The Offer of Settlement:
There has been great interest in the lake community concerning the conditions of the Offer of Settlement which controls the water level on the Great Sacandaga. The following article was prepared by David Smail who is Vice-President of the Great Sacandaga Lake Association (GSLA) and the Chair of the GSLA Lake Level Committee. Dave has authored many reports over the years on the lake level and works closely with the staff of the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District to answer lake community questions concerning the implementation of the Offer of Settlement.
Life on the Great Sacandaga
The Great Sacandaga Lake Question: Every year the Great Sacandaga Lake Association and other lake groups receive questions about the water level on the Great Sacandaga. This year is no exception but it has become more of an issue because of lower than normal lake levels.
In order to begin to answer this important question it is necessary to explain why a system was needed, how the water is regulated and identify the various parties or ‘beneficiaries’ who helped develop the Offer of Settlement which sets the parameters for operating the reservoir.
What is an Offer of Settlement?
Prior to building a dam on a navigable waterway in the United States, the owner must obtain a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) because of the impact on individuals and habitat upstream and downstream of the dam. Prior to issuing the license, FERC negotiates with the impacted parties to agree with the requirements of the license. When accepted, the Offer of Settlement becomes the license for the construction and the operation of the dam/hydro project.
The Lake Prior to the Offer of Settlement:
For decades, spring runoffs resulted in the flooding of communities between Glens Falls and Albany. In 1922, New York State formed a Water Control Commission to control river flow, promote hydroelectric power generation and prevent flooding on the Hudson River downstream. By the mid 1920’s several hydro projects and the cities of the cities of Albany, Rensselaer, Troy, Watervliet, and Green Island on the Hudson River agreed to pay for the construction and the operation of the dam/reservoir to be built on the Sacandaga River. The Conklingville Dam was completed in 1930 and the 42 square mile 29 mile long reservoir changed the Sacandaga Valley forever. To meet its mission the Regulating District varied the lake level 20+ feet over the year.
In the early 1980’s, several lake area groups, including the Great Sacandaga Lake Association, the Fish Federation and marina operators sought to retain higher water levels in the late summer and early fall to enhance recreation and hopefully to increase economic development. Lake residents introduced legislation that would have mandated a minimum reservoir level elevation of 762 feet between May 1st and September 30th. The District commissioned an Albany engineering firm to identify the probable effects of the proposed mandate. The 1984 Malcolm Pirnie Inc. report identified 38 municipal wastewater treatment plants, 65 private industries/institutions, nine public water treatment plants, 16 hydroelectric plants, 21 recreational facilities and 45 “sensitive habitat areas” that depend on the water from the Great Sacandaga Lake.
The report predicted that the probable effects of the proposed minimum water level would force waste treatment plants to reduce their discharge of pollutants, water quality would suffer, affecting community water supplies and aquatic life. The economic cost to the downstream water users was estimated to be a total of between $4,528,000 and $7,308,000 depending upon seasonal precipitation.
In 1985, the Regulating District agreed to an experimental measure, to keep the flow rate of water passing through the Spire Falls hydro project to 3,000 cubic feet per second during periods of low precipitation.
During the next 15 years the regulating district was able to increase the September 1st daily average lake level by approximately 1.5 feet. The negative impact of higher levels included increased erosion of the shoreline and damage to docks and stairs. Prior to 1983, the lake level never exceeded the top of the spillway. During the 15 years prior to the implantation of the Offer of Settlement the lake exceeded the top of the spillway four times.
Why is there an Offer of Settlement Agreement on the Great Sacandaga Lake?
In the late 1980’s, FERC decided to relicense many of the hydro projects in the Northeast. Several organizations fought to have the Sacandaga Lake come under FERC control, which would give them more say on the operation of the dam. The Hudson River black River Regulating District (HRBRRD) and the New York State Department of Conservation did not want to turn over the control of releases from the lake to the Hydro Project owner. They argued that the state needed to control the releases to ensure Regulating District’s mission of flood control and river augmentation is protected. A judge ruled that FERC has jurisdiction over the Conklingville Dam. As a result, the operation of the Great Sacandaga Lake became part of the Upper Hudson/Sacandaga River Offer of Settlement. Under the agreement the HRBRRD maintains the control of scheduling the releases from the lake.
What groups were involved in the negotiation Offer of Settlement Agreement?
