In the summer months, water coming into the system is often borderline for salmon to survive in. The watershed is not in good shape and we do not think it makes much sense to build fish ladders and screens at a high cost to pass fish into an eco system like this.
It's never been an area where salmon could reach.
We think the settlement process is a better way to go. You can get creative. You can take risks.
With the great societal concerns about impacts on fisheries and other wildlife, its not likely we are going to see many new hydroelectric projects developed. We're not planning any.
What we are looking for is an outcome that protects our customers and shareholders. After all, this is a project that generates a significant amount of electricity at a low cost.
Our proposal doesn't envision fish ladders and screens at our dams. However, through the settlement process we are open to a range of outcomes. As fish ladders and screens make sense, we would support their construction.
In our license application, we did not call for fish passage above our dams because water quality in the river and above our projects is very poor.
