Martinsville Hydroelectric Project on Lull Brook, Hartland, Vermont
Portland, Maine (May 3, 2012) - The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that the LIHI Governing Board determined that the Martinsville Hydroelectric Project meets the Institute’s Low Impact Certification Criteria.
In reaching its decision to certify the Martinsville Hydroelectric Project, the LIHI’s Governing Board reviewed the application for certification, as well as the Application Reviewer’s report. The Board’s vote to certify the Project was unanimous, and the Board approves certification for the Martinsville Hydroelectric Project for five-years with the following condition:
If during the certification period, American eel upstream passage facilities are constructed and become operational at Bellows Falls Dam on the Connecticut River, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department request passage facilities at the Project, the Project owner shall so notify LIHI within 30 days and shall enter into, and provide LIHI with a copy of, an agreement reached among the Project owner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and/or the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department to provide both interim (if requested by an agency) and permanent safe, timely, and effective passage for American eel. The Agreement must be finalized within 120 days of the request for passage and must include a description of the planned passage and protection measures and the implementation schedule for design, installation, and operations. The agreement shall be filed with LIHI within 30 days of its execution. LIHI reserves the right to suspend certification if the above steps are not completed, if no agreement is reached with the agencies, or if required measures to ensure downstream passage is appropriately protective of the Atlantic salmon resource are not made by April 1, 2013.
Portland, Maine (April 30, 2011) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that Martinsville Hydro Corp has submitted an Application for LIHI Certification for the Martinsville Hydroelectric Project (“Project”). Since 1985, Martinsville Hydro has operated this 250 kW, run of river facility on Lull Brook in the Village of Hartland, Vermont. The project was issued a 401 Water Quality Certification on November 28, 1983 and a 50 year FERC License (7373-VT) on December, 8 1984. These same standards remain in effect today, have not been amended nor is there any proposed or ongoing action to alter them.
The project lies on a long and narrow 3-acre property along the easterly side of Vermont Route 5 and is wedged in a steeply sided, rocky gorge. The first mill was located here in 1767. The drainage area at the project is 21 square miles and the net head of the site is 98 feet. Water is conveyed from a small concrete gravity dam via penstock to the powerhouse that contains two twin generating units.
The maximum hydraulic capacity of the turbines is 48 cfs. The minimum bypass flow release, as determined by USFWS and Vermont Division of Water Quality, is 2 cfs, passed by a low level notch and a submerged orifice. Martinsville has regularly filed its annual minimum flow report to the NY FERC Regional Office certifying compliance with its minimum flow standards. The plant is fully automated, equipped with a high end programmable controller with internet monitoring and remote control, for stable operation and pond level control - all maintained by the owner-operator who lives nearby.
No fish passage prescription have ever been discussed or proposed for the project as the findings in the 401 state “the penstock-bypassed section of the stream is a steep gradient channel of chutes and shallow pools on largely scoured ledge. Such habitat has little direct value for fish production due to lack of adequate spawning and nursery areas. The dam would not constitute an obstruction to the upstream migration as the steep gradient of chutes in the bypass present a natural barrier for fish passage.” Other than the statutory state and federal agencies, no other party has ever intervened in this project.
Other than signage for dangerous conditions, there are no other recreational requirements for the project as the reservoir is about the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool and has no safe public access because of its confined location. Additionally, there has never been any request or proposals for cultural or watershed improvements nor have any threatened or endangered species been identified near or within the project boundary
May 3, 2011 – At LIHI’s suggestion, the Applicant spoke with Brian T. Fitzgerald, Streamflow Protection Coordinator,Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and asked if Brian could say that the Martinsville Hydro's (FERC 7373) Water Quality Certification issued in 1983 is still in effect and that no changes to the original requirements are now being considered. Brian sent the applicant an email stating the following:
“The Agency of Natural Resources considers the Martinsville Project to be in conformance with Vermont Water Quality Standards provided conditions in the Water Quality Certification issued on November 28, 1983 are followed. At this point, there are no plans to revisit operation of the project prior to expiration of the current license in 2034.”
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The project lies on a long and narrow
3-acre property along the easterly side of Vermont Route 5 and is wedged in a steeply
sided, rocky gorge. The first mill was located here in 1767. The drainage area at the project
is 21 square miles and the net head of the site is 98-feet. Water is conveyed from a small
concrete gravity dam via penstock to the powerhouse that contains two twin
generating units. The maximum hydraulic capacity of the turbines is 48 cfs.
The minimum bypass flow release, as determined by USFWS and Vermont Division of Water Quality, is 2 cfs, passed by a low level notch and a submerged orifice. Martinsville has regularly filed its annual minimum flow report to the NY FERC Regional Office certifying compliance with its minimum flow standards.
The plant is fully automated, equipped with a high end programmable controller with internet monitoring and remote control, for stable operation and pond level control - all maintained by the owner-operator who lives nearby.
According to the applicant, no fish passage prescription have ever been discussed or proposed for the project as the findings in the 401 water quality certificate:
“the penstock-bypassed section of the stream is a steep gradient channel of chutes and shallow pools on largely scoured ledge. Such habitat has little direct value for fish production due to lack of adequate spawning and nursery areas. The dam would not constitute an obstruction to the upstream migration as the steep gradient of chutes in the bypass present a natural barrier for fish passage.”
Other than the statutory state and federal agencies, no other party has ever intervened in this project. Other than signage for dangerous conditions, there are no other recreational requirements for the project as the reservoir is about the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool and has no safe public access because of its confined location. Additionally, there has never been any request or proposals for cultural or watershed improvements nor have any threatened or endangered species been identified near or within the project boundary
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