1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

i 3072008

Other Stuff Renewable Energy Accelerates Meteoric Rise 2007 Global Status Report Shows Perceptions Lag Reality Paris 27 February 2008 ndash The renewable energy industry is stepping up its meteoric rise into the mainstream of the energy sector according to the REN21 Renewables 2007 Global Status Report Renewable energy production capacities are growing rapidly as a result of more countries enacting far-reaching policies Prepared by the Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) in collaboration with the Worldwatch Institute the Renewables 2007 Global Status Report paints an encouraging picture of rapidly expanding renewable energy markets policies industries and rural applications around the world In 2007 global wind generating capacity is estimated to have increased 28 percent while grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity rose 52 percent So much has happened in the renewable energy sector during the past five years that the perceptions of some politicians and energy-sector analysts lag far behind the reality of where the renewables industry is today says Mohamed El-Ashry Chair of REN21 Renowned researcher Dr Eric Martinot led an international team of 140 researchers and contributors from both developed and developing countries to produce the report He says renewable energy sources such as wind solar geothermal and small-scale hydropower offer countries the means to improve their energy security and spur economic development Citing the report Martinot says the renewable energy sector now accounts for 24 million jobs globally and has doubled electric generating capacity since 2004 to 240Gigawatts More than 65 countries now have national goals for accelerating the use of renewable energy and are enacting far-reaching policies to meet those goals Multilateral agencies and private investors alike are integrating renewable energy into their mainstream portfolios capturing the interest of the largest global companies Worldwatch President Chris Flavin says the report shows that renewable energy is poised to make a significant contribution to meeting energy needs and reducing the growth in carbon dioxide emissions in the years immediately ahead ldquoThe science is telling us we need to substantially reduce emissions now but this will only happen with even stronger policies to accelerate the growth of clean energy he says El-Ashry emphasizes that many of the trends described in the Renewables 2007 Global Status Report are the result of leadership and actions launched since the major renewable energy conference held in Bonn Germany in 2004 This leadership has never been more important as renewable energy has now reached the top of the international policy agenda under the United Nations and the G8 said El-Ashry Commenting on the dramatic rise of renewables Achim Steiner UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said The findings come in the wake of UNEPrsquos annual gathering of environment ministers in Monaco last week It is clear from ministers in Monaco and from reports like REN21 that we are beginning to see elements of an emerging Green Economy fueled by the existing climate change agreements and the prospect of even deeper and more decisive emissions reductions post 2012 The Renewables 2007 Global Status Report is being released ahead of the

SSoommee DDaamm ndashndash HHyyddrroo NNeewwss aanndd OOtthheerr SSttuuffff

Quote of Note ldquoNever be afraid to say what you feelrdquo ndash Unknown

2 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) taking place March 4ndash6 in Washington DC WIREC will be the third such international conference following those in Bonn in 2004 and Beijing in 2005 Download

REN21 Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (pdf 479 KB) Press Release including report highlights (pdf 45 KB) Presentation slides (pdf 280 KB)

(Excerpts) ENERGY ISLAND - CROWLEY ANNEX March 3 2008 AOL Journals ENERGY ISLAND The Energy Island concept is an interactive renewable energy resourced learning center It concentrates on understanding the relationship between capacity and demand and how as individuals and society the choices we make determine our energy destiny It gives students the intellectual tools to understands the choices we make today will effect us the rest of our lives It also allows for hands on science in physics environmentalearth sciences and biologybotany math (with mapping and the physics) with the capability of including cultural and historical aspects The Island consists of a physically and electrically isolated camp ground and learning center In the process the students learn what it means to live with an extremely limited energy supply ------- In the process they begin to understand the nature of our energy grid and the decisions that energy managers are making on a moment by moment basis ------ Over time the individual Energy Island Annexes will by the nature of their locational capabilities define the relationship between the different type of renewable energy power productions ------ THE CROWLEY ANNEX The Crowley Dam Annex on the North Fork of the Flambeau River is owned and operated by a subsidiary of North American Hydro The west side of the dam and the property up river on that side of the dam is an ideal location for an Energy Island Annex With the natural winds change in elevation available but limited solar potential The use of wind here to directly generate power and to indirectly store it makes this a perfect location By the use of storage reservoirs (pond or tanks) and old fashioned water pumping wind mills water can be pumped from the river to the High End reservoir(s) and through the use of long small penstocks micro-hydro can generate power This would allow for multiple levels of instruction - wind pump power pump lift pump capacity pump history It allows for the comparison of immediate power production comparing to storage capacity with a study in loss of efficiency vs need for power capacity control It also allows for the study of sizing hydroelectric generators by generation type (reactiveinductive) the relationship of flow head turbine type and size with penstock design another angle to course could take with a discussion of apex vacuum type compared to dam wall construction (cost vs benefit) --------- What we are doing here on a small scale is also being done other places on a large scale Weather monitoring would become a part of this site also and weather forecasting and hydrology which we can ask the National Weather Service to support the project with and they have expressed interest in the past at doing things like this All forms of renewable energy have a level of weather dependability to them It would be a positive aspect if during the first years the students are allowed to actually design the Energy Island Camp sites and have an input on the types of power production ------ During the entire process we talk about the rules and regulations involved in the control of power production and the operation of dams and other power sources We leave open the ability to use power production to create hydrogen for another form of stored power production When and if we find an individual or corporation interested in supporting this aspect of energy island CONCLUSION The Energy Island Concept must be flexible to match the site amenities community capabilities and schools interests It must be designed not with a dictatorial design but with one based on consensus of interests In the long run the students will design where this all goes and it is up to the mentors and adults to make sure they are given the tools to understand the foundation work of what they have done could have done and might do in the future (Full article at httpjournalsaolcomondamitagrambling-ondaentries20080303energy-island---crowley-annex665)

3 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Dams Engineers Wrestle With Aging Dams Stopgap Measures under Way at Dover Dam State Engineers Catching Up With Inspection Cycles WTOV9com 22808 The US government built the Dover Dam in 1935 in response to catastrophic flooding in the Muskingum basin The dam would not face its biggest trial until January of 2005 when flood waters tested its limits and earned it the distinction of one of the most at-risk dams in the federal system The 2005 event was a pool of record said Rodney Cremeans Project Manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers Thats about the level of service this dam can currently provide The worst-case scenario evacuation maps drawn up by the Tuscarawas County Emergency Management Agency show if the Dover Dam filled to its capacity and failed water could burst through at the rate of 36000 cubic feet per second They call that scenario extremely unlikely but they have prepared for it If this dam were to fail you would see issues downstream the communities of Dover New Philadelphia on downstream into Zanesville ultimately to Marietta where the Muskingum meets the Ohio said Darrin Lautenschleger of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District A multi-million dollar federal project is under way in Dover to fortify the dam Contractors are installing 3-inch wide metal bars through drains in the floor of the dams gallery to fortify it against an additional three feet of water Its a short-term solution The long-range plan calls for stronger anchors at a cost of more than $100 million Click here for more on the Dover Dam rehab project Meantime the Association of Dam Safety Officials is spreading the word about the challenges state-level inspectors face in keeping up with maintaining smaller dams across the country Funding and staffing shortfalls have caused many regular inspection cycles to fall behind according to a 2005 study by the association Click here to see the associations state-by-state analysis of funding and full-time dam safety inspectors The Ohio Department of Natural Resources told NEWS9 their agency had recently caught up with its five-year inspection cycle West Virginia inspectors also told NEWS9 they are current with dam inspections statewide Click here to read more about Ohios system of classifying dam structures Click here to learn more about West Virginias Dam Safety Program Dams classified as high-hazard are not necessarily the dams in the greatest danger of failing rather they refer to dams that would cause the greatest damage if they were to fail Click below to review dam inspection records for your county Ohio Dams West Virginia Dams (How can you not use an article from a web site with a name like this) Fifth Avenue Low Head Dam Removal ElephantsonBicyclescom 3108 The City of Columbus wants to remove a low head dam under 5th Avenue on the Olentangy River and the US Army Corps of Engineers is recommending removing the dam to improve water quality Back in 2002 the City of Columbus asked the Corps to study removal or modification of the 5th Avenue Dam under its authority to improve an aquatic ecosystem Aside from the hazard to boaters low head dams cause sediment to build up and can reduce the oxygen level in the water Removing the dam would open the river to boaters from Dodridge Street to Downtown The 5th Avenue dam was built decades ago to provide water for an Ohio State University power plant The decision to remove the dam is up to Columbus city officials The city would provide 35 the $18 million cost of removing the dam the rest of the money would come from federal monies earmarked for water quality improvement The Corps is now in the process of conducting tests on the sediments and materials that would be disturbed by the removal Those results should be reported in late spring Plans for the project would take about six months to complete and barring any complications removal would begin in late spring 2009 It is estimated that the project would take 6 months to complete The City of Columbus says the benefits of removing the dam on the Olentangy are outweighed by the cost Low head dams are dangerous because anyone who falls in can become stuck and drown in the circular roil at the base of the dam A draft report from the Corps dated December 2007 found dam removal would restore the riverrsquos natural flow and habitat conditions and the Corps concluded water quality would improve between the dam and Dodridge Street to the north The Corps committed funds for the project based on that draft report and city staff was preparing to take the initial steps toward the design phase of the project when federal monies were cut At the time of this publication the Corps states that

4 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

there is a possibility of add-on funding for this project Of $29 million earmarked for water quality projects in the 2008 federal budget $9 million has not yet been allocated Sixty-one projects are vying for those remaining funds There are no plans to remove the five other low head dams on the Olentangy because they cover sanitary sewer lines which a 2005 study deemed too expensive to move Drought growth have Western states studying dams again By NICHOLAS K GERANIOS Associated Press The Seattle Times 3208 The era of massive dam construction in the West _ which tamed rivers swallowed towns and created irrigated agriculture cheap hydropower and persistent environmental problems _ effectively ended in 1966 with the completion of Glen Canyon Dam But a booming population and growing fears about climate change have governments once again studying dams this time to create huge reservoirs to capture more winter rain and spring snowmelt for use in dry summer months New dams are being studied in Washington state California Oregon Idaho Colorado Nevada and other states even as dams are being torn down across the country over environmental concerns _ worries that will likely pose big obstacles to new dams The West and the Northwest are increasing in population growth like never before said John Redding regional spokesman for the US Bureau of Reclamation in Boise How do you quench the thirst of the hungry masses There are lots of ideas for increasing water supplies in the West They include conservation storage of water in natural underground aquifers pipelines to carry water from the mountains desalination plants to make drinking water from the ocean small dams to serve local areas Most of those ideas are much more popular than big new dams In Washington state Democratic Gov Christine Gregoire put together a coalition of business government and environmental groups to create the Columbia River Management Plan which calls for spending $200 million to study various proposals to find more water for arid eastern Washington Jay Manning director of the Washington state Department of Ecology believes that massive new dams on the main stems of rivers are unlikely But it is quite possible that tributaries will be dammed and reservoirs pumped full of river water It is inevitable we will take steps to increase water supply Manning said Storage is part of that solution Demand for water from growing cities industry agriculture and struggling fish runs is already high Increasing the pressure are fears that climate change will cause rain instead of snow to fall in winter reducing the slow-melting snowpack that provides water in dry summer months Gregoires plan drew the support of many environmentalists by including many ideas they prefer including conservation measures and metering more uses of water But the state is also studying dams drawing opposition from some environmentalists particularly a group called the Center for Environmental Law and Policy Our water future doesnt lies with new dams said Dr John Osborn a Spokane physician and chairman of the Sierra Club chapter in Spokane Its water conservation Osborn contends dam boosters have run a well-orchestrated under-the-table campaign to push for new dams for the benefit of business underplaying the costs and environmental destruction and ignoring the benefits of improving water conservation programs But other environmental groups have signed on to the states bill although theyre leery of the dams A big reason is that one-third of any new water would be dedicated to survival of endangered salmon What were trying to do is make sure that before going down that path and instead of going down that path we understand what alternatives there are in conservation and water markets and aquifer storage said Michael Garrity of the Seattle office of American Rivers In other states

bull Four major water storage projects are being studied in California including a proposal for a new dam on the San Joaquin River said Sue McClurg of the Water Education Foundation in Sacramento Republicans in the California Assembly say they will block any plan to improve water supplies that doesnt include new dams

bull The Southern Nevada Water Authority which serves Las Vegas is considering a reservoir to capture more Colorado River water before it flows into Mexico

bull In Colorado there is a proposal to create two new reservoirs on the Yampa River bull In Idaho some still hope to rebuild the Teton Dam which collapsed in 1976 killing 11 people and

causing widespread destruction In Washington the water crisis is centered on the Columbia River basin and the adjacent Yakima River Basin _ which produce a bounty of crops including apples cherries hops for beer and wine grapes Groundwater wells in the region are being emptied to sustain millions of acres of irrigated agriculture prompting ongoing studies of new dams A major barrier to new dams is costs which run in the billions Manning said Its unclear how much the federal government would be willing to pay A recent study of the Black Rock dam proposal in the Yakima River basin concludes the 600-foot-tall dam would cost $67 billion to build and operate but would return just 16 cents for every dollar spent to build and operate The explosive growth of the West in recent decades is in part a product of an earlier binge in dam construction that provided

5 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

plentiful water and cheap electricity The US Bureau of Reclamation built more than 472 dams to capture store and deliver water including Shasta Dam in California Bonneville Dam on the Oregon-Washington border Fort Peck Dam in Montana and Grand Coulee Dam in Washington The construction of Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah border dedicated in 1966 galvanized the rising environmental movement because the resulting creation of Lake Powell inundated a huge swath of scenic land The uproar essentially ended the era of giant dams although some dams that were on the drawing boards or under construction were completed in subsequent years But the population of the Western states grew nearly 20 percent in the 1990s to more than 64 million and continues to swell even as climate change poses new threats to the water supply Meanwhile researchers at San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography figure climate change and a growing demand for Colorado River water could drain Lake Mead and Lake Powell _ two of the nations largest manmade reservoirs _ within 13 years Critics called the study absurd but both lakes have been hit hard by a regional drought and are half full The Colorado River provides water for about 27 million people in seven states At the same time new dams are being studied there are efforts to remove old dams In Oregon and California a deal has been struck to remove four dams on the Klamath River to restore struggling salmon runs Fish advocates have been using similar arguments for years in their bid to remove four dams on the Snake River in eastern Washington The dams generate electricity and allow cargo barges to move from hundreds of miles upriver In places of emergency Hundreds of danger zones lack notification plans Feb 10 2008 BY BILL ESTEP HERALD-LEADER

Despite that close call the state doesnt require emergency action plans for 91 coal-company impoundments where a break could kill people or cause significant damage to facilities such as schools and power substations nor does it require such plans for nearly 400 water dams in Kentucky that are rated as high or moderate hazards The US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has recommended emergency action plans for coal-slurry and water impoundments since 1994 Whats more the Federal Emergency Management Agency and dam-safety experts for years have urged such plans for all high- and moderate-hazard dams Dam-safety advocates say its just common sense to plan what to do in case a dam is about to fail It very well could save a whole lot of lives and prevent a whole lot of property damage said state Sen Ray Jones II D-Pikeville who has filed a resolution during this legislative session requiring emergency plans Rep Robin Webb D-Grayson earlier filed an identical proposal in the House The push for emergency plans for Kentucky dams is part of a nationwide issue Dams across the country are aging and more are being classified as high-hazard because of downstream development There are more than 3500 deficient or unsafe dams in the United States FEMA says only half of those considered high-hazard are covered by emergency plans said Brad Iarossi a dam-safety expert affiliated with the American Society of Civil Engineers Across the country there were more than 120 dam failures between 1999 and 2006 causing widespread damage and several deaths according to the association Its not clear whether the proposal sponsored by Webb and Jones can be passed this year The president of the Kentucky Coal Association an influential lobby with lawmakers said the industry supports emergency plans for dams but raised a concern on the potential cost of mapping areas that would be flooded in a dam break

A black milkshake

Link Chapman was headed into the hills above his home on Coldwater Creek in Martin County to go deer hunting about 530 am on Oct 11 2000 when a guard for Martin County Coal Corp stopped him short of crossing the creek If not for that Chapman said he could have driven to his death in a river of coal waste More than five hours before a hole had gaped open in the bottom of the coal companys Big Branch impoundment which held more than two billion gallons of slurry and water according to a report by MSHA Slurry is a mix of water and fine particles of coal rock and clay left from washing coal residents said it had the consistency of lava or a black milkshake as it flowed down Coldwater MSHA later determined that the massive spill happened because Martin County Coal hadnt properly carried out a plan for sealing the bottom of the impoundment after a 1994 leak That leak allowed seeping water to erode a path to the mine under the impoundment The impoundment dam did not fail In the 2000 spill slurry and water flowed into underground mineworks beneath the impoundment and came out two mine portals flooding both Coldwater Creek and Wolf Creek Local residents think that if the water and sludge had concentrated in one watershed the flood would have killed people At the time dozens of people lived along Coldwater Creek in the area where the spill overflowed its banks If it hadnt split thered definitely have been serious loss of life said Chapman a retired coal-company safety director It wouldve been devastating According to MSHAs investigation a coal-company employee spotted slurry flowing out mine openings at a high velocity about 1215 am The coal company notified MSHA of the spill about 3 am and called the county emergency-services director about half an hour later according to the federal report Chapmans thought when he happened upon it two hours after that How come nobodys out here telling us That became one sore spot in the disaster Martin County residents were upset about the damage to water supplies and fish from the spill but they also told a student-faculty research team from Eastern Kentucky University that they were upset about not getting notice that the sludge was headed their way One resident told researchers his

