Lewis River Water Quality Management Plan, July
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Lewis River Hydroelectric Projects FERC Project Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 Water Quality Management Plan Prepared by July 2013 Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 & 2213) Water Quality Management Plan ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 6 1.1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 6 1.1.1 Project Area ...................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Discussion of Applicable Water Quality Standards ............................................. 7 1.1.3 Water Temperature ............................................................................... 7 1.1.4 Total Dissolved Gas .............................................................................. 9 1.1.5 Turbine Related TDG ............................................................................ 9 1.1.6 Spill Related TDG ................................................................................ 9 1.1.7 Dissolved Oxygen ............................................................................... 11 1.1.8 pH ................................................................................................ 11 1.1.9 Turbidity ......................................................................................... 12 1.1.10 Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures ............................................... 12 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS AND OPERATIONS SUMMARY ................................... 14 2.1 Merwin Project Description and Operations Summary ................................. 14 2.2 Yale Project Description and Operations Summary ..................................... 15 2.3 Swift No. 1 and No. 2 Projects ................................................................ 16 2.3.1 Swift No. 1 Project Description and Operational Summary ................................... 16 2.3.2 Swift No. 2 Project Description and Operational Summary ................................... 18 2.4 Fish Hatcheries ..................................................................................... 18 3.0 WATER QUALITY ATTAINMENT, MONITORING AND REPORTING ........................... 19 3.1 Water Quality Attainment Plans .............................................................. 19 3.2 Stream Flow Monitoring ......................................................................... 22 3.2.1 Merwin Minimum Flows ........................................................................ 22 3.2.2 Swift Bypass Minimum Flows ................................................................... 22 3.2.3 Upper Release Point ............................................................................ 22 3.2.4 Canal Drain Release Point ..................................................................... 23 3.3 Adaptive Management Based on Monitoring Results ................................... 24 3.4 Monitoring and Reporting ....................................................................... 25 4.0 REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 26 2 Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 & 2213) Water Quality Management Plan ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Figures Figure 1.1-1. Lewis River Hydroelectric Project Map Tables Table 2.3-1. Minimum Flow Schedule for the Swift Bypass Reach Table 3.1-1. Summary of Implementation and Monitoring Requirements of each project Section 401 Water Quality Certification Table 3.1.2. Results of monitoring the Yale tailrace TDG - 2010 through 2012 Table 3.1.3. Results of monitoring the Swift No. 1 tailrace TDG - 2010 through 2012 Table 3.2.1. Summary of flow requirements for Merwin Dam and the Swift Bypass Reach Attachments Attachment A ...... LR Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Water Quality Attainment Plan Attachment B ............................... Lake Merwin Canyon Water Quality Attainment Plan Attachment C ......................... Yale and Swift No. 1 Turbine TDG Corrective Action Plan Attachment D .................................. Merwin Spill Related TDG Quality Attainment Plan Attachment E .......... Spill Related Total Dissolved Gas Quality Assurance Protection Plan Attachment F ............................................. Lewis River Water Quality Protection Plan Attachment G ……………………………………………………Lewis River In-Water Work Protection Plan Attachment H ………………………………………………Lewis River SPCC Plans (CD sleeve attached) 3 Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 & 2213) Water Quality Management Plan ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Abbreviations and Acronyms ACC Lewis River Aquatic Coordination Committee ADA Americans with Disabilities Act ALP Alternative Licensing Procedure AST Above-ground Storage Tank BMP Best Management Practice CAP Corrective Action Plan CWA Clean Water Act DO Dissolved Oxygen EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission HCC Hydro Control Center HPA Hydraulic Project Approval JARPA Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Applications MHWM Mean High Water Mark NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NOI Notice of Intent NOT Notice of Termination NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NRCS Natural Resource Conservation Service OHWL Ordinary High Water Line PUD Public Utility District QA/QC Quality Assurance/Quality Control RMAP Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan 4 Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 & 2213) Water Quality Management Plan ________________________________________________________________________________________________ SPCC Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures SOP Standard Operating Procedures SWPPP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan TDG Total Dissolved Gas TDGWQAP Total Dissolved Gas Water Quality Attainment Plan TP Total Phosphorous TWQAP Temperature Water Quality Attainment Plan USCOE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USFS U.S. Forest Service USGS U.S. Geological Survey WAC Washington Administrative Code WDFW Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife WDOE Washington Department of Ecology (aka Ecology) WQAP Water Quality Attainment Plan WQMP Water Quality Management Plan WQPP Water Quality Protection Plan 5 Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 & 2213) Water Quality Management Plan ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.0 INTRODUCTION PacifiCorp Energy owns and operates the Merwin, Yale, and Swift No. 1 Hydroelectric Projects (Projects) on the Lewis River in Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania counties, Washington. As part of Project relicensing activities, PacifiCorp Energy applied for and received water quality certifications pursuant to Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act and 173-201A of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). The water quality certifications require a water quality management plan that collects the specific water quality monitoring and other plans required by the certifications. See Ecology Order No. 3678 (Merwin Certification) § 4.1(20); Ecology Order No. 3679 (Swift No. 1 Certification) § 4.1(19). This Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) fulfills that requirement. 1.1 BACKGROUND The Projects, owned and operated by PacifiCorp under licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), include: Merwin Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 935 Yale Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2071 Swift No.1 Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2111 The Swift No. 2 Project is owned by Cowlitz PUD and operated under contract by PacifiCorp Energy at Cowlitz PUD’s direction. The project is located between the Swift No. 1 and Yale Projects. Cowlitz PUD holds a separate FERC license for the Swift No. 2 Project (FERC No. 2213), which is subject to a separate Section 401 certification issued by Ecology (Ecology Order No. 3676). This WQMP does not address the Swift No. 2 Project or its operations, which are the responsibility of Cowlitz PUD. Ecology issued Section 401 water quality certifications for each of the PacifiCorp Projects on October 9, 2006, in conjunction with FERC’s relicensing of them. Ecology amended these certifications on December 21, 2007; January 17, 2008; October 3, 2008; and November 7, 2011. FERC issued new licenses for the Projects on June 26, 2008. The section 401 certification conditions, as amended by Ecology before the new licenses were issued, are expressly incorporated into the new FERC licenses. The November 7, 2011 amendments included revised water quality standards and other provisions of Chapter 173-201A WAC. The individual water quality plans included in this WQMP address the certifications, as amended. 1.1.1 Project Area The Project area for the Lewis River Projects is shown in Figure 1.1-1. For the purposes of implementing this plan, PacifiCorp Energy defines the management area as the head of Swift Reservoir (the Lewis River within the project influence) downstream to the confluence of the Lewis River with the Columbia River. This area includes 59 river miles of the mainstem Lewis River, of which approximately 36.5 miles are reservoirs related to the Projects. 6 Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Nos. 935, 2071, 2111 & 2213) Water Quality