it was believed that about 20 percent of all man-made methane emissions come from the surface of reservoirs. New research suggests that figure may be much higher than 20 percent, but it’s unclear how much higher because too little data is available to estimate. Methane is about 35 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide over the span of a century. Think about man-made lakes in terms of cows passing gas: Harsha Lake, a large reservoir near Cincinnati, Ohio, emitted as much methane in 2012 as roughly 5,800 dairy cows would have emitted over an entire year, University of Cincinnati biogeochemist Amy Townsend-Small told Climate Central.Methane emissions from livestock are the second-largest source of methane emissions in the U.S., behind crude oil and natural gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But the EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions estimates do not yet account for methane emissions coming from man-made reservoirs.

Part of the reason is that, generally, very little is known about reservoirs and their emissions, especially in temperate regions, such as in the U.S., where few studies have been conducted.In 2012 study, researchers in Singapore found that greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs globally are likely greater than previously estimated, warning that “rapid hydropower development and increasing carbon emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs to the atmosphere should not be downplayed.” Those researchers suggest all large reservoirs globally could emit up to 104 teragrams of methane annually. By comparison, NASA estimates that global methane emissions associated with burning fossil fuels totals between 80 and 120 teragrams annually.But how much reservoirs contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions is “still a big question mark,” because the issue remains relatively unstudied and emission rates are highly uncertain, said John Harrison, an associate professor in the School of the Environment at the Washington State University-Vancouver whose research focuses on how reservoirs can be managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “So I don’t think we really know what the relative greenhouse gas effect of reservoirs is compared to other sources of energy in the U.S.,” he said.Research at Harsha Lake may help scientists better understand how reservoirs contribute to climate change.

In a study published in August, Townsend-Small and researchers from the EPA found that Harsha Lake emitted more methane into the atmosphere in 2012 than had ever been recorded at any other reservoir in the U.S. “When you compare the annual scale of the methane emission rate of this reservoir (Harsha Lake) to other studies, it’s really much higher than people would predict,” EPA research associate and Harsha Lake study lead author Jake Beaulieu told Climate Central. Scientists have long thought reservoirs in warmer climates in the tropics emitted more methane than reservoirs in cooler climates, but the research at Harsha Lake shows that may not be the case, Townsend-Small said. “We think this is because our reservoir is located in an agricultural area,” she said. Methane is generated in reservoirs from bacteria living in oxygen-starved environments. “These microbes eat organic carbon from plants for energy, just like people and other animals, but instead of breathing out carbon dioxide, they breathe out methane,” Townsend-

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Small said. “These same types of microbes live in the stomachs of cows and in landfills, which are other sources of methane to the atmosphere.” Runoff from farmland around Harsha Lake provides more nutrients in the water, allowing algae to grow, just like numerous other reservoirs surrounded by agricultural land across the country. Methane-generating microbes feed on decaying algae, which means that lakes catching a lot of nutrient-rich agricultural runoff generate a lot of methane. “There are a very large number of these reservoirs in highly agricultural areas around the U.S.,” Townsend-Small said. “It could be that these agricultural reservoirs are a larger source of atmospheric methane than we had thought in the past.” Emissions from reservoirs in all climates could be underestimated because of a discovery Beaulieu’s team found at Harsha Lake: The area where a river enters a man-made lake emits more methane than the rest of the lake overall. Nobody has measured that before, Beaulieu said. Most other research studying reservoir methane emissions doesn’t account for how emissions may vary across the surface of a lake, he said. The EPA is about to begin a more comprehensive study measuring methane emissions from 25 reservoirs in a region stretching from northern Indiana to northern Georgia, with sampling beginning next year, Beaulieu said.That study will help the EPA eventually include reservoir methane emissions in its total estimates of human-caused methane emissions. Until that and other studies are complete, scientists can only speculate on the impact hydropower is having on the climate. “We’re still in the very early days here of understanding how these systems work with respect to greenhouse gas production,” Harrison said.

Three hydro dams in Vermont ramping upJoel Banner Baird, October 29, 2014, burlingtonfreepress.com Federally approved upgrades to three Vermont hydroelectric stations will boost their combined power production by about 64 percent, according to the plants' owners, Green Mountain Power.By 2016, improvements to facilities in Proctor, New Haven and Weybridge will expand generating capacity from 14 MW to 23 MW, utility spokesman Steve Costello said Wednesday.Recent technological advances in turbinedesign and other components willachieve much of those efficiencies,Costello said. Maintenance and repairswill also play a part in the plants' poweruptick. "In some cases, the turbines werenot operating," Costello said, adding thatpower generation was "clearly not thefocus" of the dams' previous owners, theVermont Marble Power Division of OmyaInc.