6 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

biggest concern since the spill was that no one notified anyone downstream that it was coming No warning absolutely no warning at any time

Lives were saved

The spill was the genesis of an effort to require emergency action plans for Kentucky dams and coal impoundments FEMA has a template for such plans that includes a map of the area that would flood if a dam fails and procedures for notifying emergency officials of a potential failure and details on evacuations An EAP (emergency action plan) is the blueprint that tells an owner what to look for and launches the communications network necessary to get the affected people out of harms way said Lori C Spragens executive director of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials headquartered in Lexington Rob Millette said he saw how such a plan could save lives when the Big Bay Lake dam in Mississippi collapsed in March 2004 Millette was the states dam-safety engineer at the time With the dam in trouble Millette said the owner panicked but remembered to call the first number listed in the EAP beginning the process of warning residents The collapse of the dam damaged or destroyed dozens of homes but no one was killed or hurt Lives were saved because the dam had a plan in place Millette said The hazard ratings on dams are not based on how likely they are to fail but rather how bad the damage would be if they did Any dam where a failure would be likely to kill people or cause serious damage to houses businesses or important facilities such as major roads is classified as high hazard even if the dam is in great shape Moderate-hazard dams are those where a failure probably wouldnt kill anyone but could cause significant property damage There are 1064 dams in Kentucky that the state inspects based on their size and how much water they impound Of those 395 are high- or moderate-hazard dams said Art Clay manager of the Water Resources Branch in the state Division of Water which is responsible for dam safety The dams are throughout the state including in Lexington and have a range of owners including cities and government agencies homeowners associations golf courses and farmers A separate state office the Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement also inspects active coal-waste impoundments There are 113 impoundments for slurry or water at coal operations in Kentucky 91 of them rated as either high- or significant-hazard according to state regulators Larry D Adams and Paul Rothman administrators in the state Department for Natural Resources said none of the coal impoundments are in imminent danger of failing Clay said the same is true for the 395 high- and moderate-hazard water dams State inspectors have rated 70 of those dams as deficient but that doesnt mean they are unstable Many deficiencies are relatively minor problems such as needing to control animal burrows that could eventually threaten the stability of the dam Clay said he was not aware of any dams currently considered unstable However the potential for failure can change quickly because of high rainfall or other factors Thats why it is important to plan for potential failures according to dam-safety advocates The last time someone in Kentucky died after a dam gave way was in December 1981 when Nellie Woolums a 65-year-old Harlan County widow drowned when a coal-refuse pile on the hill above her house collapsed A few low-hazard dams in Kentucky have failed and a moderate-hazard dam failed in Muhlenberg County in 1984 but there was no property damage said Marilyn C Thomas an engineering consultant with the Kentucky dam-safety branch But Thomas said shes had some tense moments monitoring stressed dams and has been involved in evacuating people Two in the morning in a blinding rainstorm is not the time to be trying to find out whos down there (below the dam) and how much time they have to get out Thomas said

Kentucky one of 17

Spragens head of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials said Kentucky is one of 17 states that dont require the owners of high- and moderate-hazard dams to prepare update and test such plans Only a handful of owners -- fewer than 2 percent -- in Kentucky have completed such plans for their dams according to the association Bill Caylor president of the Kentucky Coal Association and state mining officials said some coal companies have prepared emergency plans The state dam-safety branch is updating regulations to require emergency action plans for new high- and moderate-hazard dams but the rules as proposed by regulators wouldnt apply to existing dams in those classes Under the resolutions filed by Webb and Jones the state dam-safety branch would write rules requiring owners of high- and moderate-hazard dams including those at coal operations to prepare such plans Similar measures filed several times since the Martin County disaster have not passed Tom FitzGerald who heads the Kentucky Resources Council and has been active on the issue of emergency plans said the issue hasnt been a priority in the legislature but it needs to become one People downstream from dams have a right to know that the dams are being properly maintained and monitored and that if something goes wrong there is an effective way to warn residents he said One potential issue in the proposal is the cost to dam owners Detailed mapping of the area that could be flooded in a dam break would require engineering work Caylor told the Herald-Leader the industry supports having emergency action plans for dams But after a meeting with state dam-safety officials Caylor said the plans they described would require expensive survey work to map the potential flood area Thats not a cost the coal industry or many other dam owners would want he

7 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

said Caylor said he is researching ways to draft emergency plans that have essential pieces such as notification procedures but that wouldnt require expensive surveying Dam-safety advocates said emergency action plans dont have to be difficult or costly to develop Dam owners can reduce costs by using conservative estimates to draw up flood maps -- taking in more land and homes than would probably flood -- without paying a lot for engineering work in many cases safety advocates said The excuses on why these things are not being done are really pretty thin Iarossi said Webb said she does not think the cost of developing emergency action plans would be prohibitive And like other supporters of the measure she said there is a greater potential cost -- in deaths and legal liability -- in not having a plan Id say you cant afford not to have one Webb said Another issue is that it would be tough for the state dam-safety branch to implement and enforce the law because of a shortage of workers Clay said Still he said it would be good for all high- and moderate-hazard dams to have EAPs Jones said hes been frustrated that the measure hasnt been passed in earlier sessions Martin County shows the need he said but he raised the specter of another coalfield disaster the 1972 collapse of a coal-waste dam in Buffalo Creek WVa which killed 125 people and injured more than 1000 This is a very reasonable step Jones said of requiring emergency plans We shouldnt have to wait until we have a Buffalo Creek a broken dam a slurry flood -- but no warning for those downstream On a cool night in October 2000 more than 300 million gallons of coal waste and water broke through the bottom of an impoundment in Martin County much of it flooding miles of creeks rivers and bottomland with black sludge The tide of waste one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southern United States fouled water supplies and killed an estimated two million fish It was just luck that no one died area residents said

Ratings for coal impoundments There are 113 impoundments at coal-mining facilities in Kentucky that store either slurry or water Of those 91 are classified as high- or moderate-hazard (Some of the dots here overlap) The high or moderate rating means that if they failed there could be deaths or significant property damage The rating does not mean they are more likely to fail

SOURCE Kentucky Division of Mine Permits

Hydro (Excerpts ndash full article - httpwwwrenewableenergyworldcomreanewsstoryid=51672) Hydrokinetic Permits Abound Despite Objections by Frank Hartzell RenewableEnergyWorldcom February 27 2008 The nations first hydrokinetic pilot project proposal has come in an unexpected place -- the Yukon River When the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed a special expedited pilot license last summer it recieved significant support from industry developers for the idea of a license that would allow devices to get in the ocean in as little as six months ------- FERC defines hydrokinetics as energy from flowing waters not involving a dam Tidal wave current and river energy plans have all emerged as categories in FERCs hydrokinetic efforts and in some circles hydrokinetics is being considered the wave of the future even for places without waves An Idaho study for the US Department of Energy estimated there may be 150000 sites for wave energy development in the United States Harnessing natural water motion energy could be a key piece of Americas future energy puzzle ------ As of February 4 2008 47 permits had been issued for ocean wave and tidal projects and 41 were pending The process has gone on largely under the radar with some communities expressing surprise at discovering that their waters have been claimed under preliminary permits A FERC preliminary permit acts like a mining claim giving the first application exclusive rights to study the area for three years The permits also give preference to the applicant for FERC conventional hydro licenses which typically last 30-50 years In 2008 the focus of hydrokinetics has shifted from the ocean to rivers especially the Mississippi River where tens of thousands of generating devices are proposed under preliminary permits There have been 40 in-river permits issued and 55 more pending Half the preliminary issuances have come in early 2008 -------

8 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

A filing by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) challenges FERCs standing to issue pilot licenses before applicants have complied with federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act Issuing licenses in incremental stages is inconsistent with FERCs obligations under these and other statutes and could confuse and frustrate license applicants Incrementally building the conditions in a license is also antithetical to FERCs goals of shortening the overall regulatory process and providing certainty to potential hydrokinetic licensees and clarity to the public the NOAA filing states ------- On Febriary 13 2008 FERC issued a preliminary permit to a limited partnership for study of the Mississippi River in Mississippi County Missouri and Alexander County Illinois despite objections to the process from those states That project would consist of 4100 proposed 20-kilowatt in-river Free Flow generating units having a total installed capacity of 82 megawatts Hydrokinetic technologies with their great promise and potential to harness abundant supplies of renewable power by using ocean waves tides and currents and in-river flows fit that bill I am pleased to be a member of a Commission that has adopted a proactive approach to encourage the development of hydrokinetic technologies Moeller said

Water Senators tell Schwarzenegger to curtail work on peripheral canal By STEVE LAWRENCE Associated Press Writer 02272008 The Mercury News SACRAMENTOmdashThree Senate Democrats accused Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday of jeopardizing negotiations over water projects and generating regional tensions by moving ahead with planning for a canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Launching a peripheral canal without addressing ecosystem water quality structure and governance simply enflames old sectional passions and suspicions Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata Sen Mike Machado and Sen Darrell Steinberg said in a letter to the Republican governor And it moves us in the exact opposite direction from a comprehensive water policy Frankly we find it difficult to negotiate seriously with (the Department of Water Resources) and other interests in view of this The concept of a peripheral canal has been controversial for decades with many Northern Californians fearing it would enable the more heavily populated southern part of the state to take more water from northern reservoirs In 1982 voters rejected a plan to build the canal The senators said they had been told that the administration was preparing an executive order requiring environmental and engineering work on a canal even though lawmakers had not approved the governors request for funding to pay for staff to do the work The information about the executive order came from an unidentified California Resources Agency official who made a comment about it during a public meeting on a delta conservation plan last Friday the lawmakers said They said they also were disturbed by the Department of Water Resources assertion last November that it had broad authority and discretion to construct facilities like the Peripheral Canal without additional authorization from the Legislature Asked about the letter on Wednesday Schwarzenegger said he had no plans to sign an executive order Im not off doing anything he said during a news conference called to announce efforts to fix 97 failing school districts Im right now working with everybody and bringing everyone together to make sure that we rebuild our water system so that we can guarantee people not only 20 years from now but 30 40 50 years from now that when they turn on the faucet there is water coming out The governor called a special legislative session last year to try to reach a deal on a series of projects that would boost the states water supply but the administration and the Legislatures Democratic leaders remain divided over how much moneymdashif anymdashshould be spent on new dams Democrats prefer increased water conservation measures In the background is a ballot initiative sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce that would authorize the sale of $116 billion in bonds to pay for water projects including new dams and a peripheral canal Schwarzenegger has said he hopes the Legislature will reach an agreement that will enable it to put its own water measure on the November ballot In an attempt to restart negotiations he brought in US Sen Dianne Feinstein last week for a meeting with Republican and Democratic legislators Perata Machado and Steinberg said they found it vexing that the administration was talking

9 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

about going ahead with planning for a peripheral canal after Schwarzenegger repeatedly stressed at that meeting the singular importance of reaching a balanced statewide consensus on water policy Steinberg of Sacramento chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and is in line to succeed Perata as president pro temporemdashthe Senates top postmdashafter the Oakland Democrat is termed out this fall Machado of Linden is chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Delta Resources Reclamation Releases Final EA and FONSI Authorizing High-Flow and Steady Flow Experiments on the Colorado River Press Release 2292008 Salt Lake City - The Bureau of Reclamation today released a final environmental assessment (FEA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that authorizes the initiation of an early-March 2008 high-flow test and fall steady flow experiment from Glen Canyon Dam downstream through the Grand Canyon The FEA provides an evaluation of the environmental effects of the proposed action and no action in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 The FEA evaluates the impact of the proposed experimental flows on a wide range of environmental and socioeconomic resources Following release of these documents the high-flow experiment and associated research activities will be undertaken on March 4th cooperatively by scientists and resource managers from Interiors US Geological Survey (USGS) Reclamation National Park Service US Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs The 2008 high flow test will be similar to the previous high flow experiments conducted by the joint Interior agencies in 2004 but the amount of sediment available for the 2008 experiment is considerably larger Based on the previous experiments scientists have concluded that more sand is needed to rebuild sandbars throughout the 277-mile reach of Grand Canyon National Park than was available in 1996 or 2004 Currently sand supplies in the river are at a 10-year high with a volume about three times greater than in 2004 due to tributary inflows below the dam over the past 16 months During the high-flow experiment Reclamation will release water through Glen Canyon Dams powerplant and bypass tubes to a maximum amount of approximately 41500 cubic feet per second (cfs) for about 60 hours Current operational plans call for the experimental flows to begin increasing in the evening on March 4th with powerplant bypass flows to begin on March 5th From February 8-22 2008 Reclamation solicited public comments on the environmental assessment The final environmental assessment and FONSI conclude that implementation of the preferred alternative mdash the March 2008 high-flow test and fall steady flow experiment from Glen Canyon Dam mdash would have no significant impacts on the quality of the human environment or the natural resources below the dam The FEA and FONSI are available for review at wwwusbrgovucenvdocseagc2008hfeindexhtml Governor responds to aqueduct concerns FEARS REKINDLED OVER SHIPPING WATER TO S CALIFORNIA By Mike Taugher Bay Area News Group Mercury News 03012008 Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger laid out a sweeping plan to address statewide water problems and the environmental decline in the Delta in response to charges this week from incensed lawmakers who said he was moving unilaterally to build a controversial aqueduct His letter to leading senators comes as state water officials plan in the coming weeks to take the first steps toward developing an environmental study of the aqueduct a canal that would divert water around the Delta to large pumps that supply farms in the San Joaquin Valley and cities in the East Bay and Southern California But that environmental study will consider other alternatives for moving water south and is part of a larger set of initiatives Schwarzenegger told lawmakers Please know that I will continue to work with the Legislature and all stakeholders to develop a comprehensive solution to the crisis in the Delta and I will act on administrative measures in a transparent manner at the appropriate time the governor wrote Schwarzenegger was reacting to a letter Wednesday from three state senators who were infuriated over the administrations insistence that it does not need legislative approval to build the aqueduct commonly known as a peripheral canal The three senators - Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata D-Oakland Sen Darrell Steinberg D-Sacramento and Sen Michael Machado D-Stockton - appeared somewhat reassured Friday Were encouraged that the letter signifies hes going to take a more comprehensive approach said Perata spokeswoman Alicia Trost The governor laid out seven elements of what he said is a comprehensive solution in the Delta

bull A previously unannounced goal to control the growing demand for water by reducing per capita use by 20 percent by 2020 The plan would likely include programs to increase the number of efficient toilets washing machines and improve the efficiency of outdoor landscaping bull Evaluate Delta floodplains for potential flood bypass zones that like pressure relief valves could reduce flood danger in other areas

10 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

bull Improve disaster readiness in the Delta by stockpiling levee repair material and ensuring equipment and other resources are ready in a flood bull Speed numerous small environmental initiatives that can be done relatively cheaply Small Delta pumps could be better screened to protect fish for example bull Direct the State Water Resources Control Board to come up with a more comprehensive plan to reduce water pollution bull Start a comprehensive analysis of how best to move water through the Delta The study which would probably take at least two years to complete would examine doing nothing building a peripheral canal constructing a smaller aqueduct that would be used with the existing system and creating a network fortified levees to channel water through the Delta bull Complete feasibility studies of three dams including the expansion of Los Vaqueros reservoir between Brentwood and Livermore The others are proposed new dams at Temperance Flat on the San Joaquin River and Sites Reservoir which would be off the Sacramento River

Corps cuts water flow from lake to help Raleigh The Associated Press The Charlotte Observer Mar 04 2008 The US Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to cut nearly in half the amount of water that flows out of drought-ravaged Falls Lake to extend water supplies for the city of Raleigh Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker lobbied congressmen for help The lake is about 8 feet below normal level and the city has implemented mandatory water conservation Meeker told WRAL-TV the reduction of 17 million gallons a day would last at least through March and retain as much as 500 million gallons of water in the lake The reduction could be extended for up to a year Rep David Price told The News amp Observer of Raleigh that the Corps acted unusually fast

