Evidence-based indicator approach to guide preliminary environmental impact assessments of hydropower development

McManamay, Ryan A.; Parish, Esther; Derolph, Christopher; Witt, Adam M.; Graf, William; Burtner, Alicia

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110489

Evidence-based indicator approach to guide preliminary environmental impact assessments of hydropower development

Journal Article · Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Environmental Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110489· OSTI ID:1615202

McManamay, Ryan A. ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]; Graf, William ^[3]; Burtner, Alicia ^[4]

Baylor Univ., Waco, TX (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Global expansion of hydropower resources has increased in recent years to meet growing energy demands and fill worldwide gaps in electricity supply. However, hydropower induces significant environmental impacts on river ecosystems - impacts that are addressed through environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes. The need for effective EIA processes is increasing as environmental regulations are either stressed in developing countries undertaking rapid expansion of hydropower capacity or time- and resource-intensive in developed countries. Part of the challenge in implementing EIAs lies in reaching a consensus among stakeholders regarding the most important environmental factors as the focus of impact studies. To help address this gap, we developed a weight-of-evidence approach (and toolkit) as a preliminary and coarse assessment of the most relevant impacts of hydropower on primary components of the river ecosystem, as identified using river function indicators. Through a science-based questionnaire and predictive model, users identify which environmental indicators may be impacted during hydropower development as well as those indicators that have the highest levels of uncertainty and require further investigation. Furthermore, an assessment tool visualizes inter-dependent indicator relationships, which help formulate hypotheses about causal relationships explored through environmental studies. We apply these tools to four existing hydropower projects and one hypothetical new hydropower project of varying sizes and environmental contexts. We observed consistencies between the output of our tools and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing process (inclusive of EIAs) but also important differences arising from holistic scientific evaluations (our toolkit) versus regulatory policies. The tools presented herein are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the EIA processes that engender environmental studies without loss of rigor or transparency of rationale necessary for understanding, considering, and mitigating the environmental consequences of hydropower.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1615202

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1609027

Journal Information:: Journal of Environmental Management, Journal Name: Journal of Environmental Management Journal Issue: C Vol. 265; ISSN 0301-4797

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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