20041101 Ver 5_Other Agency Comments_20100528 (2)

NT OF rtiF
z? United States Department of the Interior
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
e ' Asheville Field Office
H 9 160 Zillicoa Street
Asheville, North Carolina 28801
May 28, 2010
Mr.. John Dorney
North Carolina Division of Water Quality
2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250
Raleigh, NC 27604

Subject: Public Notice of Application for a Section 401 Water Quality Certificate, and
Addendum No. 1, Addendum No.3, Bryson Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2601,
DWQ #2004-1101, Swain County, North Carolina
Dear Mr. Dorney:
This letter is in response to the May 4, 2010 Public Notice, DWQ #2004-1101. On June 16,
2009, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (Duke) filed an Application for 401 Water Quality
Certificate to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) for the Franklin Project.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), has been engaged in ongoing discussions
with Duke, NCDWQ, North Carolina Division of Water Resources (NCDWR) and the North
Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) to prepare a Lake Level and Flow
Management Plan, a Maintenance and Emergency Protocol and a Sediment Study Plan to help
further define how the hydro project could operate under a Subsequent License from the FERC.
These discussions culminated in agreement about how the Project should be operated to protect
water quality, fish and wildlife resources, and endangered species habitats.
On May 26, 2010, Duke filed additional information to its 401 Application as Addendum #1
regarding the Franklin Project Lake Level and Flow Management Plan along with the Nantahala
Area Run-of-River Projects Maintenance and Emergency Protocol (as an Appendix to the
Franklin Project Lake Level and Flow Management Plan). On May 27, 2010, Duke also filed
additional information to its 401 Application as Addendum #3 regarding its Sediment Study
Plan.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We recommend these measures to compensate for the ongoing impacts of this project and its
operation on the natural resources of the area. These measures should include mitigation for
ongoing project impacts and project-induced effects on fish and wildlife populations and their
habitats.
Run-of-river Operation. The Project should be operated in a run-of-river mode, with outflow L.
(discharge) equivelant to inflow. The Lake Level and Flow Management Plan (May 2010), the
USFWS comments Bryson Hydroelectric Project
Maintenance and Emergency Protocol (May 2010), the Trash Removal Program (July 2003)
should be incorporated incorporated in their entirety in the 401 certification for each of the 3
ROR projects.
Shoreline Management. Consistent with the Tuckasegee Settlement Agreement and Nantahala
Stakeholders Settlement Agreements, we agree that the Bryson project is too small to have
private boat ramps, docks, or piers. And, according to Duke Power's Nantahala Area Shoreline
Management Guidelines, filed with FERC, private boat ramps are not allowed. Therefore, we
recommend that to protect and improve the water quality of the Project, private shoreline
developments should be excluded from the Project waters. A vegetated riparian area should be
maintained (and restored wherever currently degraded) at the Project. Appropriate public access
areas should be developed and maintained consistent with the Tuckasegee Settlement Agreement
and Nantahala Stakeholders Settlement Agreements.
Sediment Management. Downstream habitats are being negatively impacted by sediment
releases (pulses) from the Project and Duke should develop a long-term Sediment Management
Plan to describe its strategy and implementation of a reservoir-wide sediment monitoring and
management. Duke should develop a Long-Term Sediment Management Plan, based upon
results of the Sediment Removal Pilot Study, to guide future sediment removal operations at the
Nantahala Area ROR Projects. The Long-Term Sediment Management Plan should include a
maintenance drawdown and refill protocol that minimizes flow fluctuations and reservoir
sediment mobilization by addressing rates of draw down and refill (to coincide with precipitation
events and rising hydrograph) and scheduling drawdowns to coincide with season of least
potential for harm to downstream aquatic communities, whenever possible.
The Long-term Sediment Management Plan should include the following elements at a
minimum:
1. Sediment Assessment
2. Evaluation of Sediment Management Options for a) Project Operations and b) for
protection of downstream habitats
3. Monitoring/Notification/Reporting
4. Schedule for implementation
We recommend permit conditions that are consistent with the proposed pilot Sediment Study
Plan and Short-term Sediment Monitoring Study proposed in Addendum #3 by Duke, as well as
that described in the License Application for this Project.
