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Groups approve plan to open Ore. river for salmon
Thursday, October 23, 2008 | No comments posted.
EUGENE (AP) — An alliance of more than a dozen groups — including conservationists, federal agencies and Indian tribes — signed off this week on $135.5 million in improvements to a series of dams along the McKenzie River that will, in part, open up nearly eight miles of prime habitat to threatened fish.
The agreement outlines modifications that the Eugene Water & Electric Board promises to make on the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project, a cluster of dams and reservoirs on the river that provide about 9 percent of the electricity for Eugene.
Come 2012, when the construction will likely begin, customers can expect to see a rate increase of 5 to 7 percent.
The board negotiated the scope of environmental, structural and recreational improvements with the groups over a period of two years in an effort to ward of potential legal challenges to the renewed license for Carmen-Smith.
The current license is set to expire in November.
The most significant changes include two modifications on the Trail Bridge dam to help the threatened Chinook salmon and bull trout. The first will screen fish away from turbines, allowing them to safely pass and will cost $44 million. The second is a fish ladder that will help fish with upstream passage for $15 million.
Allowing the salmon to move upstream will give them an additional 1 1/2 miles of access on the McKenzie River and a half-dozen miles of Smith River and Sweetwater Creek, said Lance Robertson, an EWEB spokesman.
Before signing the agreement, utility commissioner John Brown asked whether the salmon might not use the new ladder as happened with the Pelton Round Butte Project on the Deschutes River. Its complex fish passage system confused salmon. A staff biologist said the chance of that happening with this ladder is remote.
The coalition praised the agreement as a collaborative effort that will provide electricity at reasonable rates while mitigating the effects on threatened species.
Relicensing also will include $48.5 million in powerhouse and other improvements that will extend the life of the hydroelectric facility.
Campgrounds, boat ramps and day-use areas at recreation spots around the reservoirs will see improvements under the project. There will also be additional water flows on the Smith River to improve boating conditions for kayakers.
The agreement is just one step in a lengthy process for the board. It anticipates approval by spring 2010.
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
The agreement outlines modifications that the Eugene Water & Electric Board promises to make on the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project, a cluster of dams and reservoirs on the river that provide about 9 percent of the electricity for Eugene.
Come 2012, when the construction will likely begin, customers can expect to see a rate increase of 5 to 7 percent.
The board negotiated the scope of environmental, structural and recreational improvements with the groups over a period of two years in an effort to ward of potential legal challenges to the renewed license for Carmen-Smith.
The current license is set to expire in November.
The most significant changes include two modifications on the Trail Bridge dam to help the threatened Chinook salmon and bull trout. The first will screen fish away from turbines, allowing them to safely pass and will cost $44 million. The second is a fish ladder that will help fish with upstream passage for $15 million.
Allowing the salmon to move upstream will give them an additional 1 1/2 miles of access on the McKenzie River and a half-dozen miles of Smith River and Sweetwater Creek, said Lance Robertson, an EWEB spokesman.
Before signing the agreement, utility commissioner John Brown asked whether the salmon might not use the new ladder as happened with the Pelton Round Butte Project on the Deschutes River. Its complex fish passage system confused salmon. A staff biologist said the chance of that happening with this ladder is remote.
The coalition praised the agreement as a collaborative effort that will provide electricity at reasonable rates while mitigating the effects on threatened species.
Relicensing also will include $48.5 million in powerhouse and other improvements that will extend the life of the hydroelectric facility.
Campgrounds, boat ramps and day-use areas at recreation spots around the reservoirs will see improvements under the project. There will also be additional water flows on the Smith River to improve boating conditions for kayakers.
The agreement is just one step in a lengthy process for the board. It anticipates approval by spring 2010.
———
Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
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