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What are they and how
will they work?
More than nine years ago, Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan
County (Chelan PUD) began to assess how it should respond to a changing
regulatory environment that would increasingly affect operation of its
Rocky Reach and Rock Island Hydroelectric Projects on the Mid-Columbia
River. The prospect of ESA listings for salmon and steelhead prompted
the District in 1993 to develop two Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) for
anadromous fish in cooperation with federal and state regulatory
agencies and Tribes. The plans commit Chelan PUD to a 50-year program to
ensure our hydro projects have "no-net-impact" on mid-Columbia
salmon and steelhead runs. This ambitious level of protection will be
accomplished through a combination of project survival, off-site
hatchery programs and evaluations, and habitat restoration work
conducted in mid-Columbia tributary streams.
Implementation of the HCP agreement will
require the continued cooperation of all the parties who signed the
agreement in 2002. Therefore, a number of Committees were formed to
oversee the various elements of the agreement.
Passage
Survival - The Rocky Reach and Rock Island Coordinating Committees
While the overall project
survival goal for adult and juvenile fish is 91%, biologists agree that
at this time adult fish survival cannot be conclusively measured for
each species covered by the plan. To compensate for the scientific
unknowns, the HCPs set even higher standards for juvenile survival - 95%
juvenile dam passage survival and 93% juvenile survival throughout the
Project (1,000 ft. below the tailrace of the upstream dam to 1,000 ft.
below the tailrace of the project dam). Juvenile passage survival is the major component of both the
Rocky Reach and Rock Island HCPs, but since the Projects are so
distinct, different methods will be used at each dam to meet the
survival goals set forth in the HCP. The Rock Island and Rocky Reach
Coordinating Committees were created under section 4 of the HCPs to
oversee all aspects of standards, methodologies and implementation
related to passage survival for covered fish species. Each HCP signatory
has a representative on the Coordinating Committees.
Spill
"Spill" is a
traditional method for moving migrating juvenile fish past a
hydroelectric dam. This occurs when a hydroelectric operator releases
some water through the spillgates without utilizing it for power
generation. In successful spill situations, young fish are attracted by
the free flowing water and are passed into the project tailrace.
Sometimes, however, because of a project’s specific configurations,
spill is not the most effective option for protecting young fish.
At Rocky Reach, Chelan PUD intends to
utilize a juvenile bypass system as the primary method for moving young
fish around the dam; spill will supplement the bypass system. At the
Rocky Island Project, however, spill will be the primary tool initially for
meeting juvenile survival standards under the Rock Island HCP.
Chelan PUD will spill between 15 and 25
percent of water at Rocky Reach in the spring and 15 percent in the
summer, and 20 percent of water at Rock Island during the spring/summer
migration period in 2003. Based on studies conducted in 2003, the Rocky
Reach Coordinating Committee may adjust required spill for the 2004,
2005 and 2006 migrations based on a formula contained in the HCP. During
2004, 2005, and 2006 studies will establish the survival rate for fish
migrating past Rocky Reach. Studies for Rock Island commenced in 2002
and will continue in 2003 and 2004.
Juvenile
Bypass System
The juvenile bypass system is
the key component of the Rocky Reach HCP. The system will collect
juvenile fish before they reach the dam and return them to the river
through a large pipe that ends in the tailrace of the river
project. Chelan PUD has hired contractors to install the surface
collector in the Rocky Reach forebay and construct the bypass conduit.
The system became operational in time for the
April 2003 juvenile migration period. Chelan PUD will
continuously operate the bypass system from April 1 to August 31 to
accommodate juvenile fish migration. Periodic fish capture information and other empirical data will be gathered to determine
whether bypass operations are meeting the HCP standards. Any needed
modifications to the normal bypass operating period will be made by the
Rocky Reach Coordinating Committee.
Habitat Improvements – The Tributary
Committee
Protecting habitat is
essential to the rebuilding of salmon and steelhead in North Central
Washington. Through the HCPs, Chelan PUD established the Tributary
Conservation Plan to fund projects for the protection and restoration of
habitat within the watersheds of the Columbia, Okanogan, Methow, Entiat,
and Wenatchee Rivers. Projects will be selected for funding
by a Tributary Committee composed of voting representatives appointed by
the signators to the HCP. The Tributary Committee may also include expert
non-voting advisors such as land and water conservancy groups.
Under the terms of the HCP, Chelan PUD
will contribute $229,800 annually to a "Plan Species Account"
for Rocky Reach and $485,200 to a "Plan Species Account" for
Rock Island to fund the projects selected by the Tributary Committee.
Alternatively, the Tributary Committee has the ability to request a
fifteen-year lump sum payment in lieu of annual payments. In addition,
Chelan PUD will fund a tributary assessment program for the purpose of
monitoring and evaluating the performance of projects supported through
the Tributary Conservation Plans.
Habitat improvements will contribute 2%
toward the 100% "no-net-impact" goal.
Hatchery Supplementation
Through the plan, Chelan PUD will provide the
funding for hatchery facilities that are operated and maintained by
either Chelan PUD or a designated agent (such as the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife). A Hatchery Committee composed of
voting representatives appointed by signators to the HCP will oversee the
development, implementation and monitoring of species specific hatchery
programs.
Hatchery supplementation will contribute
7% toward the 100% "no-net-impact" goal.
Fulfilling Regulatory
Obligations
Approval of these plans will
allow the NOAA Fisheries to issue Chelan PUD
Section 10 permits under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Section
10 permits issued by NOAA Fisheries will provide for the continued operation of
the Rocky Reach, and Rock Island hydro projects and PUD funded fish
hatcheries, even though they may incidentally impact ESA listed spring
chinook salmon and steelhead. Without the permits, operation of the
hydro projects and hatcheries could be drastically altered.
In addition to the Endangered Species
Act, the plans are intended to satisfy the projects’ obligations under
the Federal Power Act; the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; the
Essential Fish Habitat provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act; the Pacific Northwest Electric Power
Planning and Conservation Act; and Title 77 RCW of the State of
Washington. It will also obligate the parties to work together to
address water quality issues. Finally, the plans will satisfy the
projects’ relicensing issues for the five plan species.
For More Information
If you would like more
information about the HCPs or would like to see the plans and the
environmental review documents, please visit Chelan PUD’s Web site at www.chelanpud.org
and click on the HCP icon. You may also call Suzanne Bacon
or Tracy
Yount
at (509) 663-8121.
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