Four years ago, the Edwards Dam in Augusta was removed for the primary purpose of fish passage, setting a national precedent. For the first time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied an owner’s re-licensing application and explicitly ordered a dam’s removal for environmental reasons.
The action galvanized dam removal proponents all over the country, and river restoration projects are now moving ahead in many states.
The aging timber, concrete and earthen Edwards Dam had spanned the Kennebec since 1837. Stretching 917 feet across the river, it was first built to provide mechanical power and was fitted with hydroelectric generation equipment in 1920. At the time of removal in 1999, the dam was contributing approximately one-tenth of one percent of the state’s power.
For 162 years ten species of migratory fish had been denied access to waters upstream of the dam, including Atlantic salmon, spring run alewives, short nose sturgeon, rainbow smelt and striped bass. The Kennebec became the longest stretch of spawning habitat north of New York’s Hudson River, although it is still by no means running free from the source, as an additional nine structures continue to block the river.
The relicensing denial by FERC was based on a law passed by Congress in 1986 requiring the agency to balance power generation with environmental protection when considering licenses for dams. As Pete Didisheim, Advocacy Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, predicted at the time: “This….certainly won’t be the last dam to be removed in Maine.”
More dams come down
Indeed the prediction has come true. Dams have come down on the Neuse River in North Carolina, the Pine River in Michigan and the Menominee River in Wisconsin, among many other locations. Hundreds of small and large dams have become local targets, with an estimated 75,000 dams nationally over 50 years old (the useful age of dams as defined by Association of State Dam Officials), and with 2,105 dams presenting a risk to life and property due to deterioration. The removal of the Edwards Dam proved to be an environmental success, with fish coming back within months of the action.
One of the largest recent dam actions was the Embrey Dam in Virginia, the removal of which allowed the Rappahannock River to flow unimpeded from its headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains to its mouth in the Chesapeake Bay for the first time since 1910. The aging structure had sealed off the river from several fish species that once used the Rappahannock and its tributaries to spawn. The Embrey was the largest dam to come out since the Edwards dam, and it was also the last intact dam on the river’s main stem, making the Rappahannock one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the continental United States.
Three other Maine dams have been removed since Edwards came down. The Sennebec Dam on the St. George River in Warren has been replaced with an innovative rolling dam, or set of man-made, but naturally flowing rapids. The 15 by 240-foot dam was removed in a collaborative effort to restore fish passage to the St. George River while also maintaining desirable water levels in Sennebec Pond. Smelt Hill Dam on the Presumpscot River has been the subject of restoration as well. A 1996 flood extensively damaged this hydropower dam and its fish ladder, preventing the facility from producing power or passing fish without first undergoing expensive repairs. Instead the owners decided to remove the structure, which occurred in the fall of 2002. Dam removal is expected to ecologically restore the lower portion of the Presumpscot, creating habitat for striped bass, smelt, river herring, and American eel and opening passage for other migratory fish. This is a Coastal America project, part of an overall effort in the Northeast to restore anadromous fisheries migration corridors and salt marshes. All of these projects have involved extensive local coordination and cooperation by a number of groups, including the Maine Departments of Environmental Protection and Marine Resources, the Coastal Conservation Association, Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Friends of the Presumpscot and many other local interests.
Most dam removal actions and proposals have not been universally well received. The city of Augusta was long opposed to the Edwards Dam removal, and The Edwards Manufacturing Company, the owner and operator of the facility argued that not only was the agency denying its ability to maintain a profitable business, but that it was also eroding the state’s ability to generate power from a variety of sources. “They [FERC] are not free to make public policy at our expense, and we don’t like being used as a sacrificial lamb,” said Mark Isaacson, president of Edwards. The final decision stood, against the company’s wishes. Environmental groups were unswayed by the arguments against the action. Observed Margaret Bowman of American Rivers at the time, “This has made people realize that dam removal isn’t a crazy idea, and the debate has shifted from ‘Should any dam be removed?’ to ‘Does this dam make sense?’
For more information on the State of Maine’s Dam Removal Advisory Group please go to this website.