The development of California's resources over the past 150 years has taken a severe toll on trout and steelhead resources. Dams and diversions have been constructed in all but a dozen of the state's major drainages. Today there are over 1,200 dams greater then 25 feet in height. These dams have submerged rivers and streams, blocked fish migrations, and reduced or eliminated downstream water flows essential for trout and steelhead survival. In the Sierra Nevada alone, dams have flooded 600 miles of river corridors on large rivers, fragmenting aquatic systems.
Non-federal hydroelectric facilities on most rivers and streams in the United States are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which issues and renews 30-50 year licenses for these facilities.
In 1986, the Federal Power Act (which regulates FERC's activities) was amended to require FERC to balance competing interests when licensing hydropower projects. FERC is now required to consider, not only the power generation potential of a river, but also energy conservation, protection of fish and wildlife, protection of recreational opportunities, and preservation of other aspects of environmental quality.
But most licenses were issued long ago with little thought to the impact of water storage and diversion on the health of trout and steelhead river ecosystems. Through this complex renewal process, FERC considers anew whether it is appropriate to commit the public's river resources for private power generation.
Until 1993, re-licensing was a relatively infrequent procedure, which received little, if any, public attention. In 1993, 160 licenses affecting 262 dams on 105 rivers expired. These "Class of 1993" licenses -- representing over ten percent of all FERC-licensed dams -- are linked to a 1943 court decision which extended FERC jurisdiction to all rivers used to float timber to market. The resulting 50-year licenses launched an unprecedented wave of re-licensing in 1993 that will continue with licenses for 550 more dams expiring by 2010.
The map depicted below depicts hydroelectric projects in California.
Click here for a list of relicensing places and dates.
This renewal cycle therefore offers an unprecedented opportunity for CalTrout to compel FERC to use the best science available in determining fishery needs and establishing ecologically based instream flow requirements for decades to come. Assuring adequate water flows for fisheries for the next 50 years will require a concerted, coordinated effort by CalTrout and other statewide organizations working closely with local activists, scientists and watershed protection groups.
CalTrout, in conjunction with the California and National Hydropower Reform Coalitions, will intervene in strategically significant re-licensing projects. CalTrout is among the most qualified conservation groups to take on this program. Already we have successfully won "water for fish" on the Pit River, Hat Creek and Bishop Creek through re-licensing advocacy. Currently CalTrout is an intervener on the re-licensing of hydropower projects on the Klamath River,Piru Creek and the Santa Ana River. CalTrout is also beginning to work on the McCloud-Pit dam re-licensing in 2005.
Coalitions
CalTrout is a founding member of the California Hydropower Reform Coalition (CHRC). The CHRC is composed of several environmental organizations representing angling and river conservation interests. The coalition's steering committee is composed of California Trout, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Outdoors, American Whitewater, American Rivers, Foothill Conservancy, Friends of the River, Natural Heritage Institute, and Trout Unlimited.
Best Available Science
CalTrout's primary goal is to insist that FERC use the best science available in determining fishery needs and establishing ecologically-based instream flow requirements. To restore ecological integrity to the rivers and their floodplains, flow regimes should emulate the natural hydrograph and incorporate both minimum and higher peak flows, while providing project operational constraints to avoid sudden flow fluctuations. This goal is guided by CalTrout's emphasis on wild fish habitat in everything we do -- "fish first, fishing second."
Legal Remedies
In view of the pervading reluctance of dam operators to adequately consider the health of fisheries, CalTrout is prepared to fully pursue legal remedies against dam operators and government resource agencies based on violations of the Public Trust Doctrine, State and Federal Endangered Species Acts, and the Clean Water Act.
Clean Water Act
The federal Clean Water Act requires each state to develop individual plans, which identify the water quality standards to be obtained and protected. By the late 1970s California had divided the state into nine water quality regions and adopted "Basin Plans" with enforceable standards.
To comply with the Clean Water Act's goal of "maintaining the biological integrity of the nation's waters", California developed specific fishery protection "beneficial uses" such as maintaining coldwater temperatures, providing for spawning and rearing, protection of rare or endangered fish, and preserving recreation (such as angling).
When a hydropower project undergoes re-licensing in California, each project must obtain a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certificate from the State of California. FERC must include the State's water quality protection recommendations. This certification requirement provides one of the best tools to improve fishery conditions associated with hydropower projects.
Related Link:
FERC Projects
