FishPsgWaiverAppl.dot 2 Revised 10/27/08 ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUCTION (for which a Waiver is being requested) 1. TYPE OF ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUCTION: Dam New Culvert/Bridge Existing Tidegate Other (describe): 2. PLEASE PROVIDE A BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION TRIGGERING THE NEED TO ADDRESS FISH PASSAGE: The triggering action is the proposed development of a hydropower facility at the outlet of Warmsprings Dam, located on the Middle Fork Malheur River near Revierside, OR. Please see Attachmnet A for details of this proposed development. 3. PASSAGE WILL NOT BE PROVIDED FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON(S): Warmsprings Irrigation District (WID) is seeking a waiver for upstream fish passage because passage would provide little biological value. Immediately above the dam the habitat consists of a 170,000 acre-ft reservoir hosting a warm water fishery. The reservoir was privately constructed and its primary function is irrigation storage. Reclamation has obtained partial ownerhip for flood control purposes. The reservoir has no minimum conservation pool and can be drawn down to 1,700 acre-ft at the end of the irrigation season. The reservoir has little bottom structure that would provide rearing habitat or hiding cover for fish. ODFW has attempted to enhance the habitat by placement of spider block structures in 2011. The reservoir supports a recreational fishery based on stocking of fingerling rainbow trout. Fish surveys were completed by the applicant in 2012. Surveys were conducted at three 330-ft long electrofishing sites on the Middle Fork Malheur River up to 12 miles upstream from Warmsprings Reservoir, at 8 fyke net sites within Warmsprings Reservoir, and by electrofishing over a 1.0 mile reach of the Middle Fork Malheur River immediately below Warmsprings Dam. Few rainbow trout were found in the reservoir and lower Middle Fork River; they likely hatchery in origin. The only native migratory species found during these surveys were bridgelip sucker, largescale sucker and northern pikeminnow. Largescale sucker and northern pikeminnow were found in the Middle Fork Malheur River both upstream of the reservoir and downstream of the dam. Bridgelip sucker were found only upstream of the reservoir. The complete report on fishery and aquatic habitat conditions upstream and downstream from the proposed hydro project is included with this application as Appendix B. Summer flows in the Malheur River upstream from Warmsprings Reservoir are low due to numerous irrigation withdrawals in Drewsey Valley, Kimball Flat, and the upper Malhuer River above Wolf Creek. Downstream from Warmsprings Reservoir the Malheur River is completely dewatered beginning around 15-Oct, which is the end of the irrigation season. The riverbed typically remains dewatered from October through April, although the dewatered period can be longer during dry years. During this dewatered period the river channel can contain intermittent, localized water due to dam seepage, rainfall and recharge from springs especially in pool features within the channel including the large tailrace pool below the dam. Additional irrigation withdrawals occur between the dam and the Malheur River - Snake River confluence including large diversions that service Warmsprings and Vale Irrigation Districts. Brownlee Dam, which blocks fish passage on the Snake River, is located about 80 miles downstream of the confluence with the Malheur River. See Attachment C. The migratory species that would be afforded access to the area upstream of Warmsprings Dam if passage facilities were installed are largescale sucker, pikeminnow and potentially bridgelip sucker. These are the species that were found in recent surveys to be using the river above and below the dam. Redband trout, if present in the river below the dam (their presence could not be confirmed by recent surveys), would also be afforded access to the area upstream of Warmsprings Dam is passage facilities were installed. FishPsgWaiverAppl.dot 3 Revised 10/27/08 Fish passage would provide little benefit to bull trout and redband trout,the only native migratory salmonids currently found in the upper Malheur River basin, because these fish are either not present or are present in extremely low numbers in the Middle Fork Malheur River below Warmsprings Dam and in the river for at least 30 miles above Warmsprings Reservoir. Although historically present in the project reach, current conditions in the Malheur River near the project are unsuitable for these species due to warm summer water temperatures and dewatering of the stream below the dam from October to April. These conditions have been present since the onset of large-scale irrigated agriculture that began with the construction of Warmsprings Dam in 1918 - 1919. Other evidence of the unsuitability of the project reach includes: 1 - The downstream limit of the 2010 Revised Critical Habitat Designation for bull trout is located about thirteen miles above the upper limit of Warmsprings Reservoir. 