The negotiations for the Offer of Settlement took ten years and it was signed on March 8, 2000 by 29 organizations including the following lake community organizations: The Great Sacandaga Lake Association, Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation, Great Sacandaga Lake Marinas, Fulton and Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, the Town of Hadley.
Other signatories included: The Adirondack Council, The Adirondack Park Agency, American Whitewater, Erie Boulevard Hydropower, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, The HRBRRD, Hudson River Rafting Co. Inc, National Park Service, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to name a few. A complete list of signatories can be found in the Appendix.
What were some of the issues that had to be resolved?
Many of the issues required compromise and took years to resolve. Some of the issues included:
1.
Lake Level
The lake community wanted higher lake levels during the late summer and early fall.
2.
Sufficient Hudson River Flow
The downstream communities wanted sufficient daily average flow on the Hudson River below the confluence of the Sacandaga River to ensure the quality of the river water and habitat is maintained.
3.
Aggressive Water Storage
The owners of the hydro projects wanted to limit the releases of the water from the lake to levels that would not exceed the hydraulic capacity of the project. (The downstream hydro projects are classified as “run of river” and cannot store water in the upstream pools. When river flow exceeds the hydraulic capacity of the project the water bypasses the turbines and the energy is loss.)
4.
Limit the maximum winter drawdown
The fishing community wanted to limit winter drawdown. If the lake level is lowered too low during the winter in preparation for storage of the spring runoff, fish are trapped in small pools and are killed when the lake freezes. In addition the fish loose spawning areas. If the lake level is not lowered far enough, sufficient storage volume will not be maintained to prevent flooding during the spring runoff.
5.
Hydro Project Fish Kill
The E. J. West Hydro Project has trash racks/intake grates that prevent debris from entering the turbines. The trash racks have 4 ½ inch square openings which permit adult fish to be drawn into the turbines and killed. From early 1993 and early November 1994 nets were placed downstream of the hydro project to capture the killed fish. It was estimated that during this period, 58,799 fish were killed. The lake community wanted new trash racks with smaller openings installed on each of the Hydro Projects.
6.
Canoe Portage Around Dams
The lake and river communities wanted canoe portages and access points around the hydro projects.
7.
Base Flows on the Sacandaga River, Below the Stewarts Bridge Dam
The minimum base flow was 25 cubic feet per second and groups wanted the flow to be increased to improve the aquatic habitat on the river.
8.
Whitewater Releases
The whitewater companies wanted a schedule for the times in which the sufficient flow to support whitewater activity during the summer months.
9.
Improved Access to the Stewarts Bridge Reservoir and Sacandaga River
The community and the whitewater companies wanted improved access to the Stewarts Bridge Reservoir and Sacandaga River.
10.
Financial Support for Lake and River Projects
The lake community and groups along the rivers requested the hydro project owners financially support improvement initiatives.
Results of Negotiations (Operational Curves and Tables):
During the negotiations a computer model of the river systems was developed and used to predict Great Sacandaga Lake levels based upon historical river flows and precipitation for various release schemes. The following operational curves were developed and are used to establish minimum and maximum daily releases from the lake.
1.
Lake Level
The lake community wanted higher lake levels during the late summer and early fall.
2.
Sufficient Hudson River Flow
The downstream communities wanted sufficient daily average flow on the Hudson River below the confluence of the Sacandaga River to ensure the quality of the river water and habitat is maintained.
3.
Aggressive Water Storage
The owners of the hydro projects wanted to limit the releases of the water from the lake to levels that would not exceed the hydraulic capacity of the project. (The downstream hydro projects are classified as “run of river” and cannot store water in the upstream pools. When river flow exceeds the hydraulic capacity of the project the water bypasses the turbines and the energy is loss.)
4.
Limit the maximum winter drawdown
The fishing community wanted to limit winter drawdown. If the lake level is lowered too low during the winter in preparation for storage of the spring runoff, fish are trapped in small pools and are killed when the lake freezes. In addition the fish loose spawning areas. If the lake level is not lowered far enough, sufficient storage volume will not be maintained to prevent flooding during the spring runoff.
5.
