Friends of Sebago Lake
P.O. Box 561, Fryeburg, ME 04037
www.friendsofsebago.org
Ms. Magalie Salas, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20426
August 9, 2004
RE: American Eel Passage at the North Gorham Project, Presumpscot River,
Maine. FERC Project No. 2519.
Dear Secretary Salas,
Friends of Sebago Lake requests the Commission amend its November 14, 1995
"Order Approving Downstream Fish Passage Facility Operation and Maintenance
Plan" for the North Gorham Project on the Presumpscot River. Friends
of Sebago Lake requests the Commission amend this Order to require evening
turbine shutdowns at the North Gorham Project from September 1 to October
31 annually to protect adult migrating American eel (Anguilla rostrata)
in the Presumpscot River, Maine.
I. Background
On October 2, 2003 the Commission issued new licenses for five hydro-electric
projects on Maine's Presumpscot River. In these licenses, the Commission
ordered mandatory evening project shutdowns to prevent the entrainment and
death of American eel at these dams. These projects -- Dundee Falls (FERC
No. 2942), Gambo Falls (FERC No. 2931), Mallison Falls (FERC No. 2932),
Little Falls (FERC No. 2941) and Saccarappa Falls (FERC No. 2897) are owned
and operated by the S.D. Warren Company. License Articles requiring evening
project shutdowns at these dams to protect migrating American eel are found
at 105 FERC ¶ 61,009; 61,010; 61,011; 61,012; 61,013.
License Articles for these projects state:
"Beginning September 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, the licensee
shall cease generation at sunset for at least eight hours per night from
September 1 through October 31, as required by Prescription 3 of Appendix
B. The licensee shall determine the timing of the generation shutdown each
year in consultation with the Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR)
and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). The purpose of the shutdown
period is to provide out-migrating American eel safe and timely passage
downstream past the project via flows over the project dam."
American eel inhabit the entire Sebago Lake -- Presumpscot River watershed.
Most of this watershed lies above the Presumpscot River, which is the outlet
of Sebago Lake. Sebago Lake is the second largest lake in Maine. The very
large area of ponds and lakes above the head of the Presumpscot River indicates
most of the American eel migrating down the Presumpscot River each fall
originate from Sebago Lake and the lakes and ponds which feed it.
There are seven hydro-electric projects on the Presumpscot River. These
are in order from upstream to downstream: Eel Weir, North Gorham, Dundee,
Gambo Falls, Mallison Falls, Little Falls and Saccarappa Falls. The above
License Articles only cover the five lowermost dams on the system.
Without safe passage this fall at the Eel Weir and North Gorham Projects,
there will be very few eels left alive in the upper Presumpscot River to
benefit from evening turbine shutdowns at the five lower dams beginning
Sept. 1, 2004.
For this reason, Friends of Sebago Lake requests the Commission require
evening shutdowns at the Eel Weir and North Gorham Projects in 2004 concurrent
with those the Commission has ordered for the five lower Presumpscot River
projects. Our request evening project shutdowns at the Eel Weir project
is the subject of a separate, concurrent
filing.
II. The Need for Evening Shutdowns at the North Gorham Project
The need for evening project shutdowns at the North Gorham Project to protect
American eel is obvious and immediate.
At present, the North Gorham Project operates its turbines throughout the
fall American eel migration on the Presumpscot River.
In its Final EIS for five of S.D. Warren's Presumpscot River projects,
and in licenses issued for those projects in October 2003, the Commission
found that evening turbine shutdowns would be necessary at these projects
to provide safe and timely passage for adult American eel migrating to the
Atlantic Ocean. Pursuant to the License Articles, evening project shutdowns
at these five dams will begin at sunset on Sept. 1, 2004 and continue until
October 31, 2004.
If the North Gorham Project operates its turbines during this period, most
or all of the American eel migrating from upper Presumpscot River, Sebago
Lake and the entire watershed above Sebago Lake will be killed in the North
Gorham project turbines. These American eels will be killed before they
ever reach the Dundee, Gambo, Mallison, Little Falls and Saccarrappa Projects
-- or the Atlantic Ocean.
This would nullify the purpose of the Commission's License Articles requiring
evening shutdowns at the five lower dams, which state:
"The purpose of the shutdown period is to provide out-migrating
American eel safe and timely passage downstream past the project via flows
over the project dam."
Because spawning American eel are migrating out of the Sebago Lake watershed
to the Atlantic Ocean, they must safely pass all seven of the Presumpscot
River hydro projects to survive and give birth. American eel spawn only
once in their lives. Many do not commence their sole spawning migration
until they are 30 to 50 years old. The Atlantic coast American eel stock,
of which Presumpscot and Sebago Lake eels are members, is completely dependent
on spawning females safely reaching their breeding grounds in the Sargasso
Sea, east of Bermuda.
The entire coastwide stock of American eel on the Atlantic seaboard of
North America is now in steep decline. On March 10, 2004 the American Eel
Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)
issued a statement recommending the protection of American eel under the
United States Endangered Species Act. The statement reads in part:
"Canadian and US data show 2003 commercial landings are the lowest
on record since 1945 and there are indications of localized recruitment
failure in the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River system. The International
Eel Symposium at the 2003 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting reported
a worldwide decline of eel populations, including the Atlantic coast stock
of American eel ... The Commission also recommended that the US Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
consider American eel in the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River/Lake Champlain/Richelieu
River system as a candidate for listing as a Distinct Population Segment
under the Endangered Species Act. The Board also recommended that the USFWS
and NMFS consider designating the entire coastwide stock as a candidate
for listing under the ESA."
For the above reasons, Friends of Sebago Lake requests the Commission require
evening turbine shutdowns at the North Gorham Project from September 1 to
October 31 annually to protect migrating adult American eel (Anguilla
rostrata) in the Presumpscot River, Maine.
Respectfully Submitted,
Roger Wheeler, President
Friends of Sebago Lake