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Title: A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States

Abstract

Environmental mitigation plays an important role in the environmentally sustainable development of hydropower resources. However, comprehensive data on mitigation required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at United States (US) hydropower projects is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to create a comprehensive database of mitigation required at non-federal hydropower projects and provide a synthesis of available mitigation data. Mitigation data was collated for over 300 plants licensed or relicensed from 1998 through 2013. We observed that the majority of FERC mitigation requirements deal with either hydrologic flows or recreation and that hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest had the highest number of requirements. Our data indicate opportunities exist to further explore hydropower mitigation in the areas of environmental flows, fish passage, and water quality. Lastly, connecting these data with ecological outcomes, actual flow data, and larger landscape level information will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and ultimately inform regulators, managers, and planners.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Division
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
OSTI Identifier:
1324045
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1325308
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Environmental Science and Policy
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 61; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 1462-9011
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
13 HYDRO ENERGY; environmental mitigation; FERC; hydropower; hydropower policy; environmental flows

Citation Formats

Schramm, Michael P., Bevelhimer, Mark S., and DeRolph, Chris R. A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2016.03.019.
Schramm, Michael P., Bevelhimer, Mark S., & DeRolph, Chris R. A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2016.03.019
Schramm, Michael P., Bevelhimer, Mark S., and DeRolph, Chris R. 2016. "A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2016.03.019. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1324045.
@article{osti_1324045,
title = {A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States},
author = {Schramm, Michael P. and Bevelhimer, Mark S. and DeRolph, Chris R.},
abstractNote = {Environmental mitigation plays an important role in the environmentally sustainable development of hydropower resources. However, comprehensive data on mitigation required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at United States (US) hydropower projects is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to create a comprehensive database of mitigation required at non-federal hydropower projects and provide a synthesis of available mitigation data. Mitigation data was collated for over 300 plants licensed or relicensed from 1998 through 2013. We observed that the majority of FERC mitigation requirements deal with either hydrologic flows or recreation and that hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest had the highest number of requirements. Our data indicate opportunities exist to further explore hydropower mitigation in the areas of environmental flows, fish passage, and water quality. Lastly, connecting these data with ecological outcomes, actual flow data, and larger landscape level information will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and ultimately inform regulators, managers, and planners.},
doi = {10.1016/j.envsci.2016.03.019},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1324045}, journal = {Environmental Science and Policy},
issn = {1462-9011},
number = C,
volume = 61,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Mon Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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Cited by: 24 works
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Works referenced in this record:

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Integrating Economic and Ecological Benchmarking for a Sustainable Development of Hydropower
journal, August 2016


Integrating Economic and Ecological Benchmarking for a Sustainable Development of Hydropower
text, January 2016