Hydro Project Fish Kill
The E. J. West Hydro Project has trash racks/intake grates that prevent debris from entering the turbines. The trash racks have 4 ½ inch square openings which permit adult fish to be drawn into the turbines and killed. From early 1993 and early November 1994 nets were placed downstream of the hydro project to capture the killed fish. It was estimated that during this period, 58,799 fish were killed. The lake community wanted new trash racks with smaller openings installed on each of the Hydro Projects.
6.
Canoe Portage Around Dams
The lake and river communities wanted canoe portages and access points around the hydro projects.
7.
Base Flows on the Sacandaga River, Below the Stewarts Bridge Dam
The minimum base flow was 25 cubic feet per second and groups wanted the flow to be increased to improve the aquatic habitat on the river.
8.
Whitewater Releases
The whitewater companies wanted a schedule for the times in which the sufficient flow to support whitewater activity during the summer months.
9.
Improved Access to the Stewarts Bridge Reservoir and Sacandaga River
The community and the whitewater companies wanted improved access to the Stewarts Bridge Reservoir and Sacandaga River.
10.
Financial Support for Lake and River Projects
The lake community and groups along the rivers requested the hydro project owners financially support improvement initiatives.
Tables
There are is set of five tables that are used to establish the minimum and maximum average daily flows on the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers. The tables are in the Appendix. These tables limits are established based upon the current lake level in comparison to the where it lies on the operating curves and the estimated daily flow of the Hudson River above the confluence of the Hudson River and Sacandaga Rivers.
1.
To maintain the lake level
near the Target Elevation, the Hudson River Black River Regulating District maximizes the release if the lake level is above the target and minimizes the release if the lake level is below the target
2.
To maintain the quality of the downstream water
the Hudson River flow below the confluence of the Sacandaga River should be above 1760 CFS
3.
To prevent the lake level from falling below
the minimum Lake level (Curve 1) during periods of draughts, when the lake level drops below 1.2 (20% between Curve 1 and Curve 2) the minimum flow is reduced to 1500 CFS.
4.
To provide more flow for power generation,
when lake levels is above 2.5 the minimum flow is increased linearly to 2000 CFS when level reaches the Target Elevation of 3.0.
The tables are also used to determine the maximum daily average flow below the confluence and the maximum daily flow on the Sacandaga River below the Stewarts Bridge Dam. To meet the requirements for Aggressive Water Storage the maximum daily flow on the Hudson River below the confluence is less than 8000 CFS up to the top of the spillway. This helps prevent the flow from exceeding the hydraulic capacity of the downstream hydro projects. It should be noted that at times of high flow on the Hudson River above the confluence the flow may exceed the capacity of the hydro projects despite the fact that water is not being released from the lake.
Results of Negotiations (Historical Comparisons of the Lake Level):
The computer model predicts that the lake level will be above 759 feet during September 83% of the time and 80% of the time in October. A comparison of the pre-settlement average daily lake level (1950 – 1999) and the post settlement levels indicate on average, the lake has been one foot above the historical average at the beginning of the boating season (end of May). By the beginning of July, the level was 1.5 feet above historical average and two feet above historical average at the beginning of August. The September 1st average level has been 2.75 feet above the historical average level. On October 12th the post settlement daily average lake level is 759.15 feet, over three feet above the historical average.
During the summer of 2018 the Sacandaga River and Upper Hudson River watersheds experienced a sever draught and a result, the Great Sacandaga Lake daily average level was near the pre-settlement daily average. As can be seen in the graph below, above average precipitation in September and October, returned the lake level to the Target Elevation on October 12th.
What is the timeframe for the conditions of the Offer of Settlement Agreement?
The fifty-year Offer of Settlement was signed on March 27, 2000. Some of the requirements were phased in.
(1) For example, during the winter, the maximum drawdown of the Great Sacandaga Lake occurs typically in late March or April but changes during the agreement. For the first ten years the drawdowns were limited to 748 feet. From 2010 to 2020, the limit is 749 feet and after 2020 the limit is 750 feet.
(2) Another example is the amount of base flow on the Sacandaga River below the Stewarts Bridge Dam. Prior to 2013 the base flow was 25 CFS. After January 1, 2013 for lake levels above 752 feet the base flow is 350 CFS. Below 752 feet, the base flow is reduced to 300 CFS or the inflow to the lake whichever is lower.
(3) The project owners were also given a time frame when certain improvements such as installing trash racks with smaller openings, construction of canoe portage and public access had to be completed.
What does it Cost to Operate the Lake and Who Provides the Financial Support?
