Review of Low Impact Hydropower Institute Application
for
Low Impact Hydropower Certification
Champlain Spinners Hydroelectric Project
Prepared by Fred Ayer
Executive Director, LIHI
Introduction
This report reviews the application submitted by Champlain Spinners Power Company, Inc., (CSPC) for Low Impact Hydropower Certification for the Champlain Spinners Hydroelectric Project (CSH). The Project is a small (2.2MW) run-of-river hydro project located immediately north of the Champlain Branch of the New York Barge Canal, northeast of Lock C-12, Metawee River at the southern end of Lake Champlain, in the village of Whitehall, Washington County, New York. The Champlain Canal is a 60-mile canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was built as a feeder canal to the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage. The canal was proposed in 1812 and construction authorized in 1817. By 1818, twelve miles were completed and in 1819 the canal was opened from Fort Edward to Lake Champlain. The canal was officially opened on 1823-09-10 on the same day as the Erie Canal from Rochester to Albany. It was an immediate financial success.
The Village of Whitehall, at the headwater of Lake Champlain, was originally known as "Skenesborough," and was the location where during the Revolutionary War, men under the command of Benedict Arnold constructed America's first ships for use in battle. The Americans then successfully used those ships to delay the advance of the British south from Canada -- giving the Americans another year to prepare, and directly leading to the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga.
The peak of Whitehall’s development history, in the late 1800’s, centered around water-based transportation and two silk mills. With the development of synthetic fibers, silk’s importance declined, resulting in a shutdown of the Champlain Spinners’ facility in 1956. The mill, like many in the Northeast, was destroyed by fire in the 1960s.
The Champlain Spinners Hydroelectric Project is a reconstruction of the old mill site to create a small hydropower project. Although the construction did not occur until the early 1990s, the exemption was issued in 1982.
Project Description - The Champlain Spinners Hydroelectric Project (FERC # 5296) is located at the northeastern edge of the downtown commercial district of Whitehall. The Project receives inflow from a drainage area of approximately 426 square miles, consisting of surface drainage into the barge canal northward from the Champlain Canal summit between Locks C-8 and C-9 and inflow from the Metawee River and from Wood Creek.
The Project consists of:
1. a 7-13-foot high, 90-foot long concrete dam with an 8-foot movable steel gate;
2. a ten-foot high, 26-foot long forebay inlet;
3. a 20-foot high, 80-foot long concrete forebay outlet;
4. a 240-acre reservoir at elevation 110.82-feet USGS with no usable storage capacity;
5. a two-unit powerhouse;
6. a tailrace channel, and;
7. a transmission line
The hydro project consists of a hydroelectric station situated within a rehabilitated concrete, stone, and brick powerhouse with a metal superstructure and steel supported roof which is situated adjacent to an existing state-owned moveable dam[1]. The state-owned dam maintains the required pool elevation for the northern most reach of the Champlain Canal.
The powerhouse is a two turbine facility, in continuous operation, in its present configuration, since 1992. The Project is a run of the river, two turbine hydro plant. The hydro generation is designed to operate best at 13-14 feet of head, and between 200 and 400 CFS. When flows drop below 200 CFS only one turbine runs and below 100 CFS no turbines run. The water intake comes from the barge canal at Lock C-12. The Project’s tailrace empties into Lake Champlain.
LIHI has processed a number of Low Impact Certification applications, but this is the first New York project where an exemptee from the early 1980s has applied for low impact certification. Most of the LIHI certified projects had gone through a FERC relicensing during the 1990s that resulted in settlements with the stakeholders and in most of those cases, LIHI has taken the position that when stakeholders sign on to a settlement agreement that the terms of the settlement agreement are the most recent and most stringent agency recommendations.
One of the agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, involved in the New York LIHI certification application described the LIHI process, as they understand it, in their June 20, 2007 letter to the Applicant:
“If the project complies with all agency requirements, then it can be certified as low impact…” and “Since by signing these settlements the Service concurred that the projects were environmentally acceptable, we agreed that they could be certified as “low impact” as long as they complied with all license conditions.”
