Oroville, CA -- Salmon and steelhead of the Feather River, along with the many people who fish and boat there, will benefit from an agreement covering operations of the Oroville hydroelectric project, to be signed today in Oroville. American Rivers praised settlement parties for reaching this agreement, which forms the basis of a new 50-year operating license for the project.

Coalition members Idaho Rivers United and American Whitewater helped make a settlement promise become a reality: dam removal on the overregulated Bear River in Idaho.

Wednesday, March 23 2:00 pm ET

Utility Supports Decommissioning of Hydroelectric Project in Shasta County

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 23 /PRNewswire/-- Pacific Gas and Electric Company, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, National Park Service, California State Water Resources Control Board, NOAA Fisheries, Trout Unlimited and Friends of the River today announced a historic agreement which could lead to the decommissioning of PG& E's Kilarc-Cow Creek hydroelectric project.

The Bear River project, a series of four dams, was consolidated under a single license in 2003 after a comprehensive settlement involving a broad group of stakeholders, including members American Whitewater, Trout Unlimited, and Idaho Rivers United. Now in license and settlement implementation, a stakeholder consensus was reached to remove one of the older developments, Cove Dam.

Tennessee's only licensed hydropower project was granted another license today. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a new license for ALCOA's Tapoco project on the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina and Tennessee.

A comprehensive settlement has been reached (hurrah!) on the Lewis River projects in Washington. The settlement will allow for improved and restored flows, and sets fish passage triggers that may open up as much as 174 miles of new habitat.

Read PacifiCorp's press release, or read on for the lead conservation group's statement on the settlement. Other signing organizations include Trout Unlimited and Native Fish Society.

A 2004 historic settlement agreement will allow fish to pass three enormous dams on the mainstem Deschutes for the first time in decades.

Co-signed by joint owners Portland General Electric and Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and 20 other agencies and organizations, the settlement agreement restores flow, water quality and fish habitat through the project area.

Signatories included HRC members American Rivers, WaterWatch of Oregon, Oregon Trout, and Trout Unlimited.

FERC's recent issuance of an order regarding the Ft. Halifax dam signaled at least a temporary end to a standing controversy over the Commission's responsibilities and obligations with respect to settlement agreements. On January 22, 2004, FERC issued its final order for the Ft. Halifax Project on the Sebasticook River upholding its original 1998 settlement that required dam removal in the absence of construction of a fish lift.

On October 6, 2003, PPL Corporation, conservation groups, the Penobscot Indian Nation, the State of Maine, and the U.S. Department of Interior announced an agreement aimed at restoring sea-run fish to the Penobscot River, while giving PPL Corporation the opportunity to maintain more than 90% of its current hydropower generation.

Dubbed the Penobscot River Restoration Project, the deal will significantly improve access to over 500 miles of river habitat, allowing for the recovery of native species of sea-run fish. The Penobscot is Maine's largest river, draining 8,570 square miles, about one-third of the state.

The Ft. Halifax Dam has been parked on Sebasticook River, a tributary of the Kennebec River, since 1907. In 1998, after many years of contentious relicensing proceedings, a group of hydropower dam owners known as the KHDG, or Kennebec Hydro Developers Group, a group of conservation organizations called the Kennebec Coalition, and federal and state resource agencies reached a landmark settlement agreement.