4.4 Fisheries and Aquatic Biology 4.4 FISHERIES AND AQUATIC BIOLOGY 4.4.1 INTRODUCTION TO FISHERIES AND AQUATIC BIOLOGY This section of the EIR identifies the fisheries and other aquatic resources that could potentially be affected by the operation of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s hydroelectric generation facilities. This section also evaluates the impacts to these resources that may occur as the result of the proposed auction of assets. Potential project affects on invertebrates and amphibians is dicussed in the Terrestrial Biology section (Section 4.5). Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s hydroelectric generating system extends over a broad geographical area that encompasses portions of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River basin and the coastal drainage of the Eel River. This vast system includes 99 reservoirs and related facilities that influence environmental conditions in hundreds of miles of natural stream channels. Of the 97 freshwater fish species recorded for California’s inland waters, 60 species (62 percent) occur in streams and reservoirs influenced by hydroelectric system operations. Table 4.4-1 summarizes the distribution of these fish species by regional bundle. Of particular interest and importance is the distribution of chinook salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing habitat in relation to Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s hydroelectric projects. All chinook salmon runs (i.e., fall, late fall, winter, spring) and steelhead runs (Central Valley ESU) are State and/or Federally listed as threatened, endangered or of special concern due to declining numbers. Figure 4.4-1 illustrates the occurrence of chinook salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing habitat in the Central Valley and the Eel River. Prior to the construction of the major dams in the Central Valley, an estimated 6,000 miles of spawning and rearing habitat was accessible to chinook salmon and steelhead. Currently, an estimated 95 percent of this habitat has been blocked by dams or other obstructions (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1998). Five Pacific Gas and Electric Company Projects have the potential to directly affect spawning and rearing habitat for these species. These projects are: Kilarc-Cow Creek, Battle Creek, DeSabla-Centerville, Narrows, and Potter Valley. The environmental effects of hydroelectric projects on aquatic resources have been studied for decades and it is not the objective of this section to review the vast literature on this topic. For evaluation purposes it is convenient to separate the environmental effects of hydro projects on aquatic resources into two categories: (1) those effects associated with reservoirs; and (2) those effects associated with streams. Reservoirs are created to store and/or divert water for use by the hydroelectric system. As artificial impoundments they differ from natural lakes in that the stored water can be readily manipulated on demand. For reservoirs, the most obvious result of water manipulation is a change in water surface elevation resulting in drawdown or filling. The timing, magnitude, frequency and duration of water level fluctuations in reservoirs are the most important factors affecting aquatic resources. Water November 2000 4.4-1 Hydrodivestiture Draft EIR 4.4 Fisheries and Aquatic Biology level changes, in turn, influence the physical environment of the reservoir, including water quality and the availability of habitat. The quality of the physical environment, in turn, influences the dynamics of all biological resources in the reservoir. As described later in this section, the EIR focuses on evaluating how reservoir fluctuations impact the living space (i.e., volume of water) during the growing season for fish in Pacific Gas and Electric Company reservoirs, and for those reservoirs supporting warmwater sportfish, how fluctuations influence reproduction and the viability of fish populations. The link between reservoirs and streams is direct and important. Reservoirs in many Pacific Gas and Electric Company hydroelectric projects have sufficient storage capacity to influence or control discharge downstream. As with reservoir water level fluctuations, the timing, magnitude, frequency and duration of releases from reservoirs to streams affects the aquatic resources of the streams by influencing physical habitat and water quality. The physical and chemical environment of a stream influences, in turn, the dynamics of biological resources. As described later in this section, the EIR focuses on evaluating how reservoir releases impact the living space (i.e., physical habitat) of aquatic resources and the water quality to which those resources are exposed in streams influenced by Pacific Gas and Electric Company project operations. During the scoping process of this EIR various issue areas were identified related to fishery and aquatic resources. Table 4.4-2 lists these issue areas and indicates if the issues are relevant to each of the 29 hydroelectric projects operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company. These issues are discussed in the Environmental Setting and/or Impact Analysis, as is appropriate for each project. 4.4.2 SYSTEM-WIDE REGULATORY CONTEXT Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s hydroelectric system stretches from the Pit River basin in Shasta County in the north to the Kern River basin in Kern County to the south, and from the crest of the Sierra Nevada in the Mokelumne River basin in Alpine County on the east to the Eel River basin in Mendocino County to the west. The aquatic resources of this vast region are managed by a variety of private (e.g., conservation organizations), local (e.g., county fish and game commissions), regional (e.g., CALFED), State (e.g., California Department of Fish and Game) and Federal (e.g., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) entities and agencies. Only a few of the government agencies, however, have regulatory authority over topics related to aquatic resources such as water quality. These agencies derive their respective mandates from an often diverse collection of statutes, legislative policies, executive branch directives, and implementation of regulations. Twenty-six of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s hydroelectric projects are regulated through Federal licenses issued by the FERC. The FERC has broad authority over almost all aspects of hydroelectric projects. There are two exceptions related to aquatic resources where the State of California has regulatory authority. The first is compliance with the water quality certification Hydrodivestiture Draft EIR 4.4-2 November 2000 4.4 Fisheries and Aquatic Biology Hydrodivestiture EIR Figure 4.4-1 Pit River Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Clear Creek Spawning and Rearing Habitat 1 McCloud River 2 Aspen 3 Environmental Group Redding Cow Creek 4 Cottonwood Creek Battle Creek Year Antelope Creek Migration Barrier Construction Owner Red Bluff 1 Shasta Dam 1944 CVP(a) Elder Creek Mill Creek 2 Keswick Dam 1950 CVP Deer Creek 3 Whiskeytown Dam 1963 CVP Thomes Creek 4 McCormick-Saetzer Dam 1903 CVP(b) 6 Stony Creek 5 Black Butte Dam 1963 CVP 6 Centerville Dam 1900 Other(c) N. Fork Feather River 7 Oroville Dam 1967 (d) 5 Big Chico Creek SWP 8 Englebright Dam 1941 Other 9 Camp Far West Dam 1963 Other M. Fork FeatherS. Fork River Feather River 10 Nimbus Dam 1955 CVP Butte Creek TO 7 11 Folsom dam 1958 CVP PACIFIC OCEAN 12 Camanche Dam 1963 Other Eel River 13 New Hogan Dam 1964 CVP Sacramento River 8 14 Goodwin Dam 1912 Other 15 LaGrange Dam 1893 Yuba River N. Fork Other 16 Crocker-Huffman Dam 1988 Other 18 17 Friant Dam 1942 CVP 18 Scott Dam 1922 PG&E Co. 9 River Bear River M. Fork Rubicon Feather River (a) Central Valley Project (b) Dam removal expected by Dec. 2000 S. Fork (c) Owner other than CVP or SWP 11 (d) State Water Project American River Sacramento 10 Source: USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). 1998. Central Valley Project improvement act tributary production enhancement report. Draft report to Congress on the feasibility, cost, and desirability Cosumnes River Mokelumne River of implementing measures pursuant to subsection TO 3406(e)(3) and (e)(6) of the Central Valley Project SAN FRANCISCO BAY 12 Improvement Act. AND PACIFIC OCEAN Calaveras River 13 Stockton 14 Stanislaus River 15 Tuolumne River San Joaquin River DELTA EXPORTS Merced River 16 Blockage to Upstream Spawning N and Rearing Habitat 17 Historical Spawning and Rearing Areas Now Unavailable No Scale Remaining Spawning Areas November 2000 Hydrodivestiture Draft EIR 4.4 Fisheries and Aquatic Biology THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK Hydrodivestiture Draft EIR 4.4-4 November 2000 4.4 Fisheries and Aquatic Biology Table 4.4-1 Distributional Checklist of the Fishes Potentially Affected By Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Hydroelectric System Native or Regional Bundle Family Name Introduced Common Name (Scientific Name) Kings Crane - Speciesa Shasta DeSabla Drum Motherlode Helms Petromyzontidae (Lamprey Family) Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) Native X X River lamprey (Lampetra ayresi) Native X Pacific brook lamprey (Lampetra pacifica) Native X Pit-Klamath brook lamprey (Lampetra Native X lethophaga) Kern Brook lamprey (Lampetra hubbsi) Native X X Acipenseridae (Sturgeon Family) White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) Green sturgeon (A. medirostris) Clupeidae (Herring Family) Threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) Introduced X American shad (Alosa sapidissima) Introduced X X Osmeridae (Smelt Family) Wakasagi (Hypomesus nipponensis) Introduced X X Salmonidae (Salmon and Trout Family) Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Native X SR, WR, Chinook