Environment River herring decline has widespread effect Monitor staff February 25 2008 Concord Monitor A growing but little heralded environmental tragedy has been occurring along much of the Eastern Seaboard and in some of New Hampshires coastal rivers Stocks of once-abundant river herring foot-long fish known better as alewives or blueback herring are dwindling dramatically The Taylor River system which lies largely in Hampton Falls and Hampton had 400000 river herring return from the sea annually in the 1980s That number is now down to less than 1000 the state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates Few rivers have seen such a serious decline but counts are way down on the Exeter River as well The fish come in to spawn in clean rivers lakes and streams Their young migrate to freshwater tidal areas to feed and grow until late summer or fall when they too head out to sea So the herring population is down you say So what You wouldnt eat one on a bet so whats it matter Oh but it does The little fish are food not just for humans but for striped bass cod haddock mackerel salmon porpoises seals dolphins and whales as well as terns puffins and other seabirds When their food supply shrinks fish populations crash prices rise fishing restrictions are put in place and the fishing industry suffers The major culprits behind the decline in river herring populations are warming water temperatures pollution from agricultural fertilizers and other sources of nitrates and over-fishing for bait and fish meal In the short run little can be done to reverse the climate change that is warming river waters and making them incapable of holding as much dissolved oxygen When oxygen levels fall too low the 60000 to 300000 eggs each female herring lays each spring fail to hatch So do eggs that are smothered by silty runoff from floods made worse by the increase in impervious surfaces created when land is developed But things can and must be done to return the alewife population that serves as the supermarket for so many creatures Over-fishing can be addressed with regulations So can pollution Seacoast communities are working with biologists and environmental groups on measures to reduce pollution and stem the herrings decline The measures under consideration include limits on paving or the use of porous materials redesign of storm drains so they catch silt before it enters rivers better water treatment enforcement of riparian buffer zones runoff control from farms and a reduction in the use of lawn fertilizers Those are measures that should gradually be put in place in every community There are more than 5000 dams in New Hampshire Removing the obsolete ones all over the state but particularly on coastal rivers would be a big help Not only are the dams barriers to the migration of spawning fish like herring salmon and shad but they also

11 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

impound fast-flowing water and cause its temperature to increase All dams that arent critically needed should be eliminated Fish stocks can be rebuilt Its happened with striped bass perhaps the king of New England sport fish and with haddock But many other species are still in trouble and some fisheries have collapsed Climate change human population growth and the escalating use of the earths resources present mankind with big and potentially dangerous challenges Rebuilding the stocks of one of the East Coasts major forage fish however is a challenge that can be met relatively easily if serious measures are taken now River herring decline has widespread effect Monitor staff February 25 2008 Concord Monitor A growing but little heralded environmental tragedy has been occurring along much of the Eastern Seaboard and in some of New Hampshires coastal rivers Stocks of once-abundant river herring foot-long fish known better as alewives or blueback herring are dwindling dramatically The Taylor River system which lies largely in Hampton Falls and Hampton had 400000 river herring return from the sea annually in the 1980s That number is now down to less than 1000 the state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates Few rivers have seen such a serious decline but counts are way down on the Exeter River as well The fish come in to spawn in clean rivers lakes and streams Their young migrate to freshwater tidal areas to feed and grow until late summer or fall when they too head out to sea So the herring population is down you say So what You wouldnt eat one on a bet so whats it matter Oh but it does The little fish are food not just for humans but for striped bass cod haddock mackerel salmon porpoises seals dolphins and whales as well as terns puffins and other seabirds When their food supply shrinks fish populations crash prices rise fishing restrictions are put in place and the fishing industry suffers The major culprits behind the decline in river herring populations are warming water temperatures pollution from agricultural fertilizers and other sources of nitrates and over-fishing for bait and fish meal In the short run little can be done to reverse the climate change that is warming river waters and making them incapable of holding as much dissolved oxygen When oxygen levels fall too low the 60000 to 300000 eggs each female herring lays each spring fail to hatch So do eggs that are smothered by silty runoff from floods made worse by the increase in impervious surfaces created when land is developed But things can and must be done to return the alewife population that serves as the supermarket for so many creatures Over-fishing can be addressed with regulations So can pollution Seacoast communities are working with biologists and environmental groups on measures to reduce pollution and stem the herrings decline The measures under consideration include limits on paving or the use of porous materials redesign of storm drains so they catch silt before it enters rivers better water treatment enforcement of riparian buffer zones runoff control from farms and a reduction in the use of lawn fertilizers Those are measures that should gradually be put in place in every community There are more than 5000 dams in New Hampshire Removing the obsolete ones all over the state but particularly on coastal rivers would be a big help Not only are the dams barriers to the migration of spawning fish like herring salmon and shad but they also impound fast-flowing water and cause its temperature to increase All dams that arent critically needed should be eliminated Fish stocks can be rebuilt Its happened with striped bass perhaps the king of New England sport fish and with haddock But many other species are still in trouble and some fisheries have collapsed Climate change human population growth and the escalating use of the earths resources present mankind with big and potentially dangerous challenges Rebuilding the stocks of one of the East Coasts major forage fish however is a challenge that can be met relatively easily if serious measures are taken now

iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose

1

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

i 3142008

Other Stuff (This is from EIA It provides Comprehensive State Energy Profiles with detailed data for each State Once a state map is open holding the cursor over a plant location gives you info on that plant) httptontoeiadoegovstate Top 10 Forecasts for 2008 and Beyond httpwwwwfsorgNov-Dec20FilesTOPTENhtm

Dams (Excerpts) Repairs to Tamaqua dams estimated at $64 million Spillways need to be changed to meet state DEP standards By Lisa Price | Special to The Morning Call March 6 2008 Repairs required by the state Department of Environmental Protection at the Upper and Lower Owl Creek Dams in Tamaqua could cost $64 million an engineer told Borough Council on Tuesday DEP first notified council of the deficiencies about 10 years ago and the borough lowered water levels at the lower dam But the dams spillways wouldnt be able to withstand 100-year-flood levels which are defined as 8 inches of rain in 24 hours --------- The dams have long failed to comply with state DEP standards and council suggested rebuilding them to include electric generators to help pay the repair costs ------- a $86400 -- study ndash on how to best repair the dams and also if it is feasible to install a hydroelectric generator in the dams During a presentation at Tuesdays meeting officials said there are several solutions for each dam but all involve changes to the spillways and raising the heights of the dams Borough Manager Kevin Steigerwalt said partial state funding may be available ------- Earthen dam repair urged across North Texas US built many then turned over control to local sponsors March 10 2008 By ROY APPLETON The Dallas Morning News

SSoommee DDaamm ndashndash HHyyddrroo NNeewwss aanndd OOtthheerr SSttuuffff

Quote of Note ldquoTrue friendship is like sound health the value is seldom

appreciated until it is lostrdquo - - Charles Caleb Colton

2

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

After years of decay and dispute the dam near Marvin and Renetta Wilsons home is back in shape A publicly funded repair has erased 11 years of slumps and slides and returned the 39-foot-high earthen mound to its original state at a private lake in northwest Collin County The almost $578000 project has stabilized the dam and assuaged the Wilsons who long have called it a safety threat and an eyesore ndash and who joined neighbors in suing Collin County to restore or remove the structure But the one-time fix leaves unsettled the multimillion-dollar question of who will pay for future repairs and improvements to the dam near Celina and to hundreds of others aging across Texas I dont know said Steve Bednarz who oversees Texas watershed programs for the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service Thats a good question The federal government has built almost 2000 of the dams in Texas (about 11000 nationwide) in the past 50-plus years to help control flooding and reduce soil erosion Dallas and its six surrounding counties have 316 of them including 99 in Collin County and 85 in Ellis County In protecting watersheds roads and bridges the dams create privately owned lakes that provide water wildlife habitat and aesthetic amenities for those living nearby Those dams are critical and they do a tremendous service said Joe White Ellis County engineer Theyve been around so long we take them for granted Built mostly in rural areas the dams were turned over to local sponsors typically county governments and conservation districts which secured easements to operate and maintain the structures Development upstream has increased runoff into the dams lakes And as they age and development intensifies downstream the potential for failure and loss of life and property will increase if the structures arent kept up and if necessary upgraded state and federal officials warn Theres nothing out there that has an imminent threat of failure said Warren Samuelson dam safety coordinator for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality But almost 14 percent of the 1973 floodwater dams in Texas are 50 years or older and 109 need basic repairs at an estimated cost of $28 million according to the conservation service Statewide 217 dams are classified as high hazard meaning their failure could cause death or seriously damage homes commercial buildings roadways railroads and utilities Of those 107 need an estimated $205 million worth of upgrades such as an increase in dam height or spillway width to extend their life and flood-control capacity Paying for the work is another matter The federal government has offered limited funding for its 65 percent share of dam upgrades Some local sponsors such as soil conservation districts have no taxing authority and little money Others have struggled in some cases declined to come up with their 35 percent portion Mr Bednarz said Ellis County has unofficially committed to paying its share of one upgrade said Mr White the county engineer But beyond basic upkeep he said We have very little money for these dams Collin County provides routine maintenance such as mowing and debris removal for most of the dams in the county The city of McKinney handles upkeep on the 18 dams in its territory and has paid the local share to upgrade four of them But Collin County commissioners declined three times to fund repairs to the Wilsons dam saying they werent obligated to do so and didnt want to be on the hook for similar work elsewhere in the county Plus an attorney for the county told commissioners that state law prohibits them from binding future officials to projects without voter approval The Wilsons dam isnt being upgraded to high-hazard standards only returned to its original condition with emergency funding made available after last springs flooding in North Texas If the work is completed to federal standards Ms Wilson said she and her neighbors will drop their lawsuit against Collin County Because they werent required to commit to other dam projects county commissioners agreed to pay a portion of the cost a share now estimated at about $186000 We didnt have the strings attached said Commissioner Joe Jaynes explaining the outlay The mending of the 1400-foot-long dam may have eased some safety concerns and removed some land owners visual blight But it indeed leaves open the larger question Mr Jaynes said All these dams are going to be an issue in the future he said And who will carry the financial load Thats going to be a good question he said Farmers tear up as Klamath dams are torn down Visalia Times-Delta March 10 2008 Visalia CA StoryChat The commitment by the agricultural community to accommodate a broad range of divergent interests has been shown in the forging of a recent settlement to ensure continued reliability of water supplies in the Klamath Basin Sitting at the table in the 3 12 years of discussions were irrigators (mostly farmers) fish interests American Indian tribes a major power generator environmentalists and federal state and county agencies from three counties in California and Oregon The trigger for the whole exercise was expiration of the power companys 50-year federal authority to continue operations at the dams Farmers and irrigators stayed with the laborious negotiations to protect their water and ratepayer interests knowing that any legal action growing out of the process was sure to find its way to a fish-loving judge and a negative ruling Remember that serious interruptions in the flow of water through the basin occurred in 2001 when water for

3

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

irrigation was shut off to maintain a level in the Klamath River high enough for fish to survive The state and federal representatives helping construct the new agreement came from fish and wildlife environmental water distribution tribal and power generation and distribution interests It was a bureaucrats paradise Everyone at the table had reason to believe that at least one other seated there was if not an enemy an adversary Much of the coverage of the settlement has hinged around the painful agreement to destroy four dams on the Klamath River three that generate power Diversion of water for agricultural use does not depend on these dams The company that operates them is not opposed as long as it does not have to pay to have them torn down It hopes to substitute wind and solar means for power generation to replace the hydro units at the dams However farmers will not be pleased if the dams come down because they believe they and other ratepayers will carry the cost of constructing whatever power generation facilities replace them Some of the other parties at the table may have similar reservations Many see the demolition as a gigantic waste Two dams that store water for irrigation will remain in place Fish ladders have been discussed repeatedly as a solution for at least one part of the puzzle At one location a fish ladder two miles long was suggested Without the dams the ladders wont be necessary eliminating one enormous cost The dam across the Klamath at the lower end of Oregons Klamath Lake is scheduled to remain Even before the dam was built a natural reef backed up water enough to form the lake The dam is actually lower than the reef was Both Oregon and California have intense interest in the Klamath and the agreements involving it One of the dams to be razed is in Oregon and three are in California Below Klamath Lake and Klamath Falls the river flows into California joins the Shasta River north of Yreka and continues westward toward the Pacific Ocean Halfway there it turns southward sharply joins the Salmon River first then the Trinity after which it flows northward to empty into the ocean south of Crescent City Tearing down dams looks like foolishness on the surface just as spending hundreds of millions to restore the San Joaquin River appears to many But farmers are finding that sitting around the table with the enemy and keeping him (or them) occupied is better than having to live under the rules the enemy creates in their absence Kaloko breach brought action By Diana Leone The Honolulu Advertiser March 10 2008 The legacy of the March 2006 Kaloko Dam breach on Kauai that killed seven people is a better understanding of the deadly force behind Hawaiis rural mostly earthen dams Since Kaloko all of us in the business of providing for public safety are certainly more acutely aware said Maj Gen Robert Lee the states adjutant general and head of Hawaiis Civil Defense program Since the Kaloko tragedy the state government has spent more than $7 million inspecting and reinspecting its 136 largest dams for signs of similar trouble The federal government spent another $2 million And the job isnt done yet From where I sit if theres any silver lining from that disaster its that every single reservoir in the state has been inspected said Mark Marshall Kauai Civil Defense director Both rounds of dam inspections done in 2006 mdash immediately after the Kaloko disaster and the October earthquakes on the Big Island mdash were a visual inspection looking for the blatant problems such as Kalokos missing spillway or urgently overdue maintenance A more in-depth Phase I inspection was done on Kauai Oahu and the Big Island last year and this year and is being done in Maui County said Laura H Thielen who as director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources oversees the state Dam Safety Program Hawaii may now have some of the most looked-at dams in the country This is unprecedented work Thielen said We certainly have an awareness that we didnt have before that these structures need to be maintained said Kilauea resident Makaala Kaaumoana who was among the North Shore residents cut off from the rest of the island after the Kaloko failure damaged Kuhio Highway I didnt know to not feel safe before MAINTENANCE MATTERS - Strengthened rules in Hawaii have prodded dam owners to complete overdue maintenance and to have working disaster plans something many owners had been lax about before Kaloko We have been working with landowners over the past two years based on the visual inspections to clear shrubbery from dams a significant maintenance issue Thielen said People have been cooperating with us The state put money and personnel into the Dam Safety Program that had been understaffed and hadnt inspected a dam in more than a year when the Kaloko Dam broke Some dam owners have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars just on testing emergency plans and maintenance said Walter Kortschak manager of Jurassic Kahili Ranch which owns a portion of Puu Ka Ele Reservoir on Kauais north shore Those that have made major repairs have spent even more A major spillway repair for Alexander Dam completed recently cost $4 million according to the state LIABILITY ISSUES ndash Given the cost of compliance with state rules the civil lawsuits related to the Kaloko disaster and the possibility of criminal charges in that case some dam owners are saying they want to tear

4

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

down their dams to erase the liability But to do that they face opposition from some farmers who depend on reservoir water for their crops There are also questions about what effect removing dams may have on natural resources mdash including some endangered species like the nene goose One attempt to address the owners concerns is a bill making its way through the Legislature (HB2823 HD2) which seeks to exempt dam owners from liability in the event of a disaster Lee and Thielen strenuously oppose it Its a little perplexing why the Legislature would do this two years after strengthening the dam safety program Thielen said Were not aware of anywhere else in the nation that provides this type of freedom from liability for landowners QUESTIONS ARISE - What to do about unwanted dams dovetails with another question that has been asked ever since sugar companies began to go out of business in the 1970s Whos going to take care of their network of reservoirs ditches and tunnels Farmers want the water for use on crops but are having difficulty with the costs of the upkeep A lot of landowners have gotten very skittish about reservoirs said Marshall the Kauai Civil Defense director An alarming number are talking about decommissioning reservoirs DLNR Dam Safety Director Edwin Matsuda said only one dam owner has sought a permit to remove a dam But many have inquired and some owners have drained their reservoirs though the dams remain intact LOOKING DOWNSTREAM - If there is one lesson learned from the Kaloko disaster it is to look at whats downstream from dams Some of the states largest dams are uphill from large numbers of people A major break at the Wahiawa Dam on Lake Wilson could put much of Haleiwa under water A break in the dam on Nuuanu Stream could wreak havoc for Nuuanu Valley and Downtown Waita Dam on Kauai could flood the fast-growing town of Koloa But the larger dams with thousands of people in potential harms way have traditionally gotten a good look by civil defense folks The odd thing about Kaloko that became apparent soon after its dam broke was that it didnt appear to have a spillway mdash the safety overflow system that takes away excess water in case of overfilling and keeps the dam from breaking Just days after the Kaloko break Lee announced that every other dam inspected did have a spillway Some spillways were damaged by the heavy March 2006 rains and have since been fixed The Kaloko breach sent 300 million gallons of water from the reservoir to the sea washing over dirt trees buildings and equipment It snapped 150-foot trees like matchsticks and rolled a car into a ball of metal It killed Daniel Arroyo Christina McNees Alan Dingwall Aurora Fehring Rowan Fehring-Dingwall Wayne Rotstein and Timothy Noonan John Hawthorne who was alone at his home along Wailapa Stream when the Kaloko breach happened wouldnt wish the experience on anyone It was like a 747 crashed here and King Kong and Godzilla were fighting over it for breakfast he said of the noise Unbelievable (Sure hope someone who knows something about a dam gets busy here) Corps city officials meet to discuss Sloss Lake dam repair By Tom Smith March 11 2008 TimesDaiycom Members with the Army Corps of Engineers met with city officials Monday to develop plans that will correct problems at Sloss Lake They gave us some solutions Its not going to be a quick fix but we want something that is going to correct the problem so this doesnt happen again said Tom Pace Russellville Street Superintendent The problem at the lake is with two holes one very large and another smaller one in the dam which runs parallel with Alabama 24 Russellville Mayor Johnny Brown said the holes were discovered last week and since that time crews have been working around the clock using large pumps to lower the lake level Doug Clement manager of the Russellville Water and Sewer Board said the water level had to be lowered before crews could see just how bad the holes were and what needed to be done to fix them Brown said thats one reason he contacted the Corps of Engineers to ask for assistance From talking with their engineers were going to have to hire a private engineering firm to develop plans and then oversee the work Brown said Its not going to be an easy solution and it could be costly Brown said the next step is to continue to work to pump the lake dry Weve got to get all of the water out before we can get in there the mayor said Pace said there is about 6 feet of water left in the 40-50 acre lake that is estimated to hold more than 300 million gallons of water Once we get the water out well be able to get in there with crews repair the damage as well as look at the existing dam to make sure this doesnt happen again Brown said City officials had initially worried about the possibility of the entire dam giving way which could have caused damage to Alabama 24 and neighboring residential areas That was our first concern to make sure the dam was stable enough Clement said Because there was a lot of pressure on that dam Lowering the lake level has relieved a lot of that pressure City workers discovered the holes in the dam March 4 and the effort to lower the lake level began that evening when the first of three pumps arrived from Birmingham