Central Vermont Public Service boughtthe dams for $28.25 million in 2010, twoyears before that utility merged withGMP, Costello said. Upgrades to thehydroelectric facilities will cost about $19million, and have been in the planningand permitting stage for several years,he added. The utility's investment is along-term one, Costello said: "We haveplants that are over 100 years old andproducing extremely low-cost energy."The Proctor site is scheduled to ramp up its dynamos (from 3 MW to 10 MW) by March 2015 — at which time it will be the largest hydro producer in the utility's in-state portfolio, according to a GMP news release. The Pittsfield, Maine-based Kleinschmidt company is contracted to complete the work. The three dams harness the flow of Otter Creek, Vermont's longest river. They were built in the early 20th century to provide power to regional marble mills. Improved infrastructure will let

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Water from Otter Creek cascades through downtown Middlebury in August 2009. Increasingly hydroelectric plants on Vermont’s longest river, like this one, are being refurbished. (Photo: Courtesy Photo )

operators maintain higher power output with minimal changes to water levels — resulting in more stable wildlife habitat, Costello said. Designs for the projects include provisions for easier upstream access for spawning fish, according to documents filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For at least two centuries, dams have thwarted fish migration in Vermont's waterways, and the balance between wildlife habitat and renewable energy continues to be debated among environmentalists. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources supported the projects, according to permitting documents.

(A good EAP is good to have!)Alabama, Georgia officials prepare for dam failure at Georgia Power exerciseBy Tiffany Stevens, ledger-enquirer.com, October 29, 2014 Wednesday, more than 80 public safety and law enforcement officials from Georgia and Alabama created strategies to keep civilians safe and minimize harm should an earthquake break the North Highland Dam, flooding the Chattahoochee River. The scenario was an exercise hosted by Georgia Power and Southern Company to bring together local officials who would be the first to respond to catastrophic events such as dam failures. Representatives from Muscogee, Russell, Lee, Harris, Chattahoochee and other counties learned about the events leading to dam breaks and the different complications that event would pose to residents. "Basically what we're trying to do is make sure everyone knows what to do in the case of a dam failure," said Southern Company Emergency Action Plan Engineer Billy Brundage. "It really helps improve communication between people because they can put names to faces. A lot of these people know each other but some people don't and that can be a help in these kinds of situations."Georgia Power attempts to host gathers local officials together for the exercise once every five years, Brundage said. This year/s exercise comes six years after the previous meeting, as officials delayed the exercise to allow construction on parts of the Chattahoochee River to be completed.

During Wednesday's gathering, officials learned about the factors that can cause dam failure, such as natural disasters, failure to upkeep existing structures and extended stress caused by excess water. Representatives from the South Company's Dam Safety Program, the National Weather Service and State Emergency Operations briefed officials on how to plan for notifying citizens, organizing with media representatives and strategize with nearby agencies. Though Georgia Power representatives say they have never had a dam failure in the immediate area, Brundage said officials in Albany had a close scare when Lake Blackshear flooded in 1994. "The dam upstream of us at Lake Blackshear failed. The Flint River dam didn't fail, but it was just completely swamped, “Brundage said. “It could have failed, but we were able to take some corrective actions. As the water headed back out, we were able to spot some problems. That's probably the closest we ever came." Brundage said though officials do not anticipate a dam failure in the near future, the exercise helps ensure that officials will be better prepared to handle the situation if it ever occurs. "Our primary responsibility is to notify the professionals, and then they do the evacuations and the road closures," Brundage said. "We put a lot of time and effort and resources into making sure the dam doesn't fail, but part of our safety planning is events like this, so we're prepared if it ever does happen."

Water:

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(Great photos!)The 35 longest rivers in the USAhttp://www.usatoday.com/story/experience/america/road-trips/2014/10/28/35-longest-rivers-in-usa/18071867/

USA TODAY, October 28, 2014

If life is like a river, than the longer it is, the better. And America has more than its share of long, winding rivers, from serene waterways through the plains to rushing rapids in canyons to enormous channels that are the lifeblood for commerce and transportation in the region. Think you know what America's longest river is? Click through the gallery above, and see if you're right!

(Is this a power grab? What would this do to states’ rights on water issues?)GOP senator urges withdrawal of water ruleby Cristina Marcos, 10/27/14, thehill.com

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) urged the Obama administration to withdraw a proposal to establish federal jurisdiction over bodies of water. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) urged the Obama administration to withdraw a proposal to establish federal jurisdiction over bodies of water.Boozman argued that the regulation, known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, would amount to federal overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers. This proposed rule will give Washington virtually unlimited authority over all state and local waters. It’s an unprecedented takeover perpetrated by abuse of the rule making process, Boozman said. In September, the House passed a bill that would prohibit the administration from using the proposal for any rule-making under the Clean Water Act.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has said the rule does not significantly expand the agency's existing authority over bodies of water.

