LIHI Pending Application -- (FERC No. 2669) Fife Brook Development of the Bear Swamp Project , Deerfield River, Massachusetts

Note: (February 3, 2010) LIHI Received a comment letter from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on this link: Bear Swamp LIHI comments.doc located at the bottom of this page.

February 20, 2010 - LIHI received a comment letter from the Deerfield River Watershed Association in opposition to certification of the Fife Brook Project. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on this link: LIHIcommentsTranscanada pdf located at the bottom of this page.

March 1, 2010 - LIHI received a comment letter from the USFWS in opposition to certification of the Fife Brook Project. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on the link img111011.pdf (USFWS Fife Brook Comments 3-1-10) located at the bottom of this page.

March 1, 2010 - LIHI received a comment letter from the Trout Unlimited (Joe Overlock) in opposition to certification of the Fife Brook Project. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on this link: TU Bear Swamp LIHI pdf located at the bottom of this page.

March 3, 2010 - LIHI received another comment letter from the Trout Unlimited (Jeff Reardon) in opposition to certification of the Fife Brook Project. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on this link: TU LIHI Fife Brook comments.doc located at the bottom of this page.

March 3, 2010 - LIHI received a comment letter from the Mass DEP in opposition to certification of the Fife Brook Project. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on this link: FIFE Brook 3-3-10 MA DEP Kubit located at the bottom of this page.

March 3, 2010 - LIHI received a comment letter from the Connecticut River Watershed Council in opposition to certification of the Fife Brook Project. The letter is available to read or download by clicking on this link: CRWC Fife Brook LIHI 3-3-10. pdf located at the bottom of this page.

Note: An incorrect date of February 7, 2010 for the end of the 60-day comment period for this project has been changed to the correct date of March 3, 2010 - we apologize for any inconvenience this mistake may cause.

Note: We have two separate certification applications pending from two different owners for projects on the Deerfield River in Massachusetts and Vermont that have been posted to the LIHI web site on December 31, 2009. If you have an interest in the Deerfield, we recommend that you review both filings: TransCanada's Deerfield River Project FERC No. 2323; and, Brookfield Renewable Power's Fife Brook Development FERC No. 2669.

Portland, Maine (December 31, 2009) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Brookfield Renewable Power ("Applicant") has submitted an application for certification of the Fife Brook development. Fife Brook is a conventional hydropower facility and a component of the Bear Swamp Project ("Project"). The 610-megawatt Bear Swamp Pumped Storage Project is located on the Deerfield River in Franklin and Berkshire Counties, Massachusetts. The Fife Brook Dam, which impounds the lower reservoir for and is part of the Bear Swamp Project, is located on the Deerfield River between the Deerfield No. 5 and Deerfield No. 4 developments of the Deerfield River Project (FERC No. 2323).

The Deerfield Project has generation and storage facilities both upstream and downstream of the Fife Brook Development. The Deerfield Project's eight developments consist of Somerset, Searsburg, Harriman, Sherman, Deerfield No. 5, Deerfield No. 4, Deerfield No. 3 and Deerfield No.2, and have a total installed capacity of 86 megawatts (MW). The Deerfield Project area encompasses a 65-mile reach of the river, including reservoirs. However, in that 65-mile reach there are two developments not owned by TransCanada: North American Energy Alliance's Gardner Falls Project (FERC No. 2334) located downstream of the Deerfield No. 3 development; and the Bear Swamp Project and Fife Brook Dam located downstream of the Deerfield No. 5 development and the subject of this LIHI Certification Application by Brookfield Renewable Power.

Deerfield and Fife Brook coordinate their operations through a March 25, 2005 letter agreement which is used to insure that certain minimum flow requirements of the licenses for the Deerfield River Project and the Bear Swamp Project are met. These flows were established in 1994 as part of the Deerfield River Settlement . The current minimum flow from the Fife Brook is 125 cfs.

On October 6, 1994, New England Power (then the Licensee of both the Deerfield and Bear Swamp Projects) filed a settlement agreement with FERC covering a wide range of issues in the relicensing proceeding for the Deerfield Project and signed by the Licensee and twelve parties in that proceeding, including federal and state resource agencies and various environmental and recreational citizens groups. The settlement included measures that the Licensee agreed to implement at its Bear Swamp Project.

On June 14, 1996, FERC issued notice that the Settlement conditions concerning the Bear Swamp Project would be considered a request by New England Power to amend the Bear Swamp license. . NEP argued that an amendment was not necessary, but in the end FERC added the following license article to the Bear Swamp license:

Article 401. The Licensee shall release from the Fife Brook Dam into the Deerfield River a minimum flow of 125 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured below the dam, for the protection and enhancement of fishery resources of the Deerfield River. The Licensee shall release water from reservoir storage, if necessary, to ensure that the minimum flow of 125 cfs is met. This flow may be temporarily modified if required by operating emergencies beyond the control of the Licensee, or for short periods upon agreement between the Licensee and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. If the flow is so modified, the Licensee shall notify the Commission as soon as possible, but not later than ten days after each such incident.

The Fife Brook Powerhouse consists of a single generating unit, penstock and intake structure. The project was designed to operate on a run-of-river flow coming from the lower reservoir that is created by the Fife Brook Dam, a component of the Bear Swamp Power Project.

The flow from the Deerfield No. 5 development tailrace discharges to the Bear Swamp lower reservoir. To maintain the reservoir volume balance, Fife Brook station (which is the next conventional facility downstream and is part of the Bear Swamp FERC operating license) is run and flows through the lower reservoir are discharged by Fife Brook.

The Deerfield No. 5 development is 28.5 miles upstream of Deerfield No. 2 and has five other impoundments between the No. 5 dam and the junction of the Deerfield with the Connecticut River. Passage is blocked by the downstream facilities. There is no definitive record of anadromous fish in the Deerfield at this location.

To accommodate recreational users, a boat slide and stairs were installed for their safety during the 32 white water release events scheduled May through October each year. There are Picnic Area enhancements, including viewing trails along the reach. All of these facilities are currently accessed by the public on a free and non-discriminatory basis. Parking charges are permitted for the future but have not been implemented.

Public Comments - We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Fife Brook Development meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Fife Brook Development'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 at info@lowimpacthydro.org with " Fife Brook Development 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 3, 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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