Public Access. The licensee should provide an adequate, safe, canoe portage around the dam
and powerhouse. The downstream end of the canoe/carry-type boats portage should include a
river access put-in, with parking. All recreational facilities should be open to the general public
free of charge and be useable over the range of conditions normally experienced at the project.
Riparian Enhancement. Duke Power should establish the Riparian Habitat Enhancement Fund
as agreed in the Settlement Agreement to address unavoidable ongoing and cumulative impacts
of the operation of the DPNA Hydro Projects on riparian habitats. The fund shall provide for
conservation activities to offset project-related impacts to land and water resources in the
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USFWS comments
Bryson Hydroelectric Project
Tuckasegee River valley on lands in the vicinity of the Project. A variety of conservation
interests were identified during discussions with the Nantahala Cooperative Stakeholder Team
(NCST) and the Tuckasegee Cooperative Stakeholder Team (TCST); many of which related to
riparian habitat protection and restoration. The NCST and TCST Settlement Agreements both
include a Paragraph 6.8 that establishes the following specific requirements relative to this
Riparian Habitat Enhancement Fund:
"6.8 DPNA agrees that within 1 to 15 years following its acceptance of the New
Licenses for the DPNA Hydro Projects, DPNA will provide a total of $200,000
for the purpose of supporting DPNA-selected riparian habitat enhancement
projects on lands that drain to any of the DPNA Hydro Projects or the river
sections between the DPNA Hydro Projects and reservoirs belonging to the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) where such projects (1) protect or enhance
fish or wildlife habitat directly or (2) educate landowners or school children about
the importance of healthy riparian areas for fish and wildlife habitat. DPNA will
utilize the process outlined in Attachment I (i.e. this process document) in
selecting the projects to be funded."
Other parts of the settlement agreement may also address project-related impacts for the DPNA
Hydro Projects through similar actions in the riparian areas.
Our specific goals for the Bryson Project area include:
• Restore and protect riparian areas, aquatic habitats, and improve water quality
• Recover imperiled species
• Restore extirpated plant and animal populations
• Restore and protect riparian corridors and habitats
• Provide outdoor recreational opportunities
• Control of invasive exotic species
• Educate decision makers and citizens about the importance of the unique river
resources.
Ongoing land and water management activities in the DPNA service territory over the last 10
years provide an indication of continuing conservation needs. These activities, some of which
may be related to any ongoing impacts of the DPNA Hydro Projects, include:
• Riparian habitat restoration
• Floodplain protection
• Environmental education
• Exotic species control (e.g., terrestrial and aquatic plants)
• Restoration effectiveness monitoring
• Land/forest management
• Land protection/conservation
• Wildlife habitat enhancement
The fund should emphasize activities that address project-related impacts, but recognize the
potential benefits of protection and restoration of riparian areas that may be impaired by other
sources (e.g., invasive exotic species). We proposed that the fund be locally administered by an
Advisory Board composed of persons most familiar with conservation priorities of the area. The
USFWS comments
Bryson Hydroelectric Project
following agencies and organizations will provide one representative each to the Advisory
Board. Each representative should be very familiar with riparian ecology in the geographic area.
• North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
• North Carolina Division of Water Resources
• United States Fish & Wildlife Service
• United States Forest Service
• Land Trust for the Little Tennessee
• Little Tennessee Nonpoint Source Team
The Fund should be use to protect or enhance fish or wildlife habitat directly, or educate
landowners or school children about the importance of healthy riparian areas for fish and wildlife
habitat. Additional consideration should focus the available funds to:
• Have a long term impact
• Provide direct benefits to riparian resources
• Show measurable results
• Demonstrate co-funding (leveraging) from other funds, volunteer, or in-kind
resources, thus indicating broad support for the proposed project
• Implement creative approaches
• Have a demonstration element or adapt proven models
• Coordinate and cooperate with existing efforts (i.e. are part of a larger scheme of
riparian protection and restoration, or connect existing protected riparian habitat)
• Increase awareness of how varied activities affect the overall river basin
Stream Gage Stations. The Licensee shall reimburse the United States Geological Survey
(USGS) on an annual basis for its cost to maintain USGS Gage # 03510500 at Dillsboro and
USGS Gage # 03508000 at Tuckasegee, NC on the Tuckasegee River (These gages were
installed in this vicinity by USGS in 2004) to allow for monitoring of compliance and to enhance
public access to information concerning river flow conditions. These gages, when used in
conjunction with information from USGS Gage # 03512000 Oconaluftee River at Birdtown, NC,
upstream of the Bryson Hydroelectric Project, and USGS Gage # 03513000 Tuckasegee River at
Bryson City, NC, downstream of the project, should provide information relative to compliance
and operations. However, if these gages are not funded by other cooperators in the future, we
recommend that Duke Power should be required to fund their operation.
