Mid-Columbia Hydroelectric Projects HCP
These habitat conservation plans, referred to collectively as the Mid-Columbia HCP, are for three hydropower projects covering more than 100 river-miles on the main stem of the mid-Columbia River. They are Douglas County Public Utility District’s Wells Hydroelectric Project, and Chelan County Public Utility District’s Rocky Reach and Rock Island dams.
The public utility districts worked cooperatively with various state and federal fisheries agencies, including NOAA Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, three Native American tribes and an environmental organization, American Rivers, to develop the first hydropower habitat conservation plans for salmon and steelhead.
The plans commit the two utilities to a 50-year program to ensure that their projects have no net impact on mid-Columbia salmon and steelhead runs. This will be accomplished through a combination of fish bypass systems, spill at the hydro projects, off-site hatchery programs and evaluations, and habitat restoration work in mid-Columbia tributary streams.
These HCPs had been in development since about 1994, and were recognized by President George W. Bush during his August 2003 visit to Washington State.