(It never rains where or when you want it to!)Water Bond Debate Muddied by Dam Misunderstanding Public News Service October 2014 | publicnewsservice.org

Sacramento, Calif. - California's waterwoes are one of the issues facing GoldenState voters on Election Day. Voters willdecide the fate of Proposition 1, known asthe Water Bond, which sets aside billionsof dollars to update water infrastructure,recycle water, and improve conservation.Steve Rothert, California director atAmerican Rivers, says it's been decadessince the state made significantinvestments in water systems - bothnatural and man-made. Whether it's riversand wetlands or a dam, he says thestate's water systems are all in need ofhelp. "We need to not only address the current drought and future droughts," says Rothert, "but to restore the fisheries and ecosystems that are the backbone of California's natural history." Total funding is slightly more than $7 billion, and projects include watershed protection, increasing streamflows and cleaning groundwater contamination. The bond also contains funding for water storage projects, which has generated the most intense debate over the measure. "There is controversy because the bond includes $2.7 billion for water storage, but many people don't understand that doesn't necessarily mean dams," says Rothert. Rothert notes groundwater storage will be the primary focus, which is much less expensive to establish, improve and

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maintain than building new dams. In addition, the Water Bond specifically states that any funding for surface storage projects will have to be approved by the California Water Commission, in consultation with the State Water Board and Department of Fish and Wildlife. According to Rothert, any funding allocated to water supply projects must be "cost effective and provide a net improvement in ecosystem and water quality conditions."

(As if the high taxes aren’t enough, it’s getting more expensive to live in CA.)Californians will pay more for water, must still conserve -officialsBy Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento, Calif. Thu Oct 30, 2014, reuters.com

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Californians face higher water prices and permanent conservation measures amid drought, global warming and population growth in a state that has long struggled to satisfy urban and agricultural needs, the administration of Governor Jerry Brown said Thursday.It will take up to $500 billion to improve the state's water infrastructure to improve supplies, reduce flood risk and shore up the fragile ecosystems that provide water for people, farms and wildlife, the state's top natural resources officials said in a long-awaited update to California's water plan. "Water is going to cost more for Californians in the future," said Mark Cowin, director of the state department of water resources, in a conference call with reporters on Thursday. "That's a reality we're all going to have to get used to." California is in its third year of a catastrophic drought that has dried up wells and forced farmers to leave fields fallow.But the state has long struggled to meet the water needs of thirsty cities and its mammoth agricultural sector, prompting a century of political fights between the wetter north and the drier south.

A proposal to spend $7.5 billion on reservoirs, underground storage and other water-related infrastructure was caught in partisan bickering for nearly a year before lawmakers agreed to put it on next week's election ballot. Republicans argue for more funding for reservoirs while Democrats say damming rivers and flooding canyons would damage the environment.The state first developed a plan to manage limited water resources in 1957, updating it roughly every five years since then. The latest version focuses on ways to build and pay for improvements to the state's sagging infrastructure, including dams and reservoirs, as well as investments in new technology such as desalination plants and wastewater recycling.The plan also makes conservation a priority, reinforcing a 2009 plan to reduce statewide per capita water consumption by 20 percent by 2020. It calls for spending on public awareness campaigns, research into water-use efficiency and alternative water supplies, and improved irrigation techniques. "When the first plan was done in 1957, we had less than half the people in California than we have now," said Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird. "We did not have the impacts of climate change that we do now, and we did not have the pressure to make water conservation a way of life." (Editing by Eric Walsh)

Environment: (This can’t be as important as the drought!What did the fish do in historic droughtswhen there were no dams?)Study lists Trinity Dam flows forfish as high priorityResearch creates baseline list for stateto begin fish-health mitigationBy Will Houston and Juniper Rose, times-standard.com, 10/25/2014

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Trinity Lake, pictured, is formed by Trinity Dam

A study released this month by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences listed Trinity Reservoir as one of 181 California dams whose current outflows could negatively affect native fish species if unchanged. With the demand for reservoir water increasing as the statewide drought persists into its third year, study co-author Ted Grantham — a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis during the study and a research biologist for the United States Geological Survey — said it is important to look at how it may affect other species."We have thousands of dams throughout the state, and obviously during this drought year we are really concerned about how the aquatic environment in general is going to be affected by the drought," he said. "There is a balancing act between meeting demands of agriculture and urban areas and the environment. We want to make sure the decisions made don't have irreversible effects on the environment." The study, published in the scientific journal BioScience on Oct. 15, looked at 753 of California's nearly 1,400 dams and assessed which downstream flows have been modified in a way that is harmful to fish, and which of those areas are habitats for threatened or endangered fish. Dams were chosen and screened based on their reservoir capacity, their alteration of natural downstream flows and impact on nearby biological communities. About 25 percent — or 181 dams — were identified in the study as having flows that may be too low to sustain healthy fish populations — the largest capacity dam being Trinity Dam.

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iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower, dams, and water resourcesissues and development, and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose. Any copyrighted material herein is distributed withoutprofit or payment from those who have an interest in receiving this information for non-profit and educational purposes only.