Text / Detailed Plan for Dam Removal - Klamath River Dams

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Title: Detailed Plan for Dam Removal - Klamath River Dams
Creator: Tom Hepler, Blair Greimann, Scott O'Meara
Date Created and/or Issued: 2011 September 15
Contributing Institution: UC Riverside, Library, Water Resources Collections and Archives
Collection: Clearinghouse for Dam Removal Information (CDRI)
Rights Information: Copyrighted
Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Description: Scope/Content: Abstract: Executive Summary The Klamath Hydroelectric Project (Project) is owned by PacifiCorp, and includes four generating developments along the mainstem of the Upper Klamath River between river mile (RM) 190 and 228. The East Side and West Side Developments are located further upstream at the Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation's) Link River Dam at RM 254, and have been previously proposed by PacifiCorp for decommissioning. The Project also includes a re-regulation dam with no generation facilities at RM 233 (Keno Dam), and a small (2.2 MW) generating development on Fall Creek, a tributary to the Klamath River at RM 196.3. The installed generating capacity of the existing Project is 169 MW and, on average, the Project generates 716,800 MWh of electricity annually. PacifiCorp began relicensing proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2000. The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) was completed in February 2010 for the express purpose of resolving the pending FERC relicensing proceedings by establishing a process for potential Facilities Removal and operation of the Project until that time [5]. The KHSA addresses the proposed Secretarial Determination whether to proceed with Facilities Removal, defined as the "physical removal of all or part of each of the Facilities to achieve at a minimum a free-flowing condition and volitional fish passage, site remediation and restoration, including previously inundated lands, measures to avoid or minimize adverse downstream impacts, and all associated permitting for such actions." The Facilities were defined as the "specific hydropower facilities, within the jurisdictional boundary of FERC Project No. 2082: Iron Gate Dam, Copco No. 1 Dam, Copco No. 2 Dam, and J.C. Boyle Dam, and appurtenant works currently licensed to PacifiCorp." "Decommissioning" was defined as the physical disconnection of the facility from PacifiCorp's transmission grid, and the removal from a facility of any equipment and personal property that PacifiCorp determines has salvage value. The KHSA describes the process for studies, environmental review, and participation by the signatory parties and the public to inform the Secretarial Determination. As a part of the basis for the Secretarial Determination, a Detailed Plan to implement Facilities Removal was required, to include the following components: - The physical methods to be undertaken to effect Facilities Removal, including but not limited to a timetable for Decommissioning and Facilities Removal; - As necessary and appropriate, plans for management, removal, and/or disposal of sediment, debris, and other materials; - A plan for site remediation and restoration; - A plan for measures to avoid or minimize adverse downstream impacts; - A plan for compliance with all Applicable Laws, including anticipated permits and permit conditions; 5 - A detailed statement of the estimated costs of Facilities Removal; - A statement of measures to reduce risks of cost overruns, delays, or other impediments to Facilities Removal; and - The identification, qualifications, management, and oversight of a non-federal Dam Removal Entity (DRE), if any, that the Secretary may designate. (The Secretary may designate Interior to be the DRE.) This report represents the Detailed Plan referenced above, for the potential removal of the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River (J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate Dams). The physical methods for removal of each dam are described, including a plan for waste disposal, a proposed sequence and timing for draining the reservoirs to minimize downstream impacts, anticipated permitting requirements, the preparation of cost estimates for full and partial removal of the facilities, and the development of construction schedules for the work. Studies have been performed to quantify and to characterize the sediment impounded by the four dams and to evaluate the potential downstream effects of reservoir sediment release during dam removal. Pot
Type: text
Identifier: ark:/86086/n2gb23pq
1180
Subject: Alternative analysis (e.g., feasibility studies, EIRs)
Ecology and river restoration
Fisheries and fish passage
Pre- and post-project monitoring
Sediment and channel dynamics
Dams
Dam retirement
Place: Klamath, CA
J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate Dams

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