Discussion – This is one of those hydro projects where the control exercised by the hydro operator is minimal. This is because the hydro facility is completely dependent on the state-owned dam which controls the flow and maintains the required pool elevation for the northern most reach of the Champlain Canal. In other words this project, which occupies less than an acre of land has minimal impacts.
From an operation and impacts standpoint, this seemingly simple and straightforward project is actually quite unique and reflects what I hope will be the future of evaluating projects whose most recent licensing/exemption processes predate 1986. This project went through the exemption process in the early 1980s and while we have processed projects of that vintage, they are normally quite difficult. What makes this one different is the attitude and approach of the project owner. In late July 2007 when the owner submitted the application they included this explanation of their approach:
“Because our exemption was granted in 1982, we thought you might find it helpful in your certification process if we sought out those environmental agencies whose comments were included in the aforementioned Exemption Application for an update.”
The owner contacted:
1. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
2. National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA)
3. The US Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, (EPA) and
4. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC)
They received a response from NOAA, who said it was understaffed and to coordinate through the USFWS. To date there has been no response from the EPA. The NYDEC spoke with the USFWS and indicated that whatever recommendations it made they would be supported by NYDEC. Fortunately, the NYDEC and the USFWS were very helpful in our evaluation of the project and the Applicant helped the process work as a result of their willingness to consider fish protection and passage recommendations made by the state and federal agencies.
Recommendations – Based on the recommendations of the USFWS and NYDEC, and the owners commitment to install overlays to the trash racks, I recommend that the LIHI Board certify the Champlain Spinners Hydro Project as Low Impact with the following proviso: On or before March 31, 2008, the Applicant will install overlays to the trash racks to reduce spacing from 2”+ to 1”. The March date comes from the USFWS letter that says that overlays can be used seasonally from March 31 to December 1. If the overlays are not in place by March 31, 2008, the Low Impact Certificate will be subject to suspension or revocation.
Basis for Recommendations – During the PURPA era, New York was one of the states that ended up with a significant number of small hydro developments, many of them exemptions not licenses. The state of New York DEC has called for trash rack spacing of 1” for at least 20 years. For reasons that NYDEC knows better than I, they have been hesitant to push exemptees to add mitigation facilities to their projects. As a result, there are a number of exempted projects that are not likely in the near term to be required to install overlays or other mitigation measures.
The LIHI Board has an opportunity to play a small, but important role as a catalyst. It also allows us to be part of a solution that enables the implementation of real “on the ground” facilities that will lessen the effect of this project.
Low Impact Certification Criteria
A. Flows:
Criteria
1) Is the facility in Compliance with Resource Agency Recommendations issued after December 31, 1986 regarding flow conditions for fish and wildlife protection, mitigation and enhancement (including in-stream flows, ramping and peaking conditions, and seasonal and episodic instream flow variations) for both the reach below the tailrace and all bypassed reaches?
CSPC did not receive specific flow recommendations from the consulting resource agencies because the Project receives all of its water from the barge canal system, which is controlled exclusively by New York State’s Barge Canal Authority
N/A
If N/A, go to A2.
2) If there is no flow condition recommended by any Resource Agency for the Facility, or if the recommendation was issued prior to January 1, 1987, is the Facility in Compliance with a flow release schedule, both below the tailrace and in all bypassed reaches, that at a minimum meets Aquatic Base Flow standards or “good” habitat flow standards calculated using the Montana-Tennant method?
NO.
If no, go to A3.
3) If the Facility is unable to meet the flow standards in A.2., has the Applicant demonstrated, and obtained a letter from the relevant Resource Agency confirming that demonstration, that the flow conditions at the Facility are appropriately protective of fish, wildlife, and water quality?
YES.
PASS.
.
B. Water Quality:
Criteria
1) Is the Facility either:
a) In compliance with all conditions issued pursuant to a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification issued for the facility after December 31, 1986? Or
b) In Compliance with the quantitative water quality standards established by the state that support designated uses pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act in the Facility area and in the downstream reach?
YES.