5

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Clement said three more pumps are scheduled to be brought in over the next couple of days The man-made dam which some city officials said was built around 1920 runs parallel with Alabama 24 for about three-tenths of a mile Clement said the dam is about 25 feet wide and 20 feet tall The large hole is near the middle of the length of the dam and is about 12 feet from the top The smaller hole is about 100 yards east of the larger hole and is near the base of the dam Clement said the large hole which was about the size of a basketball when discovered is now about 10 feet long by 12 feet wide He said between the two holes there is about 200-300 gallons a water per minute leaking out Clement said crews tried to plug the holes Wednesday using stone Its not stopping the water flow but it will keep the material from washing out Thats the biggest concern Clement said Brown said crews with the Alabama Department of Transportation worked Tuesday and throughout the day Wednesday placing large pieces of rock along the side of the roadway to try and prevent the roadbed from washing out if the dam should burst Clement said the water being pumped from the dam is flowing into a drainage ditch that leads to a culvert under Alabama 24 He said the culvert feeds into Mud Creek which feeds into Cedar Creek Clement said the dam is old and over the years the wall has become fatigued And water can find the least crack of hole he said (This press release doesnrsquot tell us what the problem is Is it unsafe or doesnrsquot the dam meet dam safety criteria for high hazard dams) Governor Rendells Rebuild Pennsylvania Initiative Essential to Protecting Downstream Residents Communities Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Press Release 11 Mar 2008 POTTSVILLE Pa March 11 PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A McGinty underscored the need for Pennsylvania to invest in repairing its aging infrastructure during a visit to the Mt Laurel Dam in Schuylkill County today The secretary said Governor Edward G Rendells Rebuilding Pennsylvania initiative would provide new funding to help rehabilitate unsafe high hazard dams like Mt Laurel which is owned by the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority and that such investments are needed to protect residents businesses and communities located downstream from the loss of life or property From roads and bridges to dams and flood control projects we have an obligation to ensure our residents are safe said McGinty The Governors Rebuild Pennsylvania initiative is designed to ensure that municipal dams like this one as well as state-owned unsafe high-hazard dams get the funding they need to give residents and businesses downstream some peace of mind Should the Mt Laurel dam fail approximately 4500 people would be at risk as there are 500 homes 50 businesses one hospital and a school located within the downstream inundation area The estimated cost to repair the dam is $38 million McGinty added that rehabilitating Mt Laurel dam is also important because it supplies the seven surrounding townships including several businesses and residential neighborhoods with water and recreational opportunities Mt Laurel is critical to the economic vitality of this area said the secretary Without the dependable public water it supplies the number of people calling this area home would be limited and many businesses could not operate Dams can be classified as unsafe because of uncontrolled seepage inadequate spillway capacity or no upstream closure on outlet conduits Through his Rebuilding Pennsylvania initiative Governor Rendell is calling for $37 million to rehabilitate state-owned unsafe dams and another $66 million to leverage local dollars in order to repair or breach unsafe publicly owned dams Across Pennsylvania there are 17 state-owned high-hazard dams that have been classified as unsafe by DEPs dam safety program Additionally 21 unsafe high-hazard dams are owned by county or local governments Municipalities like the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority may apply to PennVEST for grants up to 30 percent of the total dam rehabilitation project cost under the Governors proposal Dam safety regulations and the responsibilities of dam ownership must be taken seriously said McGinty Under the Governors proposal we can prevent the devastation caused by dam failures protect our citizens and give businesses the confidence they need to continue investing in our communities and creating jobs The Governors proposal also will invest $100 million for flood-control projects over the next three years Of that total approximately $91 million would be for capital flood protection projects while the balance would be available to increase the number of flood-protection grants awarded to municipalities each year boost support for stream improvement projects and complete emergency closure work and rehabilitation projects

6

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Hydro (Problems at the other Pitt River spelled with two trsquos) Pitt River hydroelectric proposal draws rowdy opposition March 6 2008 CBC News A proposal to build seven hydroelectric facilities in the Upper Pitt River watershed east of Vancouver brought hundreds of people out to a rowdy town hall meeting in Mission Tuesday night Opponents of the project worry it will damage sensitive fish and wildlife habitat and for more than three hours Tuesday night company and provincial representatives withstood an onslaught of booing at the public meeting Northwest Cascade Power wants the provincial government to approve its plan to use eight creeks about 15 kilometres north of the head of Pitt Lake in the Fraser Valley Regional District for hydroelectric projects The company proposes to build seven run-of-the-river dams which rather than creating large reservoirs rely on the rivers natural water flow throughout the year to generate electricity They have less impact on the environment but provide a less consistent source of electricity through the year If the provincial government gives the go-ahead the project would create enough green energy to power more than 55000 homes annually according Northwest Cascade Power At the public meeting most people were clearly opposed One part of the plan that drew particular criticism was the request to take out 21 hectares of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park for a transmission line Tracy Lister argued the idea of using parkland for the project was fundamentally flawed This is a slippery slope that we are standing on right now We need to send a very clear message to the BC government that BC parks are non-negotiable said Lister Ed George the regional president with the BC Wildlife Federation told company representatives if the project were to move forward it would badly damage the sensitive fish and wildlife habitats Youre going to do your building with helicopters Helicopters and mountain goats are not compatible Helicopters and grizzly bears are not compatible They dont work well together said George The area that you are coming through is grizzly bear habitat I know the biologist wants that area preserved mdash the provincial biologist not the one on your staff said George But the power company was quick to list the green benefits of the project saying it would create energy with clean hydro energy mdash unlike gas or coal The company website says the proposed project will have total capacity of 180 MW and will offset between 200520 and 476235 tonnes of greenhouse gas (CO2) per year The project would also generate jobs and more than $30 million in taxes and licence fees This was the second public meeting in as many weeks on the hydroelectric proposal The previous meeting in Pitt Meadows was shut down by the fire chief after enough people came out and crowded into the room to violate the fire code (Every once in a while you see something so ridiculous that the only way to deal with it is with humor This one is a new low for hydro If this is whatrsquos left for hydro it gives you a draining filling) Energy Generating Turbine Toilet Poop Saves the Planet Gizmodocom Mar 8 2008 If the Benkatine Turbine by Leviathan Energy finds its way into homes your bowel movements will be able to help generate free electricity Using the same technology found in other hydroelectric devices the Benkatine turbine uses the water that passes through the pipes in your home to produce power According to the company that means you could make use of the water flowing from any number of sourcesmdashincluding your gutter drains It is a simple idea but simple ideas are often the most useful Plus you pass off your excessive drinking and overeating as your little way of helping the environment OUR VIEW Water power 03-12-08 The Herald News Fall River MA All one needs to do is look across the Taunton River at the near constant plumes of black and gray smoke spewing out of giant smokestacks to be reminded that society needs to change its energy habits Conservation is critical and so is the development of alternative sources of energy Wind and solar power are constant clean renewable sources that must be taken advantage of And in a city named after a falling river it seems obvious that water power could make an important contribution to Fall Riverrsquos energy needs

7

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

To that end City Councilor Cathy Ann Viveiros is dusting off an old study that determined the Quequechan River is a viable source of energy A feasibility study conducted in 1981 shows that a hydroelectric generator would be beneficial to Fall River The generator was never built and the city continued to rely solely on a power grid that garners the lionrsquos share of its energy from the coal-burning power plants across the Taunton Viveiros wants to change that proposing the city apply for a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative grant to pay for an updated feasibility study Therersquos no reason to believe hydroelectric power generation would be any less possible now The city just approved $60000 for repairs to the Quequechan control structure a requirement for hydroelectric power and improved technology during the last 27 years should be able to produce even more energy from the moving water Viveiros correctly believes the previous study enhances Fall Riverrsquos chances of securing the MTC grant Feasibility studies can cost upward of $40000 for which the city would have to match 15 percent a small price to pay for the potential savings Should the study produce the expected result Fall River could also apply for grants to construct the hydroelectric generator Any money the city would have to lay out would be guaranteed by the energy services company to be replenished through electricity savings It should be a simple decision for the City Council to apply for the grant and build the generator Itrsquos amazing that the city has known for 27 years that it could have been producing its own electricity yet never followed through with a project that would have saved taxpayer money and helped the environment which is constantly under attack from the greenhouse gases emitted by dirty power generators Viveiros should be congratulated for her proactive approach at the beginning of her second stint on the council Her combination of experience from having previously served as a councilor and her enthusiasm from being a newly re-elected councilor is already proving beneficial to Fall River particularly where the environment is concerned In January she teamed with Councilor Linda Pereira in proposing Fall River join the Environmental Protection Agencyrsquos New England Energy Challenge which asks municipalities to reduce air pollution by assessing their energy use take action to improve energy efficiency and seek out renewable energy choices according to the EPArsquos Web site Participating cities and towns pledge to set a goal of at least a 10 percent reduction in energy use and to seek ways to use alternative renewable energy Participation in such causes increases the cityrsquos chances of securing grants for projects like hydroelectric generators in the Quequechan River Such proactive action is exactly what Fall River mdash and society at large mdash needs to solve the energy and environmental crisis we are all facing Viveirosrsquo approach to fighting that crisis is an example for others the follow

Water Winter Rains and Snow Wonrsquot Ease Drought Much Huge swaths of the nation face severe water shortages again this year further complicating the growing economic woes By Andrew C Schneider Associate Editor The Kiplinger Letter March 7 2008 Think the drought is over Think again Above average rainfall in recent months has provided some relief to the parched Southeast and a hefty snowpack will help increase stream flows across the West this spring and summer But too much of the country has been too dry for too long for one wet winter to repair the damage Reservoirs and groundwater supplies remain dangerously depleted A long-term warming trend in the North Atlantic -- aggravated by though not necessarily caused by global warming -- has been the chief culprit in the dry conditions of recent years and is expected to continue As a result drought conditions will persist across much of the US in 2008 Look at individual regions to see just how dire the situation will get Lake Lanier a manmade body in northern Georgia remains 14 feet below its average level for this time of year That leaves Georgia Florida and Alabama with serious problems The three states rely on Lake Lanier for everything from drinking water and irrigation to keeping freshwater fisheries and endangered species habitats free of salt water intrusion Georgia has banned outdoor watering throughout the northern third of the state including metropolitan Atlanta and its likely to tighten restrictions as the year goes on Construction firms and other businesses now exempt will feel the bite and rationing is a real possibility Dwindling lake levels there and elsewhere across the Southeast have already forced Duke Energy the

8

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other utility companies to use costly fossil fuels to make up for the shortfall in hydroelectric power which translates into higher electric bills for the regions consumers -- and the bills will continue to climb Much of the West is laboring under an additional burden La Nintildea The chilling of the ocean surface in the tropical Pacific has helped to ease the drought in Utah Colorado Oregon southern Idaho and western Wyoming But southern California Arizona New Mexico Nevada Texas Oklahoma Kansas South Dakota and North Dakota can all expect another dry year Lake Mead and Lake Powell the two largest manmade lakes in the US and major sources of hydroelectric power are down to 50 and 40 of capacity respectively Their shrinking water levels are causing the same problems for western power consumers as customers of Duke Energy and TVA are experiencing back east Lake Meads drying out is likely to cause even more problems for Las Vegas than Lake Laniers depletion is for Atlanta given the desert climate in which the gambling mecca lies The economic costs could run into billions of dollars nationwide and not just because of higher electric bills Farmers and ranchers who have been feeling the effects for some time already will get little or no relief Stunted crop yields will drive up grain and citrus prices further Costlier hay will force cattle ranchers to cull more of their herds Water-use restrictions in suburban areas will hurt businesses reliant on water such as nurseries and landscapers while lower lake levels will take a similar toll on recreation and tourism businesses Dry conditions will also leave affected regions more prone to wildfires causing personal injuries and property damage and forcing up the price of insurance premiums (New dams This wonrsquot happen until the tap runs dry) Are more dams on the Flint the answer Deal wants series of dams on Flint to ease dependency on Lanier By Harris Blackwood Gainesville Times March 9 2008 The Flint River is an oddity in Georgia The river begins as a spring or groundwater seep underneath the runways of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport The flow is channeled off the airport by large drainage pipes From there it meanders 350 miles in a basin that is only 212 miles in length It has 220 miles of unimpeded flow making it one of only 40 rivers in the US with open flows of 200 miles or more Near Bainbridge the Flint empties into Lake Seminole where it joins the Chattahoochee At the Florida line the water flows over Jim Woodruff Dam to form the Apalachicola River The River and Harbor Act of 1945 authorized three power-storage reservoirs on the Flint above Albany They were named Woodbury No 2 Auchumpkee Creek and Potato Creek The most controversial of the projects was later renamed Sprewell Bluff Dam The project was on the fall line where the Piedmont region gives way to the Coastal Plain When Jimmy Carter became governor he successfully fought the dam project at Sprewell Bluff a very scenic spot on the Flint As president Carter began a process that eventually resulted in the de-authorization of the three projects on the Flint in the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 US Rep Nathan Deal R-Gainesville is drafting legislation which would reauthorize federal projects on the Flint Deal contends that the Flint with regulated dams could reduce dependency on Lake Lanier as the primary source of water to maintain the needed flow at Woodruff Dam In 1986 no one could imagine the need we have for water supply Deal said The whole dynamic of the lake and river system has changed Population growth has been part of it but the drought is another In November the US Army Corps of Engineers approved a reduction in flow to 4750 cubic feet per second from Woodruff Dam To maintain that flow discharges from Lanier were needed downstream The result drew Lanier to the lowest level since it was filled in 1957 There are two relatively small dams on the Flint Crisp County Dam backs up water for Lake Blackshear an 8500 acre impoundment owned by the Crisp County Power Commission The other Albany Dam forms Lake Chehaw a 1400-acre Georgia Power impoundment Neither of the dams offer much in terms of flood control In 1994 and 1998 there were major floods on the Flint The 1994 flood followed heavy rains from Tropical Storm Alberto that submerged some cities including Montezuma and Newton and cause the worst flood in Albanys recorded history Numerous counties in the Flint basin were declared federal disaster areas at least 31 people died including 15 in Americus and four in Albany A second flood in Albany in March 1998 prompted plans for a levee which are still being argued Deal contends that in addition to easing the demand on the Chattahoochee a major dam could provided needed flood control in the flood-prone lower Flint One of the things that has frustrated all of us is that we are seeing Lanier be the primary supply source for reserves to sustain the flow of water into Apalachicola Bay Deal said When we stepped back and asked some questions of the corps we found that was not the original design It was designed to have the augmentation of the Flint River he said The corps has told Deal that from authorization to completion typically takes 15 years However Deal believes some of the planning and data used for the 1946 authorization could be used if Congress gave the green light to resuming the development of reservoirs on the Flint

9

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

The Sprewell Bluff project was designed to have a drainage area of 1210 square miles about the size of Lake Allatoona It was to have 195010 acre-feet of flood storage and 241510 acre-feet of conservation storage The 36805-acre development was estimated to cost $110 million in 1971 Just eight miles south of Sprewell Bluff was the site for Lazer Creek Dam The project also on the fall line would have had a larger drainage area of 1400 square miles The 24425-acre project was estimated at $845 million in 1971 Using the Consumer Price Index as a guide the cost of the larger project would be $563 million in 2007 dollars No details were available on the third proposed dam later known as Lower Auchumpkee Dam Deal has not determined whether the reauthorization would cover all three of the formerly proposed projects I think were at a point in time that we need to go back and look at these as alternative reservoirs Deal said They could certainly take some of the pressure off Lanier I think its time we recognized that the drainage basin that supports Lanier is so small that it cant afford to be the only holding reservoir Deal predicts there will be regional differences on his proposal But the reality is that we are all in this together Nature has shown us that it is not realistic for Lanier to be the primary resource he said State Rep Bob Hanner R-Parrott whose South Georgia district includes a major section of the Flint declined to comment on the proposal I havent heard talk about those projects for years said Hanner who is the former chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and has been a major player in discussions regarding water

