Massachusetts Water Resource Authority’s (MWRA) Deer Island generates hydro power at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. The project is a conduit facility and received a conduit exemption from FERC. The hydroelectric facility was also part of a thorough environmental review by state and federal agencies as part of the Deer Island Water Treatment Plant. The Deer Island Treatment Plant discharges, including all discharges through the hydropower plant, received both an EPA NPDES permit and MA Division of Water Pollution Control Water Quality Certification.
Ice House Partners’ 280kW Ice House project is located on the Nashua River in Ayer, Massachusetts. The dam at this site has been in use since the 1790’s, and was used as a reference marker in laying out the towns. The location was probably chosen due to availability of a rock out crop in the riverbed, allowing a solid anchorage for a dam.
Ice House Partners operates the project in a run-of-river mode, and maintainsa 1 million gallon per day flow in the bypassed reach year-round via a notch cut in the flashboards.
The LIHI governing board unanimously voted to certify both projects at its annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, at the end of October. To be certified as low impact, projects have to meet LIHI’s eight environmentally rigorous low impact criteria addressing river flows, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed health, endangered species protection, cultural resources, recreation use and access. The project successfully completed LIHI’s application process, which includes a public comment period, review by an independent technical consultant, consultations with state and federal natural resource agencies, and evaluation by the LIHI Governing Board, which includes leaders in the river conservation and renewable energy fields.