CSPC water quality is controlled by NYS Canal Authority. In its original Exemption Application it was determined that DEC had classified the water as Class “C”, suitable for all purposes but drinking and food preparation, and that CSPC did nothing to contravene the standard. Discussions with the DEC as part of the LIHI evaluation, confirmed that the Champlain Spinners Project is in compliance with state water quality standards.
If yes, go to B2.
2) Is the Facility area or the downstream reach currently identified by the state as not meeting water quality standards (including narrative and numeric criteria and designated uses) pursuant to Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act?
YES.
If yes, go to B3.
3) If the answer to question B.2. is yes, has there been a determination that the Facility is not a cause of that violation?
YES.
Conversations with the DEC confirmed that the facility is not the cause of the violation.
PASS.
C. Fish Passage and Protection:
Criteria
1) Is the facility in compliance with Mandatory Fish Passage Prescriptions for upstream and downstream passage of anadromous and catadromous fish issued by Resource Agencies after December 31, 1986?
YES (see Note)
Fish Passage Note - While not a “mandatory prescription” the applicant has worked closely with the state and federal fishery agencies and has accepted their recommendations for trashrack spacing and downstream passage.
The Applicant wrote to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to confirm what fishery resources were associated with the canal and the Champlain Spinners Hydro Project. The USFWS provided the following information in a June 20, 2007 letter:
“The fishery resources of the project area consist of warmwater species such as northern pike (Esox lucius), walleye (Sander vitreus), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and largemouth bass (M. salmoides). The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) were historically present in Lake Champlain, but their numbers have declined dramatically. The USFWS is working closely with their Canadian counterparts to restore American eel to historical habitats. The Canadian resource agencies have begun stocking eel in Lake Champlain to increase downstream spawning migrations through the Richelieu River and out the St. Lawrence River. At some time in the future, eel passage at the Champlain Spinners Project could become an issue.”
The USFWS’s June 20 letter also offered the following general suggestion regarding fish passage:
“Although we do not have any additional new site-specific resource information for this site, a great deal of knowledge about the impacts of small hydroelectric projects was garnered during the 1980s and early 1990s. Since the mid-1980s, the Service and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) have worked with licensees and exemptees to reduce fish entrainment and improve downstream passage at hydroelectric sites. Our data indicate that a trashrack spacing of 1” will physically exclude from the turbines most adult specimens of riverine fish species such as those found in the project vicinity. There may also be a behavioral mechanism that excludes some of the smaller fish that could physically pass between the trashracks. Most projects licensed, exempted, or relicensed in New York since approximately 1985 have installed, or agreed to install at a future specified date, 1” clear-spaced trashracks or seasonal’ overlays. Except in circumstances where the NYSDEC is specifically managing the fishery to prevent downstream migration, these projects have included a downstream passage route consisting of a “fish-friendly” passage gate or sluice, adequate plunge pooli, and at least 20 cubic feet per second (cfs) conveyance flow. The Service’s guidelines also require that the approach velocity (as measured 1’ in front of the trashracks) be less than or equal to 2 feet per second.”
Finally the USFWS June 20 letter recommended that the Applicant arrange a site visit and include both the USFWS and the NY DEC and the USFWS offered to schedule the meeting so the regional fishway engineer could attend. The Applicant met with the USFWS on July 5 and the USFWS sent the Applicant a ltter to memorialize what had been discussed and agreed to:
“As we indicated in our June 20 letter, fish protection and downstream passage measures are necessary to make the Champlain Spinners Project consistent with other projects licensed, exempted, or relicensed in New York in the past 15 years. At the site visit; you agreed to implement any reasonable passage and protection measures.”
The USFWS provided the applicant with the following fish protection and passage recommendations:
“Fish protection will consist of 1” clear-spaced trashracks. These can be either permanent or an overlay of the existing racks, In addition, they may be removed seasonally from December 1 through March 31 if necessary: to avoid icing problems. Our Regional Engineer calculated that approach velocities at the Champlain Spinners site would be below the 2 foot per second level included in the Service’s guidelines. Although you originally indicated a preference for horizontally-aligned trashracks, it is our understanding that you now propose to install vertical trashracks. Either alignment is acceptable to the Service.