Environment Torrent in Colorado River Is Unleashed to Aid Fish By FELICITY BARRINGER March 6 2008 The New York Times

A torrent of water was released into the Colorado River from the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona on Tuesday in a disputed effort to improve the environment for fish in the Grand Canyon The 60-hour release being presided over by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne was the latest chapter in a long-running tug of war between the departmentrsquos Bureau of Reclamation which controls the two major Colorado River dams and the National Park Service over how to balance the Southwestrsquos need for hydroelectric power against the needs of an endangered fish the humpbacked chub for water flows that mimic the natural rhythms of the river The water poured out of the dam as if pumped through a gigantic fire hose at the rate of 41500 cubic feet per second mdash

enough to fill the Empire State Building in 20 minutes This release which engineers call ldquohigh flowrdquo was meant to scour the river bottom and deposit silt and sediment to rebuild and extend sandbars and create new calm backwater areas where the fish can spawn But the superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park Steve Martin argued that if such high flows were not repeated several times in the next five years the overall water management plan was very likely to impair rather than improve the fish environment After this weekrsquos release the rate of flow through 277 miles of the Grand Canyon is set to rise and fall for six months in a pattern that the United States Geological Survey is calibrating to match the demand for hydroelectric power in cities like Las Vegas said Randall Peterson a regional manager with the Bureau of Reclamation In the fall there will be two months of steady river flow the kind that scientists say is best for endangered river fish No other high-flow events like this weekrsquos are planned for the next five years though they are not precluded Mr Peterson said Nor are there plans to provide steady flows of water between April and October as a scientific assessment made in 1994 seemed to require Without steady flows coming after the high flow the newly enlarged sandbars would be quickly eroded environmentalists say Mr Peterson said a new scientific assessment of fish needs completed a few weeks ago did not call for an extended period of steady flows The one time such flows were provided he said it cost $30 million to $35 million to replace the hydroelectric power that was sacrificed Western states that use the power could sue if they do not get enough he indicated This weekrsquos event was publicized by the Interior Department to the anger of environmental groups which said the attention masked the rarity of this occurrence Ideally some sediment

10

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

scientists argue high flows should be annual events ldquoThis experiment this celebration is a charaderdquo said Nikolai Lash senior program director of the Grand Canyon Trust a private environmental group ldquoIt was a glamorous event staged for the media that shows the Bureau of Reclamation is doing something for the environment when in fact therersquos a lot more to dordquo Two earlier experiments on the impact of different kinds of river flows on the humpbacked chub have produced data that the bureau made little use of according to the critique of Mr Martin the park superintendent More water good will flow at Skokomish River dam SCOTT FONTAINE The News Tribune March 8th 2008 HOODSPORT MASON COUNTY ndash The black button on the control panel may have had a larger effect than raising the level of the North Fork of the Skokomish River or providing more spawning ground for salmon Many hope it will help ease contentious relations between Tacoma Power and the Skokomish Tribe About 60 people ndash including members of the city-owned utility contractors and the tribe ndash stood atop Cushman Dam No 2 on Friday afternoon to celebrate a quadrupling of water flow into the river an issue over which the tribe has long sought resolution In less than an hour the flow from the dam increased from 60 cubic feet per second to about 240 cubic feet per second ldquoThis should kick-start the restoration process of the fisheriesrdquo said Pat McCarty a generation manager with Tacoma Power ldquoItrsquos more than just putting water in the river Itrsquos a celebration of our accomplishments together on restoring the riverrdquo Tribal policy representative David Herrera was the first to push the button to increase the flow as dozens of people leaned over the edge to watch the blast of water tinged with brown streaks of sediment intensify Four tribal members sang traditional songs Representatives from Tacoma Power and the tribe spoke from a podium and visitors snacked on trays of sandwiches and cheese Tacoma Power employees and contractors walked the hundreds of steps to the control station at the bottom of the dam for an up-close look Dozens of people snapped photos with digital cameras Utility workers passed out golden pins adorned with the projectrsquos logo ldquoThis has been a huge cultural and economic issue with the triberdquo Herrera said ldquoWersquove had a long contentious relationship with the city but we really are making a lot of progress Wersquove probably made more progress with the city in the last year than in the last 80rdquo The first 275-foot dam of the Cushman Hydroelectric Project was created in 1926 A second 235-foot dam was erected four years later Together they generate enough energy to serve 25500 homes The dams were Tacomarsquos first big hydroelectric projects In addition to providing the city with power they became the cornerstone of the municipal utility But the subsequent flooding Herrera said engulfed a village on the banks of Lake Cushman and submerged a burial ground The project dried up the riverrsquos north fork by diverting the water to a powerhouse and affected other parts of the arearsquos ecosystem in the Skokomish reservation The average river flow before the construction of the dams was 847 cubic feet per second a tribal news release said After the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an operating license to Tacoma Power in 1998 the tribe filed a $58 billion lawsuit against Tacoma Power and the federal government The lawsuit worked its way through the court system but died when the US Supreme Court refused to hear the tribersquos appeal in January 2006 When the Supreme Court refused to hear the tribersquos appeal the stay on an operating license was lifted and the mandate to increase the flow to 240 cubic feet per second went into effect The deadline to implement the change was Friday Tacoma Power spokeswoman Chris Gleason said The change in water flow should drop the power output by about one-sixth but the utility should be able to offset the loss in power Tacoma Public Utilities Director Bill Gaines said The sides have been in mediation to hammer out a compromise on the myriad issues that stem from the use of the river Gaines said and the final compromise will almost certainly mean higher rates for customers ldquoItrsquos going to cost money to do this but wersquore also trying to do whatrsquos right for the environmentrdquo McCarty said ldquoItrsquos a balancerdquo iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose

1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

i 3212008

Other Stuff (Herersquos a foolproof way to get Hydropower) Hall of Fame Beverages Online Store Ready To Take Orders 031208 Business Wire - Press Release Breaking news Hall of Fame Beverages Inc is proud to announce that the online store is now open Customers may purchase Atomic Dogg (TM) and Hydropower (TM) online and have it shipped directly to their door Also attached is a paper by John Coleman ndash ldquoComments on Global Warmingrdquo In the paper is the table below showing that NASA has recently reprocessed its annual data for US temperatures since 1840 Here is their revised list of the warmest 10 years

Year Old New 1934 123 125 1998 124 123 1921 112 115 2006 123(1st) 113(4th) 1931 108 108 1999 094 093 1953 091 090 1990 088 087 1938 085 086 1939 084 085

(What Next What a byline) Scientists see an ominous formula as more people = more emissions ClimateWirecom Mar 14 2008 Can condoms help fight climate change Thats the question being asked by a small but growing group of scientists examining the relationship between population growth and greenhouse-gas emissions

SSoommee DDaamm ndashndash HHyyddrroo NNeewwss aanndd OOtthheerr SSttuuffff

Quote of Note Eliot Spitzer wrote the following in his high school year book (which he

plagiarized and attributed to himself) ndash ldquoThe problem with political jokes is they get electedrdquo - - Henry Cate VII (Interesting irony huh)

2 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Dams (A familiar public safety problem) Lawmakers want safety study of dams JENNIFER JACOBS bull Des Moines Register bull March 12 2008 Dams can be a hazard to kayakers and canoeists and some lawmakers want a study done on the best way to mark them with warnings and directions for how to portage around them Lawmakers today mentioned two Iowans killed by river dams Thomas Manatt a 44-year-old outdoorsman from Ames who drowned when his canoe went over a dam on the Skunk River in 2005 and Rich Droste 62 of Evansdale who was swimming in the Wapsipinicon River near a 3-foot-tall dam in Independence last summer when he was pulled under by the current Senate File 2380 would create a low-head dam public hazard program The Iowa Senate approved the bill 46-0 today The Department of Natural Resources would be directed to come up with an inventory of low-head dams templates for warning signs and a list of priorities for developing water trails The study would cost about $250000 but lawmakers so far havenrsquot set aside money for it Sen Bill Dotzler a Democrat from Waterloo said Droste was a friend and fellow RAGBRAI rider Dotzler predicted that more deaths will occur if the state doesnrsquot do proper planning Manatt was an avid outdoorsman said Sen Herman Quirmbach a Democrat from Ames His death is a clear signal we need more attention to these hazards that even the most intelligent and responsible individual can get caught in these if there isnrsquot sufficient signage and warning

(Excerpts - The government will fix everything) County officials seek Feingoldrsquos help with dam repairs by Matt Johnson March 12 2008 Veron County Broadcaster WI A number of Vernon County officials appealed to US Sen Russ Feingold for federal help to repair the countys 22 flood control dams Saturday Feingold (D-Middleton) a 16-year veteran of the Senate was in Viroqua for one of his annual county listening sessions ----- Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Department dam project manager Phil Hahn told Feingold that the county is in need of $99 million to repair dams that have suffered due to age and most notably the floods of 2007 Hahn said that all of the countys flood control structures are in need of repair but added that four with the most need are high-hazard structures Orvis Primmer county board supervisor and a member of the land and water committee told Feingold that when the dams were first built the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) had agreed to share costs in repairing the structures However he said the federal program is severely under-funded Im asking you to have someone look into this for us because we are in need of federal help Primmer told Feingold In addition to Hahn and Primmer the chairman of the land and water committee Richard Hansen and a candidate for the county board from the La Farge area Francis Hynek each used their opportunity to address Feingold to seek federal aid for Vernon Countys dams Feingold said he would have his staff look into the matter ----- (And more) Congress Calls for Safety Repairs at Center Hill Dam Mar 11 2008 Daily Newscom

ldquoThis has a huge affect on rate payers in Tennessee If the repairs to Center Hill Dam are not designated as being necessary for dam safety then Tennesseans will have to fork over $300 million extra in their electric bills to pay for those repairs The longer we wait to repair Center Hill the more it will cost to the people of Middle TennesseerdquondashLamar Alexander US Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) today told the Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp the Chief Engineer of the US Army Corps of Engineers that Tennesseersquos Center Hill Dam needs to be declared a safety issue so that adequate repairs can be made ldquoI believe the repairs at Center Hill Dam in Tennessee should be

considered necessary for dam safety like the ones at the Wolf Creek Dam in Kentuckyrdquo said Alexander

3 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

during a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) ldquoBoth of these dams sit on a kind of limestone that erodes away and thatrsquos the reason the water levels have been lowered They suffer the same problems but the dam in Tennessee has not been designated and the one in Kentucky has This has a huge affect on rate payers in Tennessee If the repairs to Center Hill Dam are not designated as being necessary for dam safety then Tennesseans will have to fork over $300 million extra in their electric bills to pay for those repairsrdquo Both the Center Hill and the Wolf Creek Dams were designated ldquohigh riskrdquo for failure in January of 2007 but the Corps was authorized to repair only Wolf Creek Alexander said that currently ratepayers in Middle Tennessee have to pay an additional $100 million a year in replacement power while water levels at the dams are down for the repairs ldquoFurthermore the delay in repair at Center Hill means the water levels are low and that water is not available downstreamrdquo Alexander said ldquoTennessee has just suffered the worst drought in over 100 years Lakes and streams dried up that have never dried up before and if we had made the appropriate repairs to these dams we would have been able to supply enough water to areas affected by the extreme drought The longer we wait to repair Center Hill the more it will cost to the people of Middle Tennesseerdquo The EPW Committee met today to discuss the implementation of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) which authorizes funding for the US Army Corps of Engineers and allocates its budget WRDA passed the House by a vote of 381 to 40 and passed the Senate by a vote of 81 to 12 President Bush vetoed the legislation on November 2 A two-thirds majority of both the House and Senate is required to override a veto The week after the President vetoed WRDA the House voted 361 to 54 and the Senate including Alexander voted 79 to 14 to override the veto Corps studies seepage at dams Huntington Herald Press March 13 2008 Huntington IN The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to find out why additional water seepage is occurring at the Roush Lake and Salamonie Lake dams A preliminary investigation at both dams is under way and is expected to continue through March the Corps Louisville District Dam Safety Office said Visitors to the areas may see equipment near the dams used to take subsurface borings The original testing began last year Through its Dam Safety program the Army Corps of Engineers has observed seepage areas at the Roush and Salamonie dams at higher pool levels Although dams typically seep engineers said the additional seepage areas at higher pool levels and similar geologic formations to the nearby Mississinewa dam warrant closer evaluation of the current subsurface conditions to verify the nature of the increased seepage Louisville District engineers annually inspect all regional reservoir dams A more intensive team inspection occurs every five years through the Dam Safety program Through these ongoing inspections and evaluations of instrumentation readings from the dams Salamonie and Roush lakes received funding for further subsurface exploration and study The Corps contractor Amec Earth and Environmental (along with subcontractors Tri-State Drilling and Boart-Longyear) is in the process of completing work at Salamonie Dam and has moved some equipment to JE Roush Dam and started work there The samples and test results being taken this month will be used to perform further engineering evaluations and be compared to existing data Explorations are expected to be complete during 2008 with additional engineering evaluations to follow (It appears that this study may have some major flaws) Dams Lower Global Sea Level By Andrea Thompson LiveSciencecom 13 March 2008 Global sea levels would be higher and rising faster if not for reservoir water trapped behind dams around the world a new study suggests But the conclusion does not fully account for other human-caused changes to the water cycle another researcher cautions Sea level rise caused by global warming has the potential to severely impact coastal and island communities by encroaching on populations there and increasing storm damage Most of the sea level rise in recent decades has been attributed to the thermal expansion of the oceans (water expands as it heats up) and ice melt from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets Scientists have known for some time that changes in land water storage including the amount of water locked behind dams was an important element in the sea level rise equation but just how important was uncertain said study leader Ben Chao of the National Central University in Taiwan Chao and his colleagues investigated this question by doing a comprehensive tally of all the worlds dams constructed since 1900 (about 29484) and estimating the amount of water they hold The data was taken from the International Commission on Large Dams World Register of Dams Chao and his team found that altogether these dams hold about 2600 cubic miles (10800 cubic kilometers) of water This corresponds to a drop in global sea levels of

4 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

about 12 inches (30 millimeters) Meaning ocean levels today would be that much higher if some river water wasnt trapped behind dams and prevented from flowing back into the ocean If you look in just the past half century the observed sea level rise is about 10 centimeters and the negative effect of the reservoirs in total has been as much 3 centimeters so in other words the sea level could have risen 13 centimeters Chao told LiveScience The studys findings are detailed in the March 14 issue of the journal Science Accounting for the drop from dams means that the average sea level rise over the 20th century estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (about 17 millimeters per year over the last century) would actually be higher than thought Chao said But other scientists caution against making the leap from the amount of sea level rise to the rate at which it has risen That may be one step too far said Vivien Gornitz of Columbia Universitys Center for Climate Systems Research who was not involved with Chaos study All of the ways in which humans manipulate water on land must be considered Gornitz says from groundwater pumping to the increased runoff from cities covered in concrete which isnt as permeable as soil You have to consider all of these aspects together Gornitz said and some scientists think these effects may cancel each other out in terms of their impact on sea level This view was noted in the last IPCC report (Sure hope itrsquos a RCC or concrete gravity dam How come they refer to a ldquofloodrdquo instead of the dam failure) Teton Dam Being Studied for Possible Replacement March 12 2008 by John Merrifield KPVIcom Idaho The Teton Dam flood of 1976 sent 80 billion gallons of water through the streets of Rexburg and surrounding cities Now the State of Idaho is looking to try to finish building this dam again Idaho lawmakers on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved $400000 to study replacing the structure in the Teton River Canyon Drought and demand for cheap hydroelectric power are fueling renewed interest in Idahos dams Now that the site is being looked at for construction the Teton Flood Museums curator expresses her concern and what she has heard from others Lori Thomas Museum Curator I dont think that people really want to go through anything like theyve had in the past It was quite a devastating thing for people to go through even though it built our community and made us a stronger people I think it was very hard for us So I dont think I would want it rebuilt again myself We will keep you updated on the decision made for the dams construction Medford Lakes to receive $1M for dam project By ED MOORHOUSE Burlington County Times March 16 2008 MEDFORD LAKES VT mdash The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide the borough with more than $1 million in funding for the restoration of Upper Aetna Dam but borough officials say thats not nearly enough Officials said the borough spent approximately $10 million or $5 million each to rebuild both the Upper and Lower Aetna dams and the roads that cross over them ldquoWe are very happy to get a part of the money that we think we are entitled to for Upper Aetna Dam but there seems to be a substantial difference in the money that we are receiving and the money we believe we are entitled tordquo Borough Councilman Gary Woodend said Friday A severe rainstorm and subsequent flooding in July 2004 washed away the two earthen dams and drained the boroughs two large lakes The dams were reconstructed as concrete structures and the project was completed last August The new roller-compacted concrete dams use the same footprint as the original dams The borough was eligible for funding for the restoration of Upper Aetna Dam through FEMAs public assistance program which reimburses local governments and certain nonprofits for disaster-related damages While the Upper Aetna project was eligible for funding the agency requires that the dam must be rebuilt before the town gets its money ldquoWhen we applied for reimbursement after the dam was reconstructed (FEMA) told us they would only reimburse us the cost of rebuilding an earthen dam not a concrete damrdquo Woodend said However Woodend said the state Department of Environmental Protection would not approve the reconstruction of earthen dams and required that the new dams be concrete ldquoFEMA estimated $1 million for the cost of an earthen dam which we couldnt buildrdquo Woodend said He said the borough plans to ask FEMA to cover the remaining costs ldquoWere going to great efforts to acquire the funding we believe were entitled tordquo he said The Borough Council had previously received state loans to help pay for the reconstruction and last year it hiked the local purpose-tax rate to cover flood repair costs FEMA denied the boroughs request for reimbursement for reconstruction of Lower Aetna Dam because it does not support a public road like the upper dam The upper dam is crossed by Beach Drive a public road and Aetna Way runs across the lower dam Beach Drive supports traffic and Aetna Way is a

