September 28, 2011
Ben Rawson
West Dudley Hydro, LLC
509 Main Street, PO Box 199
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Subject: West Dudley Hydroelectric Project LIHI Certificate No. 76
Dear Mr. Rawson:
I am delighted to report that at their September 22, 2011 meeting the Institute’s
Governing Board determined that the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project meets the
LIHI Certification Criteria. An original LIHI certificate will be forwarded to you once
the Governing Board Chair and Secretary have executed it.
In reaching its decision to certify the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project, the Low
Impact Hydropower Institute’s Governing Board reviewed the application for
certification, as well as the Application Reviewer’s report. The Board’s vote to certify
the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project was unanimous and the Board approves
certification for the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project for five-years with the following
project specific conditions:
Condition 1. West Dudley, LLC shall develop a system for maintaining records sufficient
to demonstrate compliance with the headpond elevation and flow management
limitations set forth under the terms of the FERC exemption and the MassDEP letter of
July 8, 2011. Within three months of the date of issuance of the certification, West
Dudley, LLC shall provide LIHI with a written flow management plan that outlines the
systems in place to properly manage flows and headpond levels and to produce
compliance records. Prior to filing the plan, West Dudley, LLC shall obtain plan
approval from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and MassDEP (agencies); written
confirmation of the approvals will be filed with the plan.
Condition 2.West Dudley, LLC shall complete its Summer 2011 water quality sampling
and provide the data to MassDEP for a determination as to whether the Facility
complies with dissolved oxygen standards. The data report and Mass DEP’s
determination shall be filed with LIHI no later than December 31, 2011.
Condition 3. was modified from the Application Review as follows:
“By August 1, 2012, West Dudley, LLC shall enter into, and provide LIHI with a copy of,
an agreement reached between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and West Dudley, LLC for providing both interim
and permanent safe, timely, and effective downstream passage for American eel,
including a description of the planned passage and protection measures and the
implementation schedule for design, installation, and operations. Said permanent
facilities shall be in place and operational by August 1, 2015, and West Dudley, LLC
shall notify LIHI within two weeks of completion. In the interim, effective immediately,
West Dudley, LLC shall institute interim downstream passage which shall consist of
nightly shutdowns (dusk to dawn) during rainy nights from August 15 to November 15.
West Dudley shall keep a log during this period, showing precipitation and generation
information, and provide it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife by December 31 annually until permanent measures
are in place. This interim passage provision shall be included in the aforementioned
agreement. In the event that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife determine prior to the installation of permanent
downstream passage that the above-described interim downstream passage measure is
not providing safe, timely and effective interim passage for out-migrating eels, West
Dudley LLC shall implement other reasonable interim measures as requested by these
agencies. During the term of this certification, should a resource agency request
implementation of upstream passage at the Facility, West Dudley, LLC shall so notify
LIHI within 14 days and provide LIHI with a copy of the request and its response.”
The effective certification date for the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project is April 7, 2011
and will expire on April 7, 2016. Any Commenter may submit within 30 days of the
posting of the Certification Decision on the Institute’s Web page a letter to the
Certification Administrator requesting an appeal. An appeal request must include
specific reasons why the hydropower facility should have failed one or more criteria. If
an individual or organization did not comment on the initial Application Package, they
may not file an appeal.
During the time the Project is certified, you may market the West Dudley Hydroelectric
Project facilities as LIHI certified.
It is your responsibility to maintain compliance with the certification criteria and to
notify us of any changed conditions relevant to the certification. This could include
changes in agency recommendations, or changes in operations. You will also be asked
to fill out a short form each year to confirm compliance during the preceding year. The
Institute may also conduct occasional follow-up checks with you and/or relevant
resource agencies to ensure that the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project remains in
compliance.
I strongly recommend you review LIHI’s Certification Use Requirements (addressing
the language to be used for describing a LIHI Certified Facility for marketing purposes),
our Compliance standards and the penalties for non-compliance, as well as current
information about renewing your certification. That information, as you know, is
available at the LIHI website (www.lowimpacthydro.org ). If you have any questions
about any of those materials please call.
If the Institute identifies a problem with the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project’s
compliance with the certification criteria, it will evaluate the situation and take any
necessary actions. In the case of non-compliance, possible responses include the
suspension or revocation of the certification. Factors to be considered would include the
scope, duration, and intensity of any non-compliance, its effects on the environment,
whether the violation was intentional or not, and whether or not there was a valid
reason (e.g., public safety) for the non-compliance.
All certificate holders are invoiced an Annual Fee on the first anniversary of their
certification date. The Annual Fee will be 15% of the original Application Processing Fee
and the Annual Fee invoicing will be coordinated with the Annual Compliance mailing
sent to all certificate holders on their first and subsequent anniversaries.
Thank you for your interest in the LIHI Certification Program, and congratulations on
securing LIHI Certification for the West Dudley Hydroelectric Project.
Contact me if you have any questions, or if I can be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Fred Ayer,
Executive Director
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