Three hydroelectric dams in New Hampshire are due for relicensing after nearly 50 years. State residents have a chance to weigh in on those plans.
The Bellows Falls dam in Walpole, the Wilder dam in Lebanon and the Vernon dam in Hinsdale are all owned by Great River Hydro, the region’s largest conventional hydropower producer. The company, based in Massachusetts, has 13 hydro stations throughout New England.
The structures were last awarded licenses in 1979, and to renew them, they need water quality certifications from New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services. Federal licences for hydro dams are generally issued in terms of 30 to 50 years.
People have until April 11 to submit comments on the state's draft certification for those dams. Instructions for submitting comments can be found here.
The certifications are meant to protect water in New Hampshire for recreation and wildlife. They outline a series of conditions for how the dams can operate — for example, how many hours per month they can store water to generate power instead of letting it flow through or when they must help fish and eels pass upstream or downstream.
The state certifications also require dam operators to create management plans for invasive plant species, and to agree to create a water quality improvement plan in the future if state regulators determine the project is violating state standards.
Advocates with the Connecticut River Conservancy have raised concerns about the quality of the data provided by Great River Hydro and about the potential damage the projects could cause.
“CRC is not confident that the designated uses for the river will be protected, particularly in the face of increasing climate change impacts, without robust and comprehensive conditions attached or outright denial of the certification,” the group wrote in comments submitted to regulators.