5 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

pedestrian bridge that is utilized by children who walk to the Neeta School on Neeta Trail Woodend remains optimistic that the borough will receive some funding for the lower dam ldquo(FEMA) may be willing to reimburse us (for the lower dam) but only at the cost of (reconstructing Aetna Way)rdquo Woodend said ldquoBut we couldnt have built the road without first rebuilding the dam Our argument is that it is a courtesy road for our children to travel safely to schoolrdquo (Another opinion) Three strikes against removing Klamath dams Opinion Record Searchlight Redding CA Margo L Perryman March 17 2008 I cant make it through one more day on this dam issue without putting my two cents in the pot First of all let me say what has been said by many before me Our forefathers had reasons to put dams on the Klamath River They were put in to prevent flooding that most of us have only seen on the 6 oclock news All of the news footage shows what happens to homes farms and ranches on the mighty Mississippi River Scenes of cows on rooftops dogs and cats in trees and water rushing through the second floor of a two-story home That is a lot of money going down the river and our ancestors saw that this could be prevented by installing dams to control it The electric power was almost an afterthought Like icing on the cake We have the dams now so lets see if we can make any money from them So they are producing power Isnt this a win-win situation for all of us I dont want to hear about the poor salmon until you can tell me that the tribal Indians have agreed to remove their nets from the mouth of the Klamath River Isnt this where it all starts - at the mouth of the river If the salmon are not able to enter the river then they cant very well get up the river If they cant get in the river then mining pollution and dams are moot points Maybe the Indians know that the only salmon worth eating are caught before they get a chance to come up the polluted river I wouldnt eat any fish caught in the Klamath River Would you Strike one I am very sorry for the people who now have waterfront property around the dams and are in danger of losing it Siskiyou County will take another hit if the property declines in value due to dam removal That will mean a lot less tax money coming into the budget I strongly advise these property owners to go en masse to a supervisors meeting and ask how much their taxes are going to be reduced if the dams are taken out Who is going to pay their outrageous flood insurance rates when the dams are removed Strike two Next we have the owners of homes away from the dams and even in Hornbrook and the Klamath River Estates In case of fires and there will always be fires where are the helicopters going to fill their buckets Strike three Yes we need to clean up the river but that is another letter to be written at a later time Pacific Power has agreed to put in fish ladders and someone else thinks we should haul the salmon around the dams and drop them in the lakes That idea leaves a lot to be desired but if that is what it takes to keep the dams in place then so be it Just leave the dams where they are Margo L Perryman lives in Edgewood (Interesting view on paying for dam repairs) Editorial As pre-emptive war rages Vernon County cant repair its dams March 17 2008 The Tomah Monitor Herald WI As the federal government squanders money on rebate checks and pre-emptive war infrastructure at home continues to crumble Wisconsin US Sen Russ Feingold (D-Middleton) heard about the problem first-hand during a trip to Vernon County last week The devastating floods of last August left several dams in Vernon County in desperate need of repair but there are no public funds to fix them Cash-strapped state governments canrsquot fund them over fear that business will cut and run if taxes are raised and the federal government wonrsquot fund them because of a Bush administration that brags about building infrastructure in Baghdad but neglects roads bridges rails ports and dams at home State Rep Lee Nerison (R-Westby) told Feingold the Department of Natural Resources has issued orders to inspect 11 of the countyrsquos 22 dams Nerison and Vernon County arenrsquot asking for pork The countyrsquos dams were created as flood-control and recreation projects in cooperation with the federal governmentrsquos Natural Resources Conservation Service in the 1950s and 1960s Back then the NRCS agreed to share the costs of repairing the structures but the program has been grossly under-funded Congress and the Bush administration have other fiscal priorities including the fleeting ldquoeconomic stimulusrdquo checks that most of us will get later this year From a long-term economic standpoint the tax rebates make no sense While American consumers are most likely to spend their rebate checks on imported goods a commitment to rebuilding infrastructure would circulate through the pockets of American workers employed by American companies What would benefit Vernon County more -- $600 per person rebate checks or money to repair its dams The $600 per person will evaporate as fast as it takes to mail the checks but the dams would last long after the rebate checks are spent The $30 billion thatrsquos needed to fix our nationrsquos dams represents about 15 weeks of pre-emptive war in Iraq Itrsquos beyond

6 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

dispute that America has sufficient resources to maintain and repair its infrastructure Whatrsquos lacking are visionary leaders with the right priorities Dam evaluations to be discussed March 18 2008 Nashua Telegraph NH An independent evaluation into last years floods on the Souhegan and other New Hampshire rivers will be discussed at a public hearing Tuesday night in Bedford Preliminary discussion about the evaluation has indicated that hydropower dams in Greenville and Wilton were not responsible for last years Mothers Day Floods but the matter has not been officially reported Initial results of the independent evaluation into the April 2007 floods will be presented at a meeting tonight at 7 at The Wayfarer Convention Center 121 S River Road The $330000 study is being funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and performed by a team led by the URS Corp an international engineering firm under contract to FEMA The evaluation was requested by Gov John Lynch following concern that water releases from dams into rain-swollen rivers may have worsened the flooding Based on the results of these evaluations the team will provide recommendations for any remedial protective or management measures that would help mitigate the effects of future flooding

Hydro (Excluding large hydro The report makes no mention that hydro ndash large or small ndash is the lowest cost renewable) EDITORIAL Renewable energy surges forward Knight RidderTribune Business News (March 16 2008) Renewable energy is developing rapidly in terms of investment and energy production The Renewable Energy 2007 Global Status Report made public in late February is food for thought for energy policymakers citizens and power and other companies Renewable electricity generation capacity reached an estimated 240 Gigawatts (GW) worldwide in 2007 a 50 percent rise over 2004 Renewable energy represents 34 percent of global power generation In 2006 new renewable energy excluding large hydropower sources generated as much electric power worldwide as one-quarter of the worlds nuclear power plants The report was prepared by REN21 or the Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century a Paris-based global policy network in collaboration with the Worldwatch Institute in Washington DC The report states that global investment reached an estimated $71 billion (roughly 73 trillion) in new renewable power fuel and heat-power assets in 2007 excluding large hydropower projects Jobs in the renewable energy sector exceeded 24 million Wind power accounted for 47 percent of the investment solar photovoltaics (PV) 30 percent In the same year global wind-power generating capacity is estimated to have increased 28 percent to 95 GW grid-connected solar PV capacity was up 52 percent to 77 GW Production of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) in 2007 topped an estimated 53 billion liters in 2007 up 43 percent from 2005 As of the end of 2006 China had the biggest renewable energy-based power-generation capacity with about 52 million kilowatts (kW) Japan came in sixth with 7 million kW The European Union has a renewable energy target of 20 percent of final energy by 2020 Chinas target is 15 percent of primary energy Dr Eric Martinot lead author of the report says The subject (renewable energy) has never been more relevant as concerns have become stronger about energy security fossil fuel prices climate change air pollution supply sufficiency and other issues that renewables are uniquely poised to address His comment deserves serious attention (The licensing time and costs will determine hydrorsquos future At this point the licensing process has slowed hydro development Sure hope this is on target There may be hope for a hydro renewal) US on the Verge of a Small Hydro Boom by Stephen Lacey March 17 2008 RenewableEnergyWorldcom While the US has seen a slight decline in total energy production from hydro resources over the last two decades the industry is gearing up to reverse that trend and ride the wave of growth seen throughout the other renewable energy industries But in order to stimulate new growth industry leaders say they must correct misinformation about the power source and get the permitting process moving faster for both project

7 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

upgrades and installation of new technologies like hydrokinetics For many people hydropower conjures images of towering hydroelectric dams that flood land displace communities and kill aquatic wildlife But that perception may be changing here in the US as the industry installs more small- to micro- sized systems and proves that it is just as much a part of the distributed energy economy as other renewables that get far more attention In fact large hydroelectric dams above 30 megawatts (MW) only make up 8 of the total hydropower plant population in the US according to the Hydroelectric Power Resources Assessment Database The other 80 of plants in the US are low power (under 1 MW) or small hydro (between 1 MW and 30 MW) Few Americans understand the dynamics of the industry which has given hydropower a ldquoblack eyerdquo says Doug Hall Program Manager of the Idaho National Laboratorys Water Energy Program Misperceptions about the countrys portfolio of projects has also lead people to believe that hydro resources are all used up Thats far from the truth he says INL released a study in 2006 that identified 130000 stream reaches around the country that are suitable for projects between 10 kilowatts (kW) and 30 MW While the study estimates those sites to hold around 100000 MW of annual capacity a more realistic estimate is around 30000 MW of annual capacity when considering technological and environmental limitations at each site Even with such restrictions these projects could increase US hydroelectric generation by more than 50 according to the study ldquoThe kind of projects were talking about would not involve large dams or any inundation of property These would all be run-of-river projectsrdquo says Hall This includes submerging weirs to raise the level of a river and create energy from the difference in water level or excavating power channels that divert water through a power house and back into the water body Depending on the size of the project there are still some environmental concerns associated with these methods however they are considered to be a much more sustainable way of harvesting energy from a moving body of water For Lori Barg Chief Executive of Community Hydro in Plainfield Vermont encouraging developers to use these methods should be a priority for every state Unfortunately shes doing business in a state that hasnt seen a new grid-connected hydroelectric facility built in 20 years Thats because the slow expensive permitting process makes projects economically unfeasible she says According to Barg obtaining federal and state permits can add $2000 per installed kW for a small hydro system a figure that she calls ldquoa project killerrdquo This is partly because Vermont does not have a standardized permitting procedure ldquoObtaining the necessary permits is such a deterrent Its important to have regulations but I find myself having to go through 12 different agencies just to get a project off the ground It doesnt make sense and its not allowing Vermont to develop its abundant hydro resourcesrdquo Barg says Community Hydro develops energy recovery systems for municipal water treatment facilities upgrades old mill dams into electrical generation facilities and installs damless diversion systems which she says ldquoare the way to gordquo for the least environmental impact Currently Barg is assisting in the development of projects in Hawaii Massachusetts New Hampshire and Oregon but is only doing feasibility assessments in Vermont Barg is working with the Vermont legislature to craft a cohesive rule-making process for water-flow and environmental-impact permits in the state Legislators have agreed to ldquoevaluate the need for a rule-making processrdquo which she hopes will begin this June In the meantime Barg has multiple megawatts worth of projects waiting to be developed around the state ldquoThis process is somewhat impacted by the idea that hydro projects flood the land or take peoples property and create major disturbances I dont work on that levelrdquo Barg says ldquoWe are very important from a distributed energy standpoint and I hope we get recognized as suchrdquo Linda Church Ciocci thinks that lawmakers and regulators are becoming more receptive to the concerns of the water power industry As Executive Director of the National Hydropower Association (NHA) its her job to make sure that the industry gets the treatment it needs to reverse the downward trend in hydroelectricity production ldquoWe have so many opportunities to upgrade existing dams put up new power houses at non-powered dams and build out the resources at other sites in a sustainable wayrdquo says Ciocci ldquoThen we have all these new technologies that are in the beginning stages like wave tidal and in-stream hydrokineticsrdquo Ensuring continued development of the nations still-abundant hydro resources means long-term extensions of the federal production tax credit and Clean Renewable Energy Bonds adding new hydrokinetic technologies to any new tax incentive package and simplifying the permitting process at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) mdash especially for the budding wave and tidal energy industries While obtaining a preliminary permit can take as little as six months (more than 50 have been issued) it can take up to five years to get a full-project permit from FERC NHA is concerned that start-up hydrokinetic developers with limited financial resources wont be able to handle that five-year timeframe ldquo[Its] too long for a nascent industry that has very difficult times in terms of funding to really go through that process and do what is necessary for studies The cost involved the time involved the delays involved are very very difficult for an industry that is just getting off the groundrdquo Ciocci says One such company the Virginia-based kinetic hydropower developer Verdant Power estimates that there are around 12500 MW of hydrokinetic resources in the US and about 250000 MW worldwide If the US

8 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

wants to take advantage of the untapped potential of its oceans and tidal estuaries FERC and MMS need make it easier and less costly for new companies to get permits says Verdant Co-Founder and President Trey Taylor In December of 2006 Verdant placed six of its Free Flow turbines in the East River in New York City Called the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project it was the first multi-turbine hydrokinetic field in the world and generated 1000 kilowatt-hours per day on average Taylor says that a third of the $6 million needed for the RITE project went toward environmental impact studies He supports the need for such impact assessments but believes the amount of testing can be ldquocost prohibitiverdquo and is making it challenging to move onto the next phase of the project ldquoIts tough Of course you need to test But theres a lot of money that goes into the tests which are showing we have very little impact on fish species Wed like to be able to move on without the prospect of spending so much of our money on this processrdquo says Taylor Indeed these are the issues that businesses lawmakers and state and federal regulators are dealing with as the hydropower industry expands capacity and diversifies technologies There is a need to bring more clean hydroelectricity online as quickly as possible while also ensuring development is done in an environmentally-friendly way says NHAs Ciocci She is confident that stakeholders will work out a solution to ensure a positive future for the industry ldquoTheres growing interest in trying to find ways to bring more hydropower online responsiblyrdquo she says ldquoIts a good mdash and sometimes complicated mdash time for the industryrdquo (Didnrsquot someone just do a study that found that Lake Mead is going to dry up So where is the water coming from for the upstream Lake Powell) Hydropower could be part of Lake Powell pipeline Associated Press Glenwood Springs CO March 18 2008 Post Independent

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) mdash Utah is taking the first step toward building the 139-mile Lake Powell pipeline to bring more water to rapidly growing communities in the statersquos southwestern cornerThe Division of Water Resources said Tuesday it had filed for a federal permit to generate hydroelectric power from the pipeline The pipeline will climb 2500 feet then drop 3000 feet into Washington Countyrsquos Sand Hollow Reservoir where the water will be distributed to communities around St George The hydropower would be sold to offset uphill pumping costs said Larry Anderson the pipelinersquos project manager A second pipeline that has yet to be mapped would take water to Cedar City 50 miles northeast of St George In all the pipeline will deliver 100000 acre-feet of water a year drawing on Utahrsquos share of the Colorado River An acre-foot is 326000 gallons of water the amount used by a typical household in a year

The Colorado River Compact gives Utah 14 million acre-feet of water but the state takes only about 1 million a year from the Colorado River said Dennis Strong director of the Division of Water Resources Strong said his division plans to start delivering the Lake Powell water by 2020 but Utah legislators havenrsquot decided how to pay for the $600 million project That figure an estimate Strong plans to revise this summer covers the cost of building the pipeline and pumping stations but doesnrsquot include the hydropower plants While the financing hasnrsquot been fixed Strong said the Utah Board of Water Resources probably will sell bonds to raise money for the project Local water districts would buy the water helping pay off the debt In the end the pipeline will be paid for by water users The buried pipeline will cross federal land state trust land and some private land where owners will be offered ldquofair compensationrdquo division deputy director Eric Millis said The division plans to explain its plans in a series of public meetings March 31-April 3 in Kanab Hurricane Apple Valley and Big Water Millis said Utah is going to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission first instead of other federal agencies for approvals because FERC can act as lead agency and handle everything at once Also asking FERC to take charge will mean doing one environmental-impact study instead of two he said The Division of Water Resources filed its plans on March 4 Federal approval could take about four years Millis said

