U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Field Supervisor Joyce Collins moderates the Mississippi River Hydrokinetic Energy Workshop. USFWS Photo by Matt Mangan.

Mark Pawlowski with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission presents information on FERC's licensing process. USFWS Photo by Matt Mangan.

Workshop participants learn about the Lower Mississippi River. USFWS Photo by Matt Mangan.

Hydrokinetics Workshop Day 2: Participants learn about various federal agency roles and authorities. USFWS Photo by Matt Mangan.

Conceptual diagram of Mississippi River hydrokinetic hydropower turbines. Photo courtesy of Free-Flow-Power Corporation.

Hydrokinetic projects in major waterways are among the latest endeavors as the United States looks for renewable energy resources.  Consisting of turbines installed on the riverbed, hydrokinetic energy has become a focus for energy producers and resource managers.  As producers seek permits through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for hyrdokinetic projects, the Service is among many resource agencies faced with attempting to coordinate review and identify potential impacts.  On the Mississippi River alone, about 60 projects have been proposed, 55 of them by Free-Flow-Power Corporation (FFP). 

In response, staff from the Service's Marion, Illinois, Ecological Services Sub-Office (MISO), working with the Corps of Engineers, organized a Mississippi River Hydrokinetic Energy Workshop, hosted by the Corps in Vicksburg, Mississippi on August 26 through 28. 

The need for the workshop became apparent at the Marion Sub-Office early this year.  In January 2008, representatives of FFP presented information regarding their proposed projects and technology to the River Resources Action Team (RRAT), the interagency team responsible for coordination of various projects in the Corps' St. Louis District.

Additionally, several members of the RRAT, including MISO staff met with representatives of FFP in March to further discuss the proposed projects and exchange information.  During these discussions, FFP requested support for a proposal to expedite processing of their FERC license applications.  This would involve selecting two to four "lead" sites to process through FERC's Integrated Licensing Process, which is the default process for hydrokinetic projects.  With these sites, FFP would conduct detailed studies and collect information that would also be applicable to the remaining sites.  These remaining sites are then proposed to be processed as a batch through the FERC's Traditional Licensing Process.

Given the complexities of the FERC's licensing processes and a new process developed for proposed hydrokinetic "pilot" projects, MISO staff conferred with Midwest Regional Office staff regarding a workshop.  Additionally, it became apparent during meetings with FFP that they were unaware of the complex nature of coordination and approval of projects or permits involving the Mississippi River (e.g., many agencies with many authorities and roles).

MISO staff took the lead in organizing the workshop, coordinating initially with the Corps and FERC.  As workshop planning progressed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Park Service were added to the coordination loop.  MISO staff developed the initial draft agenda, hosted numerous conference calls and revised the agenda based on input during the calls.  MISO staff was also instrumental in addressing the logistics for the proposed workshop. 

In total, 55 individuals attended the workshop representing five Service Field Offices, one Service Regional Office, five Corps Districts, four Corps Divisions, four USEPA Regional Offices, the National Park Service, Coast Guard, four state agencies, and FERC.  The three companies that currently hold preliminary permits for Mississippi River hydrokinetic projects (FFP, HydroGreen, MARMC) presented information regarding their proposed projects.  Other participants included the National Hydropower Reform Coalition, staff from Tulane University and two consultant companies interested in hydrokinetics (Evans-Hamilton Inc., and Think Energy Inc.).

During the workshop, MISO staff provided a Mississippi River primer for ecosystem restoration and other unique and competing uses and provided an overview of Service authorities and roles.  Regional Office staff provided information on Service interest in hydrokinetic projects.  Staff from the Lafayette, Louisiana, Field Office provided an Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation primer.  MISO staff also moderated and facilitated the workshop. 

All of the agencies involved agreed that the workshop was a valuable mechanism for the exchange of information and that communication/collaboration should continue.  A process for addressing further collaboration will be developed on a future conference call.  FERC agreed to maintain the Mississippi River Hydrokinetic Energy Collaborative website and all presentations from the workshop have been posted to this site (http://ms-river-hydrokinetic.webexworkspace.com/login.asp?loc=&link=). 

In addition to organizing the workshop, MISO staff provided comments and intervention information for nine Mississippi River and two Ohio River hydrokinetic energy projects in FY 2008.  MISO staff also organized a meeting with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Department of Conservation to specifically discuss Middle Mississippi River projects.  The discussion focused on project areas for which concerns for fish and wildlife resources are elevated (e.g., the Chain of Rocks area).  The group also discussed areas which are not currently permitted but which would be considered unsuitable for hydrokinetic projects due to their importance for fish and wildlife resources (e.g., Cottonwood Island).  The group also discussed which project areas may be appropriate as "lead" sites for evaluation by FFP.  The results of these discussions will be written up and provided to FFP to assist in their project planning.

Coordination with FFP is ongoing.  The next step should involve further sharing of information to FFP regarding "lead" site selection and developing a study plan to ensure fish and wildlife issues are addressed comprehensively and in a straight forward manner.  This will require coordination with federal and state researchers to develop issues into research questions and determining the best approach for answering those questions.