The Hudson River Black River Regulating District operates on a three year budget. This year’s budget for the Sacandaga Area of the Regulating District is approximately $5.2M. The district receives the following funding:
| E. J. West Hydro Project | $1.3M |
|---|---|
| Section 10F revenue from Downstream Hydro Projects | $0.5M |
| Flood Protection from 5 Downstream Counties | $3.0M |
| Permit System | $0.4M |
How do the Whitewater Companies Benefit?
The Offer of Settlement establishes a schedule for releases of 4000 CFS during whitewater season with the core hours from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, which enables the companies to schedule trips. From June 23rd to Sept. 8th daily releases of eight hours are made when the lake level is above 2.35 on the Operational Curves. The number of hours of release are reduced for lower lake levels. Weekend releases are made June 1st – June 22nd and Sept. 9th – Sept. 23rd.
The River Management Program, which supports the commercial whitewater activities received financial support to improve a South Side Put-in a North Side Take-out and parking facilities. The North Side Put-in area was improved for non-commercial use. The hydro project owner also provided a one-time disbursement of $25,000 in funds that were used to enhance the whitewater activity on the river.
How do the Lake/River Communities Continue to Benefit from the Offer of Settlement?
Other than the obvious benefit of improved Great Sacandaga Lake level control and augmentation of the Hudson River flow, the lake community continues to benefit by the establishment of:
How do the Lake/River Communities Continue to Benefit from the Offer of Settlement?
Other than the obvious benefit of improved Great Sacandaga Lake level control and augmentation of the Hudson River flow, the lake community continues to benefit by the establishment of:
Great Sacandaga Lake Enhancement Fund
$30,000/year is provided improve the ecosystem restoration or protection, fish stocking, natural resource stewardship and new recreation resources upstream of the Conklingville Dam.
Sacandaga/Hudson River Enhancement Fund
$10,000/year is provided for improvement project downstream of the Conklingville Dam to the Feeder Dam.
Fisheries Enhancement Fund
$5,000/year is provided for stream habitat and handicapped fishing access that can be used throughout New York State.
Conclusion:
The Offer of Settlement establishes technical requirements for the operation of the hydro projects on the Hudson and Sacandaga Rivers that maintains the flows on the rivers that to ensure the quality of the river water and aquatic habitat is maintained while scheduling daily releases from the Great Sacandaga Lake that establish sufficient storage in the spring to prevent downstream flooding. The technical requirements have increased the lake levels in the late summer and fall to improve the recreational activities on the lake; however, during periods of draught, lake levels may drop several feet below expected levels.
The hydro project owners also were required to improve access to the rivers and reservoirs, establish schedule for whitewater activity, install trash racks with smaller openings to protect the fish, and provide funding for future improvements.
The final agreement was the result of many years of negotiation between lake community representatives and other interested parties. It included a detailed analysis of lake water level data accumulated over the life of the reservoir. It implemented an action plan which focused on the management of a 42 square mile 29 mile long reservoir which relies on the waters which nature provides in the Adirondack Mountains. It is charged with maintaining a water level for lake community residents’ recreational needs while supplying water discharges that maintains the quality of the downstream water and habitat, at the same time satisfy the needs of the hydro power producers and maintains sufficient volume in the lake to restrain flood waters from downriver communities.
The agreement provides a measured approach to water management but also walks the line of satisfying some of the needs of each of the 29 Offer of Settlement signatories! If one focuses only on the fact that no party to the agreement received everything they wanted, the Offer of Settlement was successful!
What groups were involved in the negotiation Offer of Settlement Agreement?
The negotiations for the Offer of Settlement took ten years and it was signed on March 8, 2000 by 29 organizations including the following lake community organizations:
Great Sacandaga Lake Association
Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation, Inc.
Great Sacandaga Lake Marinas
Other signatory organizations include:
Adirondack Boardsailing Club Inc.
Adirondack River Outfitters, Inc.
Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks
Erie Boulevard Hydropower
Glens Falls Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club
New York Rivers United
New York State Conservation Council
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
W.I.L.D.W.A.T.E.R.S
The significance of the above list of signatures is that if any party seeks an amendment or a new license that is materially inconsistent with the provisions of the Offer of Settlement, they must notify all parties and give them 60 days written notice. This could result in attempts to renegotiate other parts of the agreement.