9 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Water State to study if additional dams worth trouble By Hank Shaw March 12 2008 recordnetcom SACRAMENTO - Can additional dams help save the Delta Two local state senators working to strike a deal on building new reservoirs in the Central Valley might explore that concept further Sens Dave Cogdill R-Modesto and Michael Machado D-Linden want to see how much the public would benefit from building a dam on the San Joaquin River near Fresno and another along the Sacramento River in Colusa The proposals themselves are not new A reservoir at Temperance Flat near Fresno and the proposed Sites Reservoir near Maxwell have been kicked around by lawmakers for the better part of five years What is relatively new is the idea that the water these new reservoirs would hold could improve the water quality and the ecosystem in the Wests largest estuary Feasibility studies need to be completed on both proposals and completing them with the environment in mind - as opposed to strictly water storage for farms and urban users - could show that the state does indeed have a stake in their construction Or not The concept has been a chunk of money that buys an asset for the environment state Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow said during a hearing of the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday Added Cogdill Thats been a key criteria in terms of what this proposal has to be Machado and Cogdill hope to break a two-year impasse over a new bond that would ask voters to spend billions on water supply projects Broad agreement already exists for projects to clean up polluted groundwater store water underground and promote conservation Whether public money would be well spent with a new dam is the issue Most of the good places for dams already are taken so any water stored behind new sites would be expensive Supporters argue that global climate change is expected to cause more of Californias precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow - and rain needs to be captured in a reservoir they say Thus far that argument has not held water so to speak But late last year Cogdill and a few of his Republican colleagues said building dams at Colusa and Temperance Flat could be run specifically to keep existing Delta flows clean and secure Machado has generally supported this notion for years as has his Assembly counterpart Lois Wolk of Davis The problem always has been how much the public benefits from all this if at all And how much the public benefits would determine how much of the bill the state would pay Each dam would cost more than $1 billion Historically however the state has spent only a tiny percentage on dams Local money provided the bulk of the funding It has not been the way weve gone about it in the past Snow said The state has spent more than $62 million studying the various dam proposals in recent years The Water Resources Department estimates it will cost another $16 million to finish them Regional water plan must be fair to all March 17 2008 Press Register AL REP JOHN Lewis of Georgia is floating a bill that on its face makes sense The Democrat wants the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a comprehensive plan for water use in the Southeast Now that Gov Bob Riley and his counterparts in Georgia and Florida have given up trying to negotiate a solution to their long-running dispute over water it makes sense that the federal government should step in And indeed it already has Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has declared that Washington will determine water allocation in the three drought-suffering states To that end an objective comprehensive plan may help However call us skeptics on this side of the state line but it looks more than a little suspicious that Georgia officials are calling for a water plan One of the stronger supporters for Rep Lewis proposal is Robert Hunter the head of thirsty Atlantas Department of Watershed Management It has been that citys unbridled demand for water that has thrown the region into a water war the likes of which had not been seen in this region Another vocal supporter of Rep Lewis bill is Georgia Gov Sonny Perdue who has derisively argued that endangered species shouldnt get water that humans (in Atlanta for example) need Picturing the dispute as a people-vs-plants fight though is a purposeful effort to diminish Alabamas and Georgias needs It ignores for example that

10 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

our state depends on rivers flowing out of Georgia to supply water for power plants factories and drinking supplies Florida likewise needs the flows coming from Georgia to support its seafood industry Certainly endangered mussels in Florida are a factor as is the environment generally Diminished river flows will damage essential habitat for mussels and for other marine life and sediment levels in streams will be increased But peoples needs are foremost at risk in the states downstream of Atlanta It appears Georgia officials may believe they can influence the Corps of Engineers to produce a plan thats favorable to the Peach State Indeed the corps has favored Georgia in the past striking a secret deal that gave Atlanta more water from Lake Lanier than allowed by regulations Thankfully a federal judge recently put a stop to that Not only have Georgia officials proved willing to take water they dont own but their reverence for planning appears to have been acquired only recently Atlanta is thirsty because officials let it expand for decades without planning for water needs Rep Allen Boyd a Democrat from Florida pointed this out when he testified before Congress that for 25 years Florida has followed a long-term statewide water management strategy while our friends to the north have allowed for unbridled development with little or no thought to its increased water needs A regional plan can be productive if its based on science not politics A plan that uses good data and treats the needs of all states fairly could provide reasonable guidance

Environment Meeting to Explore Fish Passage at Cowlitz Falls A fishery technical group involved in rebuilding naturally-spawned salmon and steelhead runs on the upper Cowlitz will host a public meeting Mar 14 2008 The Chronicle Lewis County WA A fishery technical group involved in rebuilding naturally-spawned salmon and steelhead runs on the upper Cowlitz will host a public meeting on March 20 in Centralia The group will share input received for improving fish collection at Cowlitz Falls Dam The meeting is scheduled from 6 pm until 915 pm in room 103 of Washington Hall at Centralia College The site is at the corner of Walnut Street and Washington Avenue on the campus ldquoThe meeting is designed to let people know the range of options for improving fish passage currently under discussionrdquo said Pat Frazier WDFW regional fish manager Frazier and Tacoma Power biologist Mark LaRiviere will present options proposed by fish passage experts at a recent two-day workshop for improving conditions for juvenile salmon and steelhead moving past the dam Juvenile fish are currently captured trucked to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery and then released back to the Cowlitz to continue their journey to the ocean Under terms of the hydroelectric license and settlement agreement Tacoma Power is required to increase survival rates of young salmon and steelhead through the hydroelectric system Local sportfishing groups such as Friends of the Cowlitz have long supported volitional passage devices such as fish ladders for all Cowlitz River hydro projects but it is not known if free-passage structures are among the options for Cowlitz Falls to be presented next week iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose

1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

i 3282008

Dams Think dams worsened floods Think again Study finds structures impact was minimal By DAVID BROOKS Nashua Telegraph Staff March 23 2008

BEDFORD NH ndash The rain and snowmelt that led to last yearrsquos April floods was so huge that dam operations on the Souhegan River contributed little or nothing to the damage according to a study on recent floods being paid for by federal government ldquoYou see these relatively big structures in the middle of the river and think theyrsquove got to do something but thatrsquos not how they workrdquo said Brent McCarthy a registered associate with Watershed Concepts of Boston during a presentation last week The consultants are performing a $330000 study of flooding that occurred May 15 2006 and April 16 2007 on a number of rivers around the state including the Souhegan The study was ordered by Gov John Lynch and is being paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency Tuesdayrsquos presentation was the second of three public hearings by the consultants giving conclusions about the causes of flooding A third talk probably held in June near

the Seacoast will cover their recommendations for future action About 75 people attended the presentation in the Quality Inn in Bedford ranging from safety officials in towns throughout the Souhegan Valley to residents of the often-flooded Island Drive neighborhood of Merrimack

Much of the discussion concerned operations during the April rsquo07 flood at the Otis Falls dam in downtown Greenville and the Pine Valley Mill dam in Wilton These are not flood-control dams designed to hold back large amounts of water and control river flow but are ldquorun-of-riverrdquo hydropower dams That means they hold back

relatively little water letting most of it flow over turbines to create electricity McCarthy said ldquoA flood-control dam is like a hose going into a swimming pool It keeps filling up and holding (the water) A run-of-river

SSoommee DDaamm ndashndash HHyyddrroo NNeewwss aanndd OOtthheerr SSttuuffff

Quote of Note ldquoNothing is as admirable in politics as a short memoryrdquo - - John

Kenneth Galbraith

2 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

dam is like a fire hose going into a bathtub It fills and the water just rushes throughrdquo said McCarthy An exception are flashboards removable 3-foot or 4-foot-tall sheets of plywood atop concrete dams that are used to raise the water level of the holding area and so increase the amount of electricity generated The boards on the Otis Falls dam and a smaller nearby dam were removed prior to the height of the flooding but the boards on the Pine Valley dam could not be manually removed They gave way when too much water backed up behind them ndash which is how they are designed to operate to prevent damage to the dam itself Itrsquos not clear when the flashboards gave way or whether they all gave way at one time or in sections Apparently it occurred some time Monday morning April 16 2007 This wasnrsquot long before already high floodwaters in west Milford surged higher swamping the Brookstone Manor apartments then the Boys amp Girls Club then portions of Amherst and Merrimack later in the day This has led to a widely held belief in the Souhegan Valley that the dams indirectly caused the near-record high flooding which went considerably higher than the levels of the May 2006 flooding However Brad Newlin a project engineer with Watershed Concepts said computer models indicate that the ldquoplugrdquo of water moving downstream after the flashboards gave way would have been accompanied by two much larger surges of water happening as heavier rains and melting snow poured off frozen ground into the river These natural surges could have caused the unexpected rise in floodwaters he said The consultants also found that the rainfall before the 2007 flood was slightly less in total than the 2006 flood but was ldquomore intenserdquo Because it happened a month earlier in the year it fell on frozen ground and so ran off more quickly into streams and rivers Also several inches of snow were still on the ground and their sudden melting contributed to the problems Local watersheds unaffected by the Souhegan River dams saw problems notably an earthen dam on the Hollis-Milford border that collapsed and a stone dam in Hollis that was deliberately breached because of worries that it would break Flooding occurred through the state last year The consultants are also examining the Piscataquog Soucook Suncook Contoocook Cocheco Lamprey Oyster Salmon Falls and Isinglass river basins Way cleared for removal of portion of Fort Halifax Dam March 24 2008 Fosterrsquos Daily Democrat WINSLOW Maine (AP) mdash A portion of a dam thats blocked the Sebasticook River for a century could come down this summer Planners in Winslow have given their OK to a plan to remove a portion of the Fort Halifax Dam The owner FPL Energy says the first stages of the project could begin in mid-July A number of Maine dams have been breached during the past several years to let sea-run fish return to their natural spawning habitats State officials say a dozen dams were breached in the 1990s including the Edwards hydroelectric dam downstream along the Kennebec River in Augusta Dams Pose Growing Risk Mar 24 2008 By Bertrand M Gutierrez Media General News Service nbc17com NC WINSTON-SALEM NC -- The collapse last year of the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis brought to light what North Carolina dam-safety inspectors already know Just because something seemingly as sturdy as a bridge road or dam has worked for a long time doesnt mean that it will do so forever Weve had three or four dams that have failed in the last year said Mell Nevils the chief of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources Land Quality Section They constantly fail all the time Yes sir You can look fine on the outside but not be fine on the inside The dams that failed did not damage houses downstream or injure anyone but they did cause problems In one case the NC Department of Transportation had to close roads in Rowan County until problems with the 75-foot-tall Happy Lake Dam were stabilized according to DENR records As the years pass and population increases some dams are becoming more dangerous because they are being used past their intended lifespan even as they are encircled by development according to interviews with state dam-safety officials industry groups and an analysis by the Winston-Salem Journal of state dam-safety records A lot of dams would have been a low hazard But because of development they become a high hazard and we have to pay more attention to them Nevils said A high-hazard dam is not by definition unsafe it has the potential to cause significant damage to property downstream or injure people Although the local dams in question would not cause the type of catastrophe as the bridge collapse in Minnesota repairs are costly and difficult to resolve for homeowners or property owners when a private dam develops a problem North Carolina has 15 inspectors to monitor more than 5000 dams many of them built more than 50 years ago for farm irrigation or by landowners who wanted a small lake on their property The worst dam collapse in North Carolina in terms of human loss occurred in 1976 when four people died after the Bearwallow Lake

3 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

dam failed in Buncombe County More recently the failure of the Hope Mills Dam in 2003 in Cumberland County triggered the cost more than $6 million in dam road and bridge replacements Two smaller dams in the vicinity also failed that day Forsyth County is home to 213 dams most of which are earthen and privately owned Forty-four of the active dams in the county have a high-hazard potential the state says And one out of four high-hazard dams in the county have deficiencies according to DENR records Maintenance has been slow on some of these aging dams because they have been passed down for generations left in the care of widows or sometimes dropped in the laps of homeowners who unwittingly inherit a dam when they move into a subdivision that was once part of an older estate The legacy of these dams has led to complicated scenarios in which property owners must foot costly repairs to bring unsafe dams into compliance with state safety laws unsuspecting landowners become ensnared in legal action with the state and neighbors become divided on what to do with the unsafe dam in their back yard These privately owned dams when they have a deficiency its just an overwhelming expense to repair these dams said Max Fowler a former DENR dam-safety engineer People inherit them or they got them with a subdivision and they really dont realize that they own the dam with their lot Among the other findings in the dam-safety records

bull 976 active dams in North Carolina have a potential to be high-hazard bull There are more potentially high-hazard dams in North Carolina than in any other state Texas

and Pennsylvania are second and third bull 173 dams including low- intermediate- and high-hazard dams have unresolved deficiencies

Last year 59 notices of deficiency were issued up from 46 in 2006 bull The number of active high-hazard dams has increased 11 percent from 879 to 976 in the five-

year period from 2002 to 2007 the latest date for which dam-safety records are available bull 84 percent or 821 of the 976 high-hazard dams do not have emergency-action plans In

Forsyth County 38 of the 44 active high-hazard dams dont have emergency-action plans Such plans guide emergency responders on how to deal with a worse-case scenario Included in that list is Salem Lake Dam which is maintained by the City-County Utilities Division

Despite having the most potentially high-hazard dams in the nation North Carolina is one of 15 states that do not require dam owners to submit emergency-action plans Emergency-action plans are really important because its a low-cost way to give assurances to the downstream public Its a crucial part of protecting their interests and to evacuate them said Fowler who now works for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Atlanta Its almost a no-brainer that if youre going to own a dam you should have one (a plan) Its just inconceivable to me that people would continue to own these things and not have one Fowler said High-hazard dams are more prevalent than one might think The dam holding in Rhodes Lake in Clemmons is one of them A birds-eye view shows Rhodes Lake stretching wider than the roof of the Kmart that stands a few blocks away on Lewisville-Clemmons Road If the earthen dam that holds the three-acre lake functioned properly the lakes waters would flow through underground pipes and under Shirley Martins back yard before trickling into a neighborhood stream then Muddy Creek and eventually into the Yadkin River But because the dam is in a state of severe disrepair a lot of that water doesnt make it to the stream Instead water has seeped into Martins backyard soaking it so much that the surface has buckled forming sinkholes a few feet from her back door The sinkholes are so deep that Martin can stand hip-deep in them On some severely rainy days the water gushes up through the sinkhole she said It aint good They [sinkholes] have been here several years now - three or four years I put up with it because I keep thinking the owners are going to do something and then I can fix the yard back I think they ought to fix it but I dont expect that anybody would enforce that Martin said DENR inspectors say that Rhodes Lake dam is in such bad shape that the state attorney generals office might have to get involved to force the private owners to make repairs Among the deficiencies the pipe that allows water to flow out of the lake is broken and the emergency spillway that would prevent the lake from overtopping the dam is blocked Failure of this dam would likely cause catastrophic damage a state inspector noted in his report referring to Martins house and another one next to hers Martins house on Brookland Drive was one of seven when she first moved into the neighborhood in the early 1960s But development changed the neighborhood Cars speed by Neighbors walk their dogs Storm water flows through the lake in larger volumes too Water comes down from the parking lots and strip malls on Lewisville-Clemmons Road goes under the road and bottlenecks before it gets to the lake said Jim Rhodes who inherited part of the dam from his father During heavy rains some of that water bubbles up and flows through Martins yard Martin said she is paying the price because the main owners havent kept up with development So she pulls the shrubs bushes and trees that grow on the dam to keep animals away and from burrowing through she said Faced with the specter of expensive repairs and an unsafe dam Rhodes tried to ask his neighbors to chip in to repair the dam There was a community meeting in May after

