The Department of Environmental Protection has issued a water quality certification as part of a federal relicensing process for the continued operation and maintenance of York Haven Power Company’s 19.62 megawatt hydroelectric project in York Haven, York County. (PA Bulletin page 5627)
DEP determined that the York Haven Power Project meets all applicable state regulations and water quality standards. In addition, to minimize the effects of the facility on aquatic resources, York Haven must construct a nature-like fishway at the eastern end of the main dam apex, connecting to the southwestern tip of Three Mile Island, in Londonderry Township.
The fishway will help move resident and migratory aquatic species over the dam and re-establish upstream/downstream river connectivity by removing a portion of the dam, creating a series of steps that will naturally eliminate the water elevation difference caused by the dam.
The nature-like fishway will be more than 300 feet wide and 450 feet long within the Susquehanna River. This nature-like fishway is an innovative alternative to traditional fish lifts/ladders and is the largest of its kind proposed in Pennsylvania to date.
York Haven must also provide a minimum of $25,000 per year for the continuation of its debris management program for debris removal projects within the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed and achieve certain fish passage targets for migratory fish and eels passing through the project area, and take corrective action if the fish passage targets are not achieved.
(Reprinted from August 21 edition of DEP News. Click Here to sign up to receive your own copy of DEP News and back issues.)
