Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Preliminary Assessment of Fish Entrainment at Hydropower Projects (Fish Stories) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

This report deals with fish entrainment at hydropower projects. Entrainment is important to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) because we must evaluate the effects of turbine entrainment on fish populations. We must decide, with assistance from resource agencies, whether to require licensees to take protective measures to reduce entrainment. The purpose of the report is to use recent entrainment studies to identify trends that might, in some cases, reduce the need for site-specific entrainment studies. The entrainment studies reviewed also provide a basis to suggest methods of improving future studies. Costs and effectiveness of alternatives to reduce entrainment provide aquatic resource protection options. The report focuses on entrainment studies east of the Mississippi River because more studies are available for this area. Information on protective measures includes sites from the entire country. This report provides guidance to Division of Project Review staff in their review of applications for hydropower licenses. It is also valuable to resource agencies and hydropower licensees/applicants. We remind the reader that this is a preliminary summary assessment, and new information may alter the suggestions presented here.