4 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Rhodes sent out a letter to neighbors I would like to keep the pond because it increases the value of the surrounding properties not just mine but everyone in the neighborhood he wrote Every house that has been sold here is listed as close proximity to neighborhood pond Although I feel the preservation of the pond is important this is too large of a task for me to take on by myself Rhodes said in the letter Martin said that Rhodes did not get the support he was asking for during that meeting The problem she said is he was suggesting that the pond was of value to the neighborhood but he never allowed neighbors to use it My children could not fish in it could not swim they could not put a boat on it I had to keep them away from this lake and I lived here for 42 years with three children she said No one could come up and enjoy it until it was a problem and then they wanted the community to go and chip in to buy it They need to either drain it or they need to fix it so there is a controlled exit for the water she said Fixing a dam isnt easy Rhodes said Finding an engineering company that will do the work for a price that a homeowner can afford is part of the problem Were in the process of finding someone to do the work Rhodes said Its a complicated job and not a lot of engineers do it If they want it drained we can drain it That might be the best prescription for a lot of North Carolinas aging dams said Grover McPherson a retired US Soil and Conservation Service official McPherson was with the conservation service for 32 years and helped build a lot of the dams that are in Forsyth County Now retired McPherson 90 said that building dams was a good idea when there were hundreds of farms in the county Most dams made small lakes one acre at a time The conservation service now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service had to help design dams that were at least 15 feet tall People couldnt afford to hire an engineer McPherson said Although the federal government helped build the dams McPherson balked at the idea of using the federal money to repair them all these years later I always advised the landowner about the need for maintenance and upkeep We helped him get the thing there and they need to take care of them from now on he said Theres no question as to the fact that they need to be maintained and you have to stay on top of it Still he said that the life expectancy of a dam and its parts is about 50 years and many dams are now meeting that deadline You know doggone well that theyre not going to last forever he said I suspect that there are a number of dams that are going to have to be breached Defects Go Unfixed for Years in Dozens of Dams New York Comptroller Finds By ANTHONY DePALMA March 26 2008 NY Times New York Statersquos oversight of thousands of dams has been so deficient in recent years that serious problems in dozens of dams holding back billions of gallons of water have gone years without being fixed according to a report released on Tuesday by the New York State comptroller Thomas P DiNapoli The deficiencies of one dam in the report on Rainbow Lake in the Adirondacks were first noted 36 years ago but have not yet been corrected the report said The report examined 32 dams which all had structural maintenance or other problems lasting years though they were considered safe Included in that list were two owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection which runs the cityrsquos drinking water system Those dams are the Croton Falls Dam in Putnam County and the Gilboa Dam in Schoharie County Both were found to have seepage and maintenance problems as well as other issues that have gone unresolved for 30 years The 81-year-old Gilboa Dam also has structural problems and is undergoing extensive repairs The State Department of Environmental Conservation which is responsible for ensuring the safety of the more than 5000 dams in New York took enforcement action on only 3 of the 32 dams during the years covered by the comptrollerrsquos report 2004 through 2006 The report also found that in some instances dams went as much as seven years between inspections even though the departmentrsquos own policies call for the biggest dams to be inspected every two years ldquoWe cannot allow dams to have serious problems that go unaddressed for yearsrdquo Mr DiNapoli said in a statement ldquoThe longer owners take to correct problems the greater the deterioration and the cost of these repairs and the increased likelihood that this neglect could lead to failurerdquo James M Tierney the statersquos assistant commissioner for water resources in the Environmental Conservation Department said the department had been aware of shortcomings in its dam safety program well before the comptrollerrsquos report was completed and had been working to improve its inspection and enforcement ldquoDam safety was a kind of a poster child for what can happen if government neglects something importantrdquo Mr Tierney said in a telephone interview ldquoUnless a dam was about to fall down the DEC didnrsquot do anything about itrdquo he continued in a reference to the administration of Gov George E Pataki The department reviewed a draft of the comptrollerrsquos report late last year and in February it proposed new rules that require owners of about 1000 dams categorized as high hazard (located in areas where failure may cause loss of life or serious property damage) and medium hazard (in locations that could result in property damage but not loss of life) to hire qualified professionals to do regular inspections

5 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Owners will then have to file reports with the state which will review them and do spot checks The new regulations will also require more regular maintenance and better record-keeping The first of three public hearings on the proposed regulations is scheduled to be held on April 15 in Poughkeepsie Mr Tierney said that many of the shortcomings in the dam safety program were related to staff shortages From 2004 through 2006 the dam safety office had fewer than seven employees on average and at one point was down to three inspectors for the entire state Under the Spitzer administration the dam safety staff increased to 20 In the last year the state has cracked down on the owners of 15 dams who now are under administrative orders to make repairs Mr Tierney said Officials concede that self-monitoring will not necessarily eliminate safety problems In 2006 a New York City dam inspector was found to have submitted photocopied weekly inspection reports without conducting inspections Mr Tierney said that the additional staff would reduce the chances for fraud in the statersquos new self-inspection program because violations are considered criminal offenses Michael Saucier a spokesman for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection said that the city had not had a chance to review the comptrollerrsquos report but that all of its 19 reservoir dams were regularly inspected and were safe He said the city was spending $1 billion to renovate all the dams Some of the dams audited by the comptrollerrsquos office are owned by municipal or county governments At least one belongs to an energy company and several are owned by developers or homeownersrsquo associations The dam on Rainbow Lake officials said has been deteriorating for a long time Mr Tierney said the Rainbow Lake dam was never given priority attention because it holds back water only during wet periods At other times it is dry The damrsquos owner is listed as the Jason Roberts Development Corporation but inspectors have had trouble contacting it

Hydro (Gee herersquos something thatrsquos not new ndash environmentalists oppose hydro) Three options floated for dam Environmentalists OPPOSE borough plan to make it a power source March 19 2008 BY LYNN OLANOFF The Express-Times HIGH BRIDGE PA | A 42-foot dam that used to provide power for the former local Taylor-Wharton factory could again create hydroelectric energy Allowing a company to rebuild a hydroelectric power plant at the Lake Solitude dam is among the proposals for the dams future The other options borough council is considering are repairing the nearly 100-year-old dam or breaching it One company has expressed interest in restarting the power plant borough Administrator Doug Walker said Monday He declined to identify the company which has yet to present plans to borough council Borough council hasnt decided among the three proposals Walker said Mayor Mark Desire did not return calls for comment The borough has a state permit that expires in August to start work on the dam The borough also has the promise of a $56 million low-interest loan from the state to pay for the project Repairing the dam will cost $2 million to $3 million Walker said There are no cost estimates for breaching or destroying the dam he said Community groups have lined up on all sides of the issue The history-minded Union Forge Heritage Association supports keeping the 1909 dam and thinks a hydroelectric power plant fits with the dams historical uses The South Branch Watershed Association and Trout Unlimited want the dam breached or destroyed to improve conditions for the areas wildlife The dam makes Lake Solitude very shallow which makes its waters too warm to sufficiently support fish and bugs watershed association Executive Director Bill Kibler said Kibler said the hydroelectric power proposal has some promise because it would create clean energy but his main concern is water quality The bottom line is that dam is bad for water quality Kibler said Union Forge Vice President Bill Honachefsky Jr said it would be a historical loss to High Bridge if the dam were destroyed Its the last remaining buttress dam in the state and was once admired by President Woodrow Wilson Honachefsky said His group is especially interested in the reuse of historic structures and thinks restarting hydroelectric power at the Lake Solitude dam fits with that Why not reuse it Honachefsky said It would be the logical choice because of the green energy initiative (Isnrsquot there something awry when a basically anti-hydro group certifies a hydro project ldquogreenrdquo) Does this get something other than a plaque on the wall)

6 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

PGE hydro plant gets green certification Portland Business Journal March 26 2008 Portland General Electrics TW Sullivan Plant is now officially generating green power with a designation achieved by only 33 hydro plants in the United States The Low Impact Hydropower Institute Board has certified PGEs (NYSE POR) hydroelectric project at Willamette Falls as low impact based on an extensive array of fish protection and passage improvements being implemented at the project including installation of a second fish bypass system at the powerhouse and a flow control structure at the apex of the falls to improve downstream fish passage over the falls One of Oregons first and oldest hydroelectric projects the Sullivan plant was completed on the West Linn side of Willamette Falls in 1895 The 2300 foot-long dam located along the crest of the horseshoe-shaped Willamette Falls diverts river flow into the powerhouse for electricity generation This designation marks PGEs second hydro facility to receive LIHI certification and the third statewide PGEs 465-million watt Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project in central Oregon was LIHI-certified last March making it the second-largest LIHI project in the nation The other Oregon facility with LIHI certification is the 43-million watt Falls Creek Dam northeast of Eugene (Excerpts) City backs rehabilitation of hydroelectric plant Resolution does not commit city to financial contribution approval By Carol Kinas Morris Daily Herald Correspondent March 20 2008 MARSEILLES IL - The Marseilles City Council believes it is in the best interest and general welfare of city residents that a local hydroelectric plant again become operational ldquoWe want to get the wall built and water goingrdquo said Commissioner Robert Davis mayor pro tem in the absence of Mayor Jim Trager said during Wednesdays regular council meeting Toward that end the council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor John Trager to sign a memorandum of agreement between the city and Marseilles Hydro Power -------- The agreement outlines municipal support for the rehabilitation and operation of the hydroelectric plant Davis stressed however that it does not involve any monetary help for the project but is part of the licensing agreement The agreement is not to be considered the final action or decision of the city but is subject to future council action and any required public participation for any final lease or agreement for the operation of a public utility the resolution states The Marseilles plant is a seven-unit 3140-kw plant about 1600 feet down river from the Marseilles Lock and Dam Northern Illinois Light and Traction Co a predecessor of Illinois Power placed it in service in 1911 The plant was decommissioned in 1988 Because of its important role in supplying power to the interurban railroad it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 It has been dormant for a number of years Getting the plant back on-line has been a topic of discussion since about 1999 -------- Logan company Hydroelectric plant could solve Utahs energy problems The Associated Press 03242008 The Salt Lake Tribune LOGAN UT - A Logan company says construction of a hydroelectric plant near Bear Lake could solve Utahs future energy problems Symbiotics LLC wants to build the Hook Canyon Pump Project on Rich Countys Fish Hook Creek The plant would pump water from Bear Lake at night and release it back to the lake during the day to generate electricity Company Director of Environmental Compliance Erik Stemile says the proposal could meet about 85 percent of Utahs current peak energy demands if its used in concert with conservation efforts As proposed the pumped water would cause the lake to rise and fall at least three inches a day State fisheries biologist Scott Tolentino said that could stir up the lakes bottom settlement altering Bear Lakes water clarity and changing its unique blue color The project could also threaten four species of fish unique to the lake by changing their feeding patterns The project would include a 160-foot dam a reservoir to store 1210 acre-feet of water and a powerhouse with two generating units

7 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

Water Climatologists and River Agency Butt Heads About Future of Southwests Hydroelectric Power Will hydropower from Hoover Dam end in 2013 2017 or just keep going By Barry E DiGregorio March 18 2008 Up to 30 million people in seven western US statesmdashArizona California Colorado Nevada Utah Wyoming and New Mexicomdashcould begin to experience water shortages and power outages as soon as 2013 according to a study published in the January edition of the journal Water Resources Research ldquoOur hydrological analysis of Lake Mead and Lake Powell shows there is a 10 percent chance that water levels in the man-made Lakes Mead [in Nevada] and Powell [on the UtahArizona border] will be so low by 2013 that they might not be able to meet water-supply demands nor produce the hydroelectric power needed in the Southwestrdquo says Timothy Barnett a research marine physicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla Calif and lead author of the Water Resources paper Barnettrsquos team also found that there is a greater than 50 percent chance that power-pool levelsmdashthe minimum depth of water at which hydroelectric power can be generatedmdashwill be reached in 2017 But the agency that manages the regionrsquos river system disputes the studyrsquos conclusions and says that despite a drought Lake Mead still has a 20-meter cushion before the lights go out The waters stored in the Lake Mead and Lake Powell reservoirs are the source of hydroelectric power produced by the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams for seven states and together produce about 10 000 Gigawatt-hours of electricity The water source for the dams is the Colorado River which begins its long journey from the snow-capped Rocky Mountains in Colorado The natural runoff from snowmelt replenishes the water in the 2330-kilometer-long Colorado River each spring and summer After running through the turbines at the Hoover Dam on Lake Mead the Colorado River continues on its journey southward to the Davis Parker and Imperial dams all located along the CaliforniaArizona border From 2000 to 2008 the Colorado River has been steadily declining for three reasons according to Barnett a major ongoing drought in the region the way the Colorado Bureau of Reclamation is taking out more water than nature is putting back in and global climate change caused by greenhouse gases For the purpose of this research Barnett conservatively assumed global warming in the Southwest began in 2007 although in reality it has been occurring in the Southwest for decades he says ldquoIf you look at the water-usage figures in our paper the water usage of the Colorado River has been going almost vertical along with the population growth Our analysis shows that even without any climate change factored in Lake Mead will go dry by 2021rdquo In the research paper Barnettrsquos team defines ldquogoing dryrdquo as the level of water in Lakes Mead and Powell being so low that they can no longer be used to generate hydroelectric power Not everyone agrees with Barnettrsquos analysis though Robert Walsh an external affairs officer for the Bureau of Reclamation on the Lower Colorado Region the agency that manages the regionrsquos rivers says ldquoThe Scripps Institution paper merely projects that Lake Mead could lsquorun dryrsquo by 2021mdashour own studies do not show that and we do not agree with the paperrdquo In the summer of 2005 the Bureau of Reclamation initiated a public process to develop guidelines for shortage conditions in the Lower Colorado River Basin and for the coordinated operation of Lake Powell and Lake Mead under a wide range of hydrological conditions ldquoIn order to develop these shortage and coordinated operations guidelines we performed numerous modeling runs to assess potential future hydrologic conditions on the Colorado River None of our modeling runs showed Lake Mead lsquogoing dryrsquo rdquo says Walsh He also says the impact of hydropower on the region has been mischaracterized Although Lake Mead serves 23 million to 25 million people with water the number served by hydroelectric power from the Hoover Dam is probably less than one-fifth of that because most of Hooverrsquos power is used for commercial not residential purposes In February the water level in Lake Mead was at 340 meters above sea level or 17 meters below average The power-generation capacity at Hoover Dam is 2080 megawatts but has been steadily reduced by the drought With all generators operating the plantrsquos current rated capacity will be about 1655 MW into the

8 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

spring of 2008 ldquoWe would probably be able to continue generating power down to a water elevation of [320 meters] above sea level in Lake Mead and it is theoretically possible to generate power below that level but that could cause generator damagerdquo says Walsh Meanwhile Barnett says he stands by his findings ldquoThe environmental impact statement released by the Bureau of Reclamation in the Lower Colorado River assumes operations on the Colorado River for the next 50 years without factoring in any climate change information This is what led me and my colleague David Piercemdashalso from Scrippsmdashto look at the water budget of the Colorado systemrdquo he says ldquoThere are a lot of ifs hererdquo counters Walsh ldquoObviously one can do studies and run models and make projections forever but we canrsquot foretell the future with any degree of certaintyrdquo Dams to resume limited generation Submitted by US Army Corps of Engineers March 21 2008 The Baxter Bulletin Arkansas Beginning this morning limited hydroelectric power generation will resume at both Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes The releases are being timed to coincide with the natural drop in the river levels following the torrential rains earlier this week The amount to be generated is called firm power Firm power at Bull Shoals is equivalent to all eight units running for about four hours Firm power at Norfork is equivalent to both units running for about five hours The rains caused flash flooding and drove the White River above flood stage However Bull Shoals and Norfork along with four other Army Corps of Engineers dams in the White River Basin were operated as a system to reduce flood crests and resultant damage downstream When rain drove White River levels up releases from Bull Shoals and Norfork dams were curtailed which in turn caused both lakes to rise as they captured floodwater flowing in from upstream If that water instead freely flowed downstream as it did before the dams were built flood crests would have risen much higher floodwater would have spread out over more land and more damage would have resulted Since they were built Bull Shoals and Norfork have prevented $250 million in flood damages Because the river downstream has begun receding it is time to begin releasing water stored in the reservoirs through the hydropower turbines in a controlled manner according to pre-determined plans The object is to evacuate stored rainwater water as quickly as possible to get the lakes ready should another heavy rain fall At the same time clean renewable electricity is generated to help power homes and businesses

Environment New hurdle for Klamath dams Utility could face scrutiny over water quality Associated Press March 21 2008 LA Times GRANTS PASS ORE -- The US Environmental Protection Agency has listed toxins from blue-green algae as another pollutant of the Klamath River behind the hydroelectric dams that Indian tribes fishermen and conservation groups want removed to make way for salmon The algae toxins in the Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs now must be considered along with other pollutants by the California Water Board as it considers whether to grant the Clean Water Act certification needed by the Portland-based utility PacifiCorp to get a new operating license for four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath Now PacifiCorp will have to clean up the toxic algae in the Klamath River said Klamath Riverkeeper Regina Chichizola whose lawsuit against EPA led to reconsideration of the issue The state will have a hard time giving them certification The EPA finding did not point to the dams as the source of the algae toxins That is an issue for later consideration But it did note that toxins were found at unhealthy levels in the reservoirs behind the dams and not in the river downstream Low levels have been found in fish but not enough to warn people against eating them Maintaining that the algae has been found in the river since before the dams PacifiCorp spokesman Paul Vogel said the utility company did not anticipate the toxins being a significant problem to getting clean water certification We see it as a part of the process and it is certainly an issue we study Vogel said We are looking at it and take it very seriously The California Water Board is waiting for a specific proposal on modifications to the series of dams straddling the Oregon-California border before going ahead with the environmental analysis on certification said board spokesman Bill Rukeyser The state of California is fairly

9 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

concerned about the toxins from blue-green algae on the Klamath Rukeyser said Our Northcoast Regional Water Board has had to post the reservoirs and portions of the river for those toxins That has been a concern of ours for several years Alexis Strauss EPA water division director for the Western states said she did not think the algae toxins by themselves would prevent clean water certifications but she noted they come on top of problems with warm water temperatures low dissolved oxygen and nutrients from agricultural runoff The toxins come from the blue-green algae known as Microcystis aeruginosa Testing by the Karuk tribe showed levels exceeding World Health Organization guidelines in the Copco Reservoir in 2001 The Copco and Iron Gate reservoirs are regularly posted with health warnings and last summer warnings were posted far downstream Microcystis aeruginosa commonly blooms in warm slow-moving waters with high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients commonly running off agricultural land The toxin affects the liver and can harm people and animals that swim in or drink tainted waters The EPA noted there was a report of a dog suffering liver damage after swimming in Copco Reservoir iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose