NORTHFIELD — The operator of hydroelectric stations on the Connecticut River has reached an agreement that could protect fish habitat and restore migrations of American shad, river herring, sea lamprey, and American eel once a comprehensive relicense deal is reached.
But the Connecticut River Conservancy is not supporting FirstLight Power’s Flows and Fish Passage Settlement Agreement no filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“There are a number of things in the agreement that we are supportive of,” said Kelsey J. Wentling, river steward for the conservancy.
Under the agreement there will be more water flowing down the river, and not diverted for generation.
“So there are some positives,” she said.
The Nature Conservancy, American Whitewater, Appalachian Mountain Club, Crab Apple Whitewater Inc., New England Flow and Zoar Outdoor have agreed to the deal, Firstlight said. So have federal and state agencies responsible for the river.
But some improvements won’t happen soon enough and the conservancy questions the effectiveness of FirstLight’s plan to keep the aquatic life from getting drawn into the intake of the Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station.
The agreement — announced Friday by FirstLight Power which owns the Cabot Generating Station and Turners Falls Station, both in Montague, and the Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station — has First Light promising to spend $152 million over 50 years on fish passage improvements.
Under the deal – which is still not complete – visitors to the Connecticut River in Franklin County will see more fish upstream of the Turners Falls Dam, more opportunities for whitewater boating and more water going over the dam versus being directed to the turbines, FirstLight said in a written statement.
Projects specifically for the benefit of fish and wildlife include:
- A new fish lift at the Turners Falls Dam allowing migratory fish to follow the natural route of the Connecticut River between Cabot station and the Turners Falls Dam so they can spawn upstream.
- Construction of upstream passage facilities designed specifically for American eel.
- Installation of a seasonal barrier net so that juvenile American shad and adult silver phase American eel can safely pass by the Northfield Mountain Project and avoid the water intake.
- Construction of a plunge pool below the Turners Falls Dam to provide a safe landing zone for fish migrating downstream over the dam.
- Intake protection at Cabot Station and Station No. 1 and a downstream passage structure to safely move fish migrating down the Turners Falls Power Canal to the Connecticut River.
- Funding for conservation, management, and restoration activities for the state-listed cobblestone tiger beetle.
Wentling said the agreement doesn’t call for the downstream passage to be constructed for four years and the passage upstream of the dam to be done until nine years into the proposed 50-year agreement.
“That’s a long time from now,” she said. “For a company that knew they were going to have to install these things.”
And the conservancy wants more thorough testing of the barrier at the Northfield Mountain intake.
“We’d like a better understanding of alternatives to the barrier net,” she said.
She also criticized the relatively small amount of $1.3 million over 50 years in mitigation fund money for things like laboratory work and trap-and-truck efforts that get migrating fish around barriers.
With the agreement submitted to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission., Wentling said that agency will review it and also trigger a state water quality review.
FirstLight’s 62-megawatt Cabot station in Montague opened in 1915. The 6-megawatt Turners Falls station opened in 1905, both running off Connecticut River Water drawn into the power canal.
Northfield Mountain pumped storage — opened in 1972 — acts like a giant battery. It uses electricity at times when it’s cheap to pump water to the top of the mountain. Then, when electricity demand is high and prices rise, it releases the water down the mountain to generate power.
But environmentalists have long criticized Northfield Mountain for the impact of taking out all that water and putting it back can have on the river’s ecosystem.
In February 2022, FirstLight announced an agreement in substance to protect and enhance recreational opportunities on the river, partially through allowing access to the river and to its land and partially through guaranteeing water flows for whitewater enthusiasts and anglers.
The company has yet to hammer out an agreement with the feds and others over erosion and cultural resources such as archaeological sites.
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