Ongoing Projects: |
Hydropower Relicensing Program Relicensing Hydroelectric Projects: HCD Staff are integral participants in the relicensing of non-federal hydropower projects, including dams, which may block passage for migratory fish. These projects, numbering in the thousands in the Pacific Northwest, come up for relicensing only every 30-50 years and present an enormous opportunity for habitat restoration. The National Marine Fisheries Service has a unique authority and responsibility under the Federal Power Act to restore access to blocked habitat, if warranted. NMFS Southwest Regional staffs are engaged in projects from the Oregon border to Sacramento, and from the mountains to the oceans. The Southwest Region staffs are currently involved in several relicensing proceedings for both hydroelectric dam and ocean energy projects. Staffs are simultaneously participating in the Klamath River relicensing process and ongoing confidential settlement negotiations. In the relicensing process, Habitat Conservation Division staffs recently filed Modified Prescriptions for fishways at the five mainstem Klamath River hydroelectric project dams which include restoring access to over 300 miles of blocked historical habitat. Habitat Conservation Division staffs recently achieved an historic Early Decommissioning Agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to remove hydroelectric facilities on Kilarc and Cow creeks, tributaries to the Sacramento River, that will restore access for steelhead and salmon that has been blocked for nearly a century . The development of wave and tidal energy, or “hydrokinetics”, is being encouraged in the United States by recent changes in legislation and renewable energy requirements. In California, HCD staffs are participating in the permitting process for five proposed wave and tidal energy projects in bay and coastal waters. In the coming years, the renewable energy portfolio of California may significantly change with the advent of this nascent technology. |
 Iron Gate Dam, terminus of fish passage on the Klamath River Back to Fisheries Bio-Engineering Projects 03/11/08 |
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