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Habitat Conservation Plans to receive national award

Chelan County PUD
News Release
3/31/2005

Washington, DC  – Ten hydropower projects were recognized today for their outstanding environmental stewardship efforts as part of the ninth-annual “Outstanding Stewardship of America’s Rivers” report. 

The report – which will be released online to the public on April 4, 2005 – illustrates creative, collaborative, and technological solutions implemented by hydropower companies to improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitats, restore fisheries, protect endangered species, and permanently conserve land for the protection of wildlife. The OSAR award winners will be recognized next Monday at an awards ceremony during the National Hydropower Association’s Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

“Each year, the OSAR report recognizes a handful of hydropower companies that excel at harmonizing their hydropower projects with the environment. Healthy rivers and a viable hydropower resource are not mutually exclusive goals, and the 2005 OSAR award winners are proof of that. This year's award winners are to be commended for the fine examples they set for all hydropower operators as responsible stewards of America’s rivers,” said Linda Church Ciocci, executive director of NHA.

Examples of stewardship activities include:

• Protecting fall Chinook salmon by working with federal, state, and tribal officials;
• Protecting sensitive loon nests from fluctuating water levels by building movable platforms that rise and lower with the water;
• Adoption of a 100 percent “no-net impact” Habitat Conservation Plan; and
• Voluntary restoration of spawning grounds.

The ten award-winning hydropower projects are:

• PPL Montana’s Madison-Missouri River Project;
• Seattle City Light’s Skagit River Hydroelectric Project;
• PacifiCorp’s North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project;
• Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro’s Granite Canal Hydroelectric Development;
• Chelan County Public Utility District’s Rocky Reach and Rock Island Hydroelectric Projects;
• Avista Corporation’s Clark Fork Project;.
• Tacoma Power’s Nisqually River Project;
• FPL Energy Maine Hydro’s Loon Management;.
• Grant Count Public Utility District’s Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project; and
• Turlock Irrigation District’s Tuolumne River Restoration Project;

A six-member judging committee evaluated the nominations for the 2005 OSAR awards. The judges were John Peterson (National Watershed Coalition), Richard Roos-Collins (National Heritage Institute), Mike Bahleda (Electric Power Research Institute), Jim Weldon (Denver Water Board), Dr. Walton Poole (America’s Clean Water Foundation), and Marla Barnes (HCI Publications).

In addition to their contribution to riverine and terrestrial wildlife, the award-winning projects generate more than 6,400 megawatts of clean, low-cost, reliable electricity – enough yearly power for approximately 2.4 million homes. The projects also avoid 12.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions a year.

On April 4, the full OSAR report will be available at www.outstandingrivers.org.

***

Steven Gotfried
202-682-1700 ext. 105 (Office)
703-475-2332 (Cell)
steven@hydro.org