Four dams on the Kennebec River in Maine are undergoing a federal regulatory process to be relicensed.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which does the relicensing, released an Environmental Impact Statement in late March that recommends relicensing and amending the licenses to ensure upstream and downstream access for Atlantic salmon, alewife, blueback herring, American shad, American eel and sea lamprey, according to a filing by FERC.
Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC, which owns the dams along the Kennebec River, filed plans with FERC to protect Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon, which are threatened or endangered species.
But the Natural Resources Council of Maine environmental group is criticizing the FERC for what it says are inadequate measures to protect wildlife.
“In its document FERC has proposed the same fish passage measures – single upstream fish lifts and inadequate measures to keep fish out of turbines – that have failed on rivers with multiple dams everywhere else. For example, on the Connecticut and Merrimack Rivers, where FERC tried a similar approach, Atlantic salmon have disappeared entirely,” according to the Natural Resources Council.
The public has until June 4 to comment on the proposal. To comment, go to ferc.gov/how-file-comment.
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