Fishing News
Dam operator must help fish - Cobbossee kill rapped by FERC
By Dan McGillvray, [email protected]
GARDINER -- A federal agency has ordered the operator of the Cobbossee Stream hydroelectric dam to devise a plan that allows migrating alewives and eels to pass safely through the barrier.
Last fall, thousands of those types of fish were killed in power-generating turbines at the dam owned by American Tissue Co. as they attempted to swim from upstream freshwater lakes and ponds to the Kennebec River. Their final destination was to be the Atlantic Ocean.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses hydroelectric dams, wants CHI Operations, Inc. of Sanford -- the dam's operator --to submit a detailed plan by Oct. 30 to ensure downstream fish passage protection. The Maine Department of Marine Resources will also be involved in the planning process.
In early October 2001, at least 1,000 "chopped-up juvenile alewives" were discovered immediately below the power station, and approximately 1,000 eels were found in the same area later in the month, according to a FERC letter mailed recently to the dam's operator. Interior turbine blades spin rapidly when water rushes through.
"If necessary, the plan should identify physical changes to the project that need to be taken, including the installation of fish passage facilities," FERC biologist George Taylor wrote.
Doug Watts, an Augusta resident who monitors local fisheries, welcomed the news.
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