Kezar Falls Project (FERC Nos. 9340 and 11124), Ossipee River, Maine

1. In the event that within the 5-year term of the certification either (a) upstream or downstream passage for American eel or upstream passage Atlantic salmon is installed at the next downriver hydroelectric facility (Bonney Eagle Dam), or (b) a  federal fisheries agency formally prescribes, or a state agency formally requests, upstream or downstream fish passage at the Project, EPICO shall notify LIHI within 30 days of such action and the steps that EPICO is prepared to take  to install appropriate passage at the Kezar Falls facility. In the event that EPICO notifies LIHI that it does not intend to install appropriate passage, or that EPICO cannot reach an agreement with resource agencies as to the nature of this passage, LIHI reserves the right to withdraw its certification should LIHI determine that EPICO’s position is inconsistent with the LIHI fish passage criteria at that time.

 The effective certification date for the Kezar Falls Hydroelectric Project is November 14, 2010 and will expire on November 14, 2015. During the time the Project is certified, you may market the Kezar Falls Hydroelectric Project facilities as LIHI certified.

Kezar Falls Hydroelectric Project FERC No. P-9340 and P-11124

Portland, Maine (January 7, 2011) - The LIHI received a comment letter from the Saco River Salmon Club. You can read the letter by clicking on the SRSC Kezar Falls  Comment Letter at the bottom of this page in the "Files" section. 

Portland, Maine (January 4, 2011) - The LIHI received a comment letter from the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF). You can read the letter by clicking on the ASF Kezar Falls Comment Letter - 1/4/11 at the bottom of this page in the "Files" section. 

Portland, Maine (November 14, 2010) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that EPICO USA Inc., (“Applicant” or “EPICO”) has submitted an application for certification of the Kezar Falls Hydroelectric Project located on the Ossipee River at Kezar Falls, Maine. EPICO USA is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 350 Fifth Avenue, 41^st, Floor, New York, NY 10118. EPICO USA Inc. is wholly owned by EPICO SRL, an Italian company with hydroelectric holdings in Europe.  Additional information on EPICO may be found at www.epicoholding.it.

The Keazar Falls Hydroelectric Project is comprised of an upper and lower development.  The two dams have existed on the project site since before 1869.  The two dams were converted to hydroelectric facilities in the early 1900's (the lower powerhouse was constructed in 1910).  The two developments are built around islands in the Ossipee River.  The major components of the Kezar Falls project may be viewed on Goggle Earth and may be found at the following latitudes and longitudes provided by the Applicant.

     The existing upper development is comprised of:  (1) a rock-filled timber crib dam on the north side of the upstream island about 8 feet high by 270 feet long surmounted by flashboards approximately 1.8 feet high; (2) a concrete gravity dam on the south side of the upstream island with an ogee crest about 11 feet high by 196 feet long surmounted by 1.8-foot-high flashboards, and containing two 6-foot by 6-foot waste gates adjacent to its island abutment; (3) an impoundment with a normal water surface elevation of 366.7 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) and a surface area of about 10 acres; (4) a power canal about 700 feet long with an average width of about 100 feet; (5) stoplog slots at a single lane bridge crossing the power canal; (6) a concrete flume about 132 feet long with an average width of 33 feet, extending from the power canal, under State Route 25, to the powerhouse; (7) a concrete and brick powerhouse with approximate dimensions of 23 feet by 37 feet, containing one vertical turbine and generator unit rated at 350 kilowatts (kW); (8) a tailrace about 60 feet long that passes beneath a non-project mill building; (9) a 40-foot-long underground transmission line; and (10) appurtenant equipment.  The top-of-flashboard elevation at both dams is 366.7 feet NGVD and the normal tailwater elevation at the upper powerhouse is 353.7 feet.

Initially, the lower development consisted of:  (1) a concrete-capped timber crib dam about 9.5 feet high by 290 feet long surmounted by 2-foot-high flashboards; (2) a 15.5-foot by 8-foot sluice gate located in the dam approximately 101 feet from its south abutment; (2) a headgate structure located south of the dam's southern abutment containing three 8-foot-square wooden gates; (3) an impoundment with a normal water surface elevation of 352.2 feet NGVD and a surface area of about 4.5 acres; (4) an earthen dike with a crest elevation of approximately 357.2 feet NGVD; (5) a power canal approximately 908 feet long that varies in width from about 33 feet to 90 feet and ranges in depth from 8 feet to 14.5 feet; (6) a trash sluice on the north side of the power canal; (7) a concrete and brick powerhouse with dimensions of 38 feet by 46 feet, containing one vertical turbine-generator unit rated at 500 kW; (8) a concrete- and masonry-lined tailrace about 475 feet long; (9) a 125-foot-long underground transmission line; and (10) appurtenant equipment.  The top-of-flashboard elevation is 352.2 feet NGVD and the normal tailwater elevation at the existing lower development powerhouse is 332.6 feet.

In the early 1990s, the original licensee added the following facilities at the lower development:  (1) an intake structure located between the south abutment of the lower development dam and the headgate structure; (2) a steel penstock approximately 82 feet long; (3) a concrete powerhouse with dimensions of 23 feet by 18 feet and containing one rebuilt vertical Kaplan turbine connected to a synchronous generator rated at 150 kW; (4) a transmission line approximately 1,000 feet long connecting to the transformer bank at the existing lower development powerhouse; and (5) appurtenant equipment.  The new powerhouse generates power at the lower dam site using the proposed minimum flow releases of 125 and 175 cubic feet per second (cfs).  The normal headwater elevation at the powerhouse is 352.2 feet NGVD and the minimum tailwater elevation is about 340.6 feet.

The original licensee constructed a new powerhouse at the lower development, downstream of the dam on the earthen dike forming the power canal on the right bank of the river.  The crest of the earthen dike is an estimated 125 feet wide at the new powerhouse location.  According to the Applicant the powerhouse is not a part of the dam and, thus, is not a water retaining structure.  Failure of the new powerhouse would not create a hazard to public safety.

The Applicant states that the Kezar Falls Project is operated in a run-of-river mode for the protection of water quality, aquatic resources, and aesthetic values in the Ossipee River.  The licensee, in operating the project in a run-of-river mode, at all times maintains discharges from the project so that the flow in the Ossipee River, as measured immediately downstream of the Lower Kezar Falls powerhouse, approximates the instantaneous flows in the Ossipee River as measured upstream of the Upper Kezar Falls dam.  Run-of-river operation may be temporarily modified, if required, by operating emergencies beyond the control of the licensee, or for short periods upon mutual agreement between the licensee and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

PUBLIC COMMENT

We encourage public comments on the Kezar Falls  application for Low Impact certification. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think these Projects meet our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Project that you have an interest in.  Your 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 " Kezar Falls 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 January 14, 2011 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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