LIHI Certicate # 54 --- Jackson Mills Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 7590) on the Nashua River, New Hampshire

Portland, Maine (July 21, 2010) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that at their monthly meeting the Board voted unanimously to conditionally certify Essex Hydro Associates' ("Essex")  Jackson Mills Hydroelectric Project ("Project"). The project, which is located on the Nashua River holds a FERC exemption which was issued in April 1984 (FERC No. 7590) for the operation and maintenance of the run-of-river 1 Mw Project.  

In reaching its decision to certify the Jackson Mills Hydroelectric Project, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s Governing Board reviewed the application for certification, as well as the Application Reviewer’s report and recommendations. LIHI certification for the Jackson Mills Hydroelectric Project is granted for 5-year term beginning on January 31, 2010 with the following Project Specific Conditions:

Water Quality - LIHI certification will be suspended if, no later than December 31, 2010, the Applicant has not filed documentation with LIHI demonstrating that the Jackson Mills Falls Hydroelectric Facility has completed the following actions regarding water quality:

1. Provide information recommended by NHDES to determine the impact of the following on aquatic life:

            a. pond fluctuations, and

            b. minimum flows;

2. Perform water quality monitoring and report on results in accordance with agreement with NHDES.

Fish Passage – Consult with USFWS and NHFGD to confirm that they are  satisfied with the Project’s current upstream and downstream fish passage and by July 31, 2011 provide LIHI with:

1. evidence that the project is upstream and downstream fish passage survival rates for anadromous and catadromous fish at the dam each documented at greater than 95% over 80% of the run using a generally accepted monitoring methodology; or,
2. if unable to meet the fish passage standards above, the Applicant must obtain a letter from the US Fish and Wildlife Service confirming that the upstream and downstream fish passage measures at the Facility are appropriately protective of the fishery resource

 

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Portland, Maine (January 31, 2010) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Essex Hydro Associates ("Essex") has submitted an Application for LIHI Certification for the Jackson Mills Hydroelectric Project ("Project"). The project, which is located on the Nashua River holds a FERC exemption which was issued in April 1984 (FERC No. 7590) for the operation and maintenance of the run-of-river 1 Mw Project.

The Jackson Mills Project is located on the Nashua River approximately 700-feet downstream from the crossing of Route 3 (Main Street) in Nashua New Hampshire. The area in the vicinity of the project is urban in character and typical of an old New England manufacturing city. The Nashua public library is located on the south bank of the river. The former powerhouse on the north bank currently houses a restaurant, which contains some of the features of the old operation. The new powerhouse was constructed adjacent to the old powerhouse with the turbine inlet located beneath the restaurant.

The land uses along the north side of the river to the east of the restaurant are predominantly industrial and to the west they are commercial. On the south side of the river the land usage to the east of the library is predominantly urban residential with commercial uses lying to the west. Along both banks above and below the dam the vegetation consists of planted ornamentals and those types typical of disturbed ground.

The 180-foot long by 33-foot high dam is a gravity-type masonry structure with a concrete cap and a concrete extension and concrete-faced stone gravity-type abutments. Upstream and downstream fish passage is provided at the project by an Alaska steep-pass fishway and a stainless steel bypass pipe. The 40-acre impoundment has a normal maximum water surface of 116.6-feet NGVD. The Project operates in a run-of-river mode. The powerhouse which is located at the north dam abutment houses a 1 MW turbine generator.

The Nashua River has a total drainage area of 529 square miles, with 88 square miles being in New Hampshire, and 411 square miles in Massachusetts. The net drainage area available to the Jackson Mills Project is 410 square miles as 119 square miles are intercepted to supply water to the Massachusetts cities of Boston and Worcester.

For thousands of years, the watershed has been used by humans. Today it retains much of its agrarian and early industrial past while actively participating in the high technology economy of the late twentieth century. The watershed's classic New England villages now shelter those who create our current age, while its waters, wetlands, and forests still shelter many of the species that have been here since the retreat of the glaciers.

Thirty years ago the rivers of this watershed were polluted by industrial and residential discharges. The Nashua's restoration has been a model of how communities can recover a natural resource.

The facility is operated as a fully automated run of river project. At times of non-generation, the project is licensed to release an outflow equal to an instantaneous minimum of 207 cfs which is .50 cfs for the 414 square mile drainage are above the project site. When inflows fall below 207 cfs, inflow is equal to outflow.

Construction of the Jackson Mills Dam was completed in 1920. The dam is designed as a gravity-type stone masonry spillway , with a concrete cap and a concrete extension and concrete-faced stone gravity-type abutments. The height of the dam is 33 feet and the length is 180 feet. The crest elevation is 115.6 feet and the project is run with one-foot flashboards for a total hydraulic elevation of 116.6 feet.

A semi-Kaplan Turbelec turbine is installed in the powerhouse. The generating unit consists of one singe-regulated propeller-type turbine. The installed capacity of the unit is 1,100 kW.

Public Comment - We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think this project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Project's 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 "Jackson Mills Hydropower 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 March 31, 2010 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

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