LIHI Certificate #16 - Winooski One Project, Winooski River, Vermont , (FERC #2756)
Winooski One Project is Re-Certified at the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's November Board Meeting
Portland, Maine (November 19, 2009) - At their November 19, 2009 meeting the Institute’s Governing Board determined that the Winooski One Hydroelectric Projects (“Winooski One”) meets the LIHI Certification Criteria.
In reaching its decision to re-certify Winooski One, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s Governing Board reviewed the application for re-certification, as well as the Application Reviewer’s report. The Board’s vote to re-certify the Winooski One Project was unanimous. The re-certification has an effective date of July 29, 2009 and is valid for five-years. LIHI received no public comments on this application.
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Winooski One Project was certified for 5-year term in 2004 and is Vermont's only LIHI certified Hydro Project
Portland, Maine – (June 1, 2009)—The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced that Winooski One Partnership has filed an application to re-certify its Winooski One Hydroelectric Project as low impact. Winooski Hydroelectric Project (project or facility) in the cities of Burlington and Winooski in Chittenden County, Vermont. The facility has also been known as the "Chase Mill Hydroelectric Project." The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued the project a license (FERC 2756) in 1988 for the operation and maintenance of the 7.4 megawatt, run-of-river facility.
The facility is located at lower Winooski Falls on the Winooski River ten miles upstream of its confluence with Lake Champlain, between the city of Winooski, on the north bank, and the city of Burlington, on the south bank. This run-of-river facility has a refurbished spillway with crest gates abutting a historic timber crib dam that dates from 1876. The dam is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Winooski Falls Mill District. There are two plant species listed by the state as threatened and endangered in the vicinity of the project that were the subject of mitigation and protection activities at the time of the facility's construction. The applicant also constructed fish passage facilities and a riverside park and trail as part of the project.
The project, constructed in 1991-93, consists of a 200-foot-long, 35-foot-high concrete dam situated immediately downstream and abutting the timber-crib dam surmounted by a 100-foot-long, eight-foot-high bascule gate with crest elevation of 136 feet NGVD; a 36-foot-long bascule gate located at the right abutment; a 5.7 acre reservoir; a 70-foot-long intake powerhouse containing one 6.5 MW turbine generator; a 45-foot-wide, 125-foot-long tailrace; a fish trap facility; a riverside park; an underground transmission cable; and an access road.
Project owner Winooski One Partners leases the site and water rights from the City of Burlington. The City of Burlington has the option to buy the facility in the 20th year of the license; the license is held jointly by Winooski One Partners and the city. Nearly every one of the federal, state, and local agency staff contacted in the course of the initial review in 2004 commented that the applicant had demonstrated extraordinarily good corporate citizenship in carrying out and often exceeding the requirements associated with the project's construction and operation.
Public Comment - We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Winooski One Project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Winooski One 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 " Winooski One 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 August 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.
Winooski One Hydropower Project is The first Vermont Hydro To Receive Low Impact Certification
APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
Winooski One Partnership submitted an application for certification of its Winooski One Hydroelectric Project in July 2004.
The Winooski One project is located on the Winooski River in the cities of Burlington and Winooski, Vermont.
The Winooski Project is a run-of-river facility which has a refurbished spillway with crest gates abutting a historic timber crib dam. A fish trapping facility and riverside park were also constructed as part of the project.
More specifically, the Winooski One Project consists of: a 150-foot-long, 28-foot-high concrete dam situated immediately downstream and abutting a timber-crib dam surmounted by a 100-foot-long, eight-foot-high bascule gate with crest elevation of 136 feet NGVD; a 36-foot-long bascule gate located at the right abutment; a 5.7 acre reservoir; a 70-foot-long intake powerhouse containing one 6.5 MW turbine generator; a 45-foot-wide, 125-foot-long tailrace; a fish trap facility; riverside park; underground transmission cable; and, an access road.
CERTIFICATION DECISION
On October 21, 2004, the Institute's Governing Board determined that the Winooski One Project, FERC No. 2756, meets the Low Impact Hydropower Certification Criteria.
In reaching its decision to certify the Winooski One Project, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's Governing Board reviewed the application for certification, as well as the Application Reviewer's report and the Staff report. Both the Staff and Application Reviewer recommended certification.
The Board's vote to certify the Winooski One Project as a Low Impact facility was unanimous. There were no public commenters on the application, and therefore no party eligible to appeal the facility's certification. Certification is effective July 29, 2004 and is valid for five years and will expire July 29, 2009.
SUMMARY
Facility location: Winooski River, Vermont
Installed capacity: 7.4 MW
Average annual generation: 27,000 megawatt hours
FERC license: No. 2756 was issued in 1998
Applicant: Winooski One Partnership
Applicant contact: Mr. John L Warshow (802) – 223-7141
Date application posted to website: July 29, 2004
Date public comment period closed: September 29, 2004
Date of certification decision: October 21, 2004
Effective date of certification: July 29, 2004
Certification expires: July 29, 2009