LIHI Certificate # 41 --- Harris Bridge Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 4440) Rockfish River, Nelson County, Virginia
Harris Bridge Hydroelectric Project
Portland, Maine (August 29, 2009) - At their August 27, 2009 meeting the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's Governing Board determined that the Harris Bridge Project , FERC No. 4440, meets the Low Impact Hydropower Certification Criteria.
In reaching its decision to certify the Harris Bridge facility, 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 reports concluded that the facility met the certification criteria and should be certified.
Concerns were raised during the deliberation, which prompted the Governing Board to add three conditions to the certification that need to be satisfied by October 31, 2009 to achieve full LIHI certification.
1) obtain an opinion from the Fish and Wildlife Service about the project's potential impacts on threatened and endangered species. (Note:email no affect response from the USFWS was received on 8/28/09);
2) communicate with Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (Bud LaRoche), concerning flow in the river reach below the dam and provide him available water flow data; and,
3) communicate with LaRoche concerning possible improvements to canoe/kayak portage around the dam.
The Board's vote to certify the Harris Bridge Project as a Low Impact facility was unanimous.
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Portland, Maine (January 17, 2009) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that the Blue Sky Power ("Blue Sky" or Applicant) has submitted an application for certification of the Harris Bridge Hydroelectric Project (Project) which is located on the Rockfish River, in Nelson County, Virginia.
Background - The Harris Bridge hydroelectric power plant, including dam, canal and powerhouse, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places as contributing resources to the Schuyler Historic District, 062-5002-0164. The 18' high stone dam and associated stone and earth canal were built in the 1890s and have undergone no significant alterations. The existing stone powerhouse was built in 1921 to provide electricity to a stone mill in nearby Schuyler and to an electric railroad operated by the mill. The powerhouse contains 2 vertical axis Francis turbines and associated generators and switchgear. The canal is approximately 800' feet long and brings water from the dam to the powerhouse.
Blue Sky Power owns the facility and 12 surrounding acres of land on both sides of the river above and below the dam. Blue Sky Power also owns a utility easement that conveys a 1.8 mile power line from the powerhouse to the interconnection point with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative power lines.
The Harris Bridge plant is a run-of-river facility with no reservoir storage other than the canal. The plant typically does not run during summer months when flow in the river drops below the 68% duration flow of 100 cfs. For example in 2008, a dry year, the plant did not operate at all from June through October. Operation of the plant affects flow in the river only in the 800' reach between the dam and the powerhouse. Water flow is maintained over the dam into the affected reach at all times during operation.
There are no migratory fish in the Rockfish River either above or below the dam and no known historical records document the existence of migratory fish prior to construction of the dam. There are 2 other existing dams on the Rockfish River downstream of the Harris Bridge dam that impede fish passage and neither of these are under resource agency recommendation for removal or construction of fish passage facilities.
The Rockfish River at the facility is not on the Virginia's 2006 or 2008 draft 303d list of impaired waters. Upstream of the facility the South Fork Rockfish River drains an agricultural area and is listed as non-supporting for recreational use due to bacteria impairment.
PUBLIC COMMENT
We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Harris Bridge Project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Harris Bridge 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 " Harris Bridge 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 17, 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.
2/9/09 -LIHI received an email comment letter from Steven J. Kvech
Hello,
I was forwarded a Notice from your institute about the Harris Bridge Hydroelectric Project. I work for the Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water out of Lexington, VA. I am the District Engineer assigned to Nelson County where this project is located. Our office regulates public waterworks.
The town of Schuyler is served by a water treatment facility very near to this Hydroelectric Project. This facility is owned and operated by the Nelson County Service Authority. The membrane water treatment plant is currently permitted to withdraw raw water from Johnson's Branch. This is a small, spring fed tributary of the Rockfish River, just downstream of the Hydroelectric Project on the south side of the river. Water flows by gravity from the branch through a pipeline which crosses under the Rockfish River. The Water plant is capable of producing ~80 gpm of water which is based on historical average flow from Johnson's Branch. During seasonal droughts the available supply of water from Johnson's Branch of drops off significantly and water hauling is required. There have been some discussions in recent about obtaining a permit for occasional withdrawal of source water from the Rockfish River in drought emergencies.
When operating this power facility creates a major decrease in the flow in the Rockfish past the water treatment plant. The Water Treatment Plant is directly across the river from the power facility. From the Notice I understand that the power facility does not run during summer drought months when Rockfish River flow is below 100 cfs. Therefore, current operations of the Water Treatment Plant should not be affected by the power facility operation. Also, if a withdrawal permit was granted for drinking water supply to Schuyler it appears that there would be no competing water usage by the two facilities since the power facility would be offline during drought times when the Water Plant would need the Rockfish River.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Steven J. Kvech, P.E.
District Engineer
VDHOffice of Drinking Water
Applicant's Response - 2/09/09
Steve Kvech's summary of the drinking plant withdrawals is essentially correct. A few points to add: The drinking water plant already withdraws water from the river during low periods. This occurred has occurred 3 of the past 6 summers, including in 2008. As Mr. Kvech states, the river withdrawals occur only during periods of very low flow, when the hydro plant cannot operate, so there will be no competing water usage. Besides this, the point where water has been withdrawn in the past by the treatment plant is nearly even with the tailrace of the power plant. So the water could potentially pass through the hydro plant and then be withdrawn by the water treatment plant.
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Jack Eggleston (Applicant)
434.962.0972 - cell
jackegg4@yahoo.com
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For further information about the any of the projects certified as Low Impact, please contact Fred Ayer, LIHI Executive Director at (207) 773-8190, or visit the LIHI website at www.lowimpacthydro.org. LIHI is a nonprofit organization that certifies environmentally low impact hydropower facilities nationwide to help energy consumers, and to support market incentives for reducing the effects of hydropower dams on the nation's rivers and streams.
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