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RALEIGH, N.C. (June 18) – Today a mere trickle, tomorrow a flowing river. As part of a historic land-and-water protection agreement, the nine-mile section of the Cheoah River bypass located in Graham County soon will flow with renewed vigor and, in the process, restore a diverse fishery that once teemed with smallmouth bass and numerous other species. The agreement, signed in April by Alcoa Power Generating, Inc., the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and other federal, state and local entities, will restore the bypass reach’s water flow from the current trickle to a comparatively gushing flow of 50 to 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) beginning in September 2005. Each year, there also will be about 20 days of 1,000 cfs high-flow releases. The river was dammed by Alcoa subsidiary Tapoco more than 70 years ago, creating the Santeetlah Reservoir and providing electricity for an aluminum plant in Blount County, Tennessee. In addition to increasing water flow in the Cheoah River bypass, the agreement will stabilize Santeetlah’s water levels every spring, which will help fish in the reservoir spawn more successfully. Improved water flows to the Cheoah River, a tributary to the Little Tennessee River, will re-create suitable habitat for all types of aquatic wildlife, including the Tennessee shiner, river redhorse, tangerine darter and Appalachian elktoe, a federally protected mussel, according to Chris Goudreau, hydropower relicensing coordinator for the Wildlife Commission. “Augmented water flows are important to trigger fish spawning, increase aquatic insect production, move sediment and maintain stream-channel form — all factors in helping the river’s diverse aquatic wildlife recover to pre-impoundment levels,” Goudreau said. “The new flow regime will also pave the way for the return of other imperiled aquatic species, such as spotfin chub, sicklefin redhorse, wounded darter and Junaluska salamander.” Re-establishment of some of these species may require moving individuals into the Cheoah River from other streams, a project that will be funded by Alcoa. The agreement also benefits North Carolinians directly through the construction and improvement of existing fishing and boating access areas and other recreational facilities. Alcoa will pay $60,000 annually towards operation and maintenance of these recreational areas. The settlement agreement was forged between Alcoa and a contingent of national and local environmental groups and state agencies from Tennessee and North Carolina, including the Wildlife Commission, N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service. The agreement, the result of a six-year licensing and negotiation process, resolved relicensing issues and defined future operations and mitigation measures for Alcoa’s Tapoco project and its four hydroelectric dam facilities located in North Carolina and Tennessee. Under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules, Alcoa had to address fish and wildlife interests before renewing its license to continue operating the dams. |
