June 1, 2009 --- Dodge Falls Associates files for LIHI Certification on their Dodge Falls Hydroelectric Project on the Connecticut River
Portland, Maine (June 1, 2009) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Dodge Falls Associates , LP. ( Applicant) has submitted an application for certification of the Dodge Falls Hydroelectric Project (“Dodge Falls” or “Project”) which is located on the Connecticut River, in New Hampshire and Vermont. The Dodge Falls Project, FERC No. 8011is located at river mile 268 on the Connecticut River in the towns of Bath New Hampshire and Ryegate, Vermont at the site of the Dodge Falls Dam.
The dam was used until 1966 to provide waterpower to a paper mill located on the Vermont side of the river. From 1966 until 1990 process water was supplied to the paper mill with excess flow discharged over the dam. When the Dodge Falls project began operation in 1990, most of the river flow then was used for hydroelectric generation with the paper mill receiving up to 5 cfs for process use. In 2000 the paper mill was shutdown and papermaking machinery was removed from the mill. The dam is 485 feet long and consists of a grouted, rock fill, timber crib with a timber crest and wood plank facing. The crest elevation of the dam is 421.4 feet NGVD and is about 15.5 feet above the bedrock streambed at the downstream toe. Initially the project was authorized to install 2 feet of pin supported wooden flashboards to reestablish the historic level of the impoundment.
Public Comment - We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Dodge Falls Project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Dodge Falls Project application. Comments that are directly tied to specific LIHI criteria (flows, water quality, fish passage, etc) will be most helpful, but all comments will be considered. Comments may be submitted to the Institute by e-mail (preferred) at info@lowimpacthydro.org with " Dodage Falls Project comments" in the subject line; by fax at (206) – 984-3086; or by mail addressed to LIHI, 34 Providence Street, Portland, ME, 04103. Comments must be received at the Institute on or before 5 pm Eastern time on Augusst 1, 2009 to be considered. All comments will be posted to the web site and the applicant will have an opportunity to respond. Any response will also be posted.
The project was operated from 1990 to 1993 using pin supported wooden flashboards. In 1993 a two-foot rubber pneumatic flashboard system was installed on the concrete spillway to replace a portion of the pin supported wooden flashboard system. In 1997 a two-foot rubber pneumatic flashboard system was installed on the timber crib dam to replace the remaining wooden flashboards. A single double regulated 5000 kW Escher Wyse turbine, rated at 12 feet of head and a flow of 5800 cfs, is installed in the powerhouse.