Trash Management. The Licensee should remove man-made trash from the intake racks and
properly dispose of the trash in accordance with the projects' proposed trash removal plan.
Natural woody debris should be passed through the system for maintenance of basic nutrient
cycles, and as a structural component of fish and wildlife habitat.
Endangered Species consultation has been completed. We have completed our consultation
with FERC for the Project effects on endangered species and designated Critical habitats. The
consultation concluded that the project would adversely affect the endangered mussel
Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta ravaneliana). The USFWS issued its Biological Opinion on
August 11, 2006, including the following Conservation Measures, specific to the Bryson Project:
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t7SFWS comments
Bryson Hydroelectric Project
Under its proposed operations at the Bryson Project, Duke Power will occasionally draw
down the Ela reservoir for operation and maintenance. Duke Power proposes, in
agreement with the FWS and other agencies and staff, that on those occasions, the
September median flow of 204 cfs will be released downstream during refill of the
reservoir. Duke Power also agrees to support the execution of post-licensing studies to
determine a deliverable flow should the 204 cfs prove inappropriate.
Historically, Duke Power has drawn down its ROR reservoirs, including Ela, every 7 to
8 years for 2 to 3 days to remove sediment and trash from the intake area, and it has used
various strategies for the disposal of the excavated material. Duke Power proposes to
conduct sediment management and reservoir drawdown studies at the first Project, among
Mission, Franklin, Dillsboro, and Bryson, when such actions would be required.
Fish Passage. The USFWS has reserved authority under §18 of the Federal Power Act to
prescribe fishways at the Project. We recommend the water quality certificate include similar
provisions to incorporate any future Fishway prescriptions, in order to maintain or restore the
biological integrity of the Project waters. In particular, we are concerned about the needs of
potamodromous fishes, including the "sicklefin" redhorse (Moxostoma sp.) Hydropower
projects such as the subject run-of-river projects can fragment a river system, impede or block
fish movement, and kill or injure fish. The viability and mobility of fish species that would
otherwise move to and from different habitats within the river system may diminish
substantially, if not completely, due to a hydropower project. These species can be important
components of aquatic food webs and can support populations of commercially and
recreationally important fish that are of economic significance to the nation.
Fishways help mitigate the impacts of hydropower projects by providing safe, timely, and
effective fish passage around a project for spawning, rearing, feeding, growth to maturity,
dispersion, migration, and seasonal use of habitat. Fishway prescriptions also help to achieve
resource goals and objectives. These goals and objectives may be identified in national,
regional, or watershed-level planning documents or may be established by the Services on a site-
specific basis. Examples of resource goals and objectives include: (1) the enhancement,
protection, or restoration of existing fish populations within a river system; (2) the reunification
of fragmented fish populations; and (3) the reintroduction or reestablishment of fish runs. In
addition, fishways may be necessary to protect tribal resources for the exercise of American
Indian rights.
CONCLUSION
We appreciate the opportunity to provide these comments and information about water quality at
the Bryson Hydroelectric Project. If you have questions, please contact me at 828/258-3939,
Ext. 227.
Sincerely,
- original signed -
USFWS comments
Mark A. Cantrell
Fish & Wildlife Biologist
cc via email: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Lineberger, Johnson
NCWRC, Goudreau
NCDWR, Mead
NCDWQ, Barnett
EBCI, Bolt
Bryson Hydroelectric Project
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