2 - The downstream limit of documented occurrences of bull trout is located 29 miles above the upper limit of the reservoir. 3 - No bull trout have ever been documented in the Malheur River below Warmsprings Reservoir. 4 - No redband trout have been confirmed in the reach below Warmsprings Dam to the confluence with the South Fork Malheur River. 5 - No redband trout were sampled by ODFW during five Warmsprings Reservoir electrofishing surveys between 1986 and 2006 (see Attachment B for details). Fish passage would not benefit spring Chinook and summer steelhead, native migratory salmonids that were historically present in the Malheur River basin but have been entirely extirpated. These fish have been gone from the system at least since the construction of Brownlee Dam in 1958, located 200 miles downstream of the projet on the Snake River (see Attachment C). It is dobutful that these species have been present in the project reach of the Malheur River since construction of Warmsprings Dam in 1918 - 1919 due to unsuitable water conditions as described above. A fish passage facility at Warm Springs Dam would require a major laddering structure on both the upstream and downstream sides of the dam. Due to the extreme drawdown that often occurs at Warmsprings Reservoir during late summer the ladder facility on the upstream side of the dam would need to accomodate an 80 ft elevation difference. The ladder facility on the downstream side of the dam would need to accomodate a 90 ft elevation difference. The estimated cost to construct a conventional concrete ladder facility at Warmsprings Dam is $1.5M - $2M, a roughly 50% - 66% increase in the overall capital cost of the project. This capital cost increase would most likely make project financing impossible to obtain. The fish passage facility would also have an adverse impact on operating economics. Water to supply the ladder would need to be pumped as much as 80 ft from the lake level to the dam crest. Assuming a 5 cfs flow requirement to operate the upstream side of the ladder, a 5 cfs flow requirement to operate the downstream side of the ladder, an average lake level of 3,366 ft ASL and a power price of $0.08/kwh, the pumping cost would be about $25,000 - $30,000 a year. Water needed to operate the ladder facility would not be available for power generation and would diminish hydroelectric revenues (assuming 5 cfs ladder flow) by approximately 1.5% during an average water year and by approximately 6% during a low water year. To operate the ladder facility on a year-round basis WID would be required to release water from October to April, which would diminish storage in Warmsprings Reservoir by about 1,800 acre-ft per year and would be strongly opposed by water users from Warmsprings Irrigation District and Vale- Oregon Irrigation District. The overall cost of the fish passage facility including increased capital cost, increased operating cost, reduced project revenue and economic loss due to reduced water storage would render the project entirely non-economic. It is WID's opinion that the only entity capable of funding fish passage at Warmsprings Dam is the federal government. FishPsgWaiverAppl.dot 4 Revised 10/27/08 In summary laddering Warmsprings Dam to supply upstream passage would be cost prohibitive for this small project. At present, fish passage would provide no benefit to bull trout since there are no bull trout using the Middle Fork Malheur River below Warmpsrings Dam and no bull trout using the Middle Fork Malheur River for about 30 miles above Warmsprings Reservoir. Redband trout may be present below the dam in small numbers but the barriers presented by the periodically dewatered reach below Warmsprings Reservoir, Warmsprings Reservoir itself, and 20 - 30 miles of water quality limited Malheur River waters upstream of the reservoir would almost certainly prevent development of a stable fluvial population of redbands. WID believes that this ladder would be little used by resident trout species given the limited numbers of fish currently utilizing the stream reach below the dam and the unproductive habitat found upstream of the dam. 4. DATE THE TRIGGER ACTION IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN (a minimum of two months should be planned for the waiver process after ODFW receives your application; requests that must go before the Commission will take longer): WID submitted its Final License Application to FERC in April 2013. FERC has projected that a final Environmental Analysis and licensing decision would be completed by about October 2014. WID hopes to expedite this timeline by a few months in order to begin construction by October 2014. 5. LOCATION COUNTY: Malheur and Harney ROAD CROSSING (if applicable): none RIVER/STREAM: Malheur River TRIBUTARY OF: Snake River BASIN: Columbia a COORDINATES : Longitude: 118.2087 °W Latitude: 43.5852°N a Geographic projection using NAD_83 and formatted as decimal degrees to at least 4 places. 6.