Description
This project is located on the Poultney River in Washington County,
New York, and Rutland County, Vermont.
The existing Carver Falls Project includes a 514-foot-long concrete and stone masonry dam that impounds a 10-acre reservoir. The powerhouse contains a 1.1 MW and 0.80 MW generating unit with a total installed capacity of 1.9 MW that discharges water directly into the Poultney River.
The Carver Falls Project dam is located at the top of the 80-foot-drop Carver Falls,with one abutment on the Vermont shore of the river and the other abutment on the New York side of the river. The powerhouse, several hundred feet downstream of the falls, is on the New York side of the river.
The Settlement Agreement has the following five key components:
- Walleye Spawning- Central Vermont would provide a continuous flow to the bypassed reach of 50 cfs,or inflow, if less, from April 1 through May 15 of each year to protect walleye spawning in the bypassed reach.
- Penstock Removal- To improve site aesthetics, Central Vermont would remove the site's two abandoned,above-ground penstocks and concrete cradles. The stone cradles would remain.
- Public Access- Central Vermont would provide improved parking and viewing access opportunities for the general public at the falls.
- Aesthetic Releases- Central Vermont would release a flow over the southern spillway of 2.5inches,6 or inflow, if less, for aesthetic purposes on Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day,Columbus Day, and every Sunday during the months of July and August. These flows would be released during daylight hours commencing at 9:00 a.m.
- Carver Falls Advisory Council- The Settlement would establish a Carver Falls Advisory Council, chaired by the New York DEC, to represent various interests in the project