Evidence-based indicator approach to guide preliminary environmental impact assessments of hydropower development

Ryan A. McManamay, Esther S. Parish, Christopher R. DeRolph, Adam M. Witt, William L. Graf, Alicia Burtner

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17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Global expansion of hydropower resources has increased in recent years to meet growing energy demands and fill worldwide gaps in electricity supply. However, hydropower induces significant environmental impacts on river ecosystems - impacts that are addressed through environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes. The need for effective EIA processes is increasing as environmental regulations are either stressed in developing countries undertaking rapid expansion of hydropower capacity or time- and resource-intensive in developed countries. Part of the challenge in implementing EIAs lies in reaching a consensus among stakeholders regarding the most important environmental factors as the focus of impact studies. To help address this gap, we developed a weight-of-evidence approach (and toolkit) as a preliminary and coarse assessment of the most relevant impacts of hydropower on primary components of the river ecosystem, as identified using river function indicators. Through a science-based questionnaire and predictive model, users identify which environmental indicators may be impacted during hydropower development as well as those indicators that have the highest levels of uncertainty and require further investigation. Furthermore, an assessment tool visualizes inter-dependent indicator relationships, which help formulate hypotheses about causal relationships explored through environmental studies. We apply these tools to four existing hydropower projects and one hypothetical new hydropower project of varying sizes and environmental contexts. We observed consistencies between the output of our tools and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing process (inclusive of EIAs) but also important differences arising from holistic scientific evaluations (our toolkit) versus regulatory policies. The tools presented herein are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the EIA processes that engender environmental studies without loss of rigor or transparency of rationale necessary for understanding, considering, and mitigating the environmental consequences of hydropower.

Original languageEnglish
Article number110489
JournalJournal of Environmental Management
Volume265
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2020

Funding

This manuscript is dedicated to Dr. William L. Graf, University Foundation Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, who passed away December 27, 2019. Authors RAM, ESP, CRD and AMW conducted this research as employees of UT-Battelle under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and a portion of this research was funded by the DOE Water Power Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy . We wish to thank several ORNL researchers, members of the stakeholder working group, and meeting facilitators for their feedback on the development of the tools and manuscript, including: Shannon Ames, Carl Atkinson, Mark Barandy, David Bowling, Kelly Catlett, Shelaine Curd, Tom DeBoer, Jeff Duda, Vic Engel, Sean Faulds, Jim Gill, Gordon Grant, Frankie Green, John S. Gulliver, Melanie Harris, Jeanne Hilsinger, Dana Infante, Nick JayJack, Jerry Kenny, Mona Koerner, Tara Moberg, Dave Moller, Debbie Mursch, Brenda Pracheil, Mike Pulskamp, Daniel Rabon, Kelsey Rugani, Brennan Smith, Doug Spaulding, David Terry, Brett Towler, Adam Ward, Paul Ward, Anna West, Larry Weber, Chris Williams, and Dave Youlen. Besides evaluating the evidence of impacts lies the importance of examining levels of uncertainty associated with river functions (Figs. 4?5). Dorena Hydroelectric Facility and the NSD site (a new small hydropower development) both had high proportions of questions answered ?uncertain? compared to other projects (Figs. 4?5). In the case of Dorena Hydroelectric Facility, uncertainty likely arose because of the unique regulatory context of adding power to existing infrastructure. Dorena Lake Dam and reservoir were originally constructed in 1949 by the US Army Corps of Engineers primarily for flood control; however, in 2008, FERC issued granted a new license for the addition of a powerhouse and associated facilities for hydropower operation (FERC, 2008). In this case, the majority of impacts were associated with the construction of the original facility and not the addition of power-generating capabilities. Most of the uncertainty for the NSD site was associated with biota and biodiversity functions and water quality functions; however, all function categories, except Connectivity and Fragmentation, had river functions with some level of uncertainty (Figs. 4 and 7). According to the upper range of the predictive model based on 8 attributes, only three river functions had >0.5 probability of being impacted by the new development (Fig. 7). However, when we only considered only 2 attributes (mean annual flow and dam height) of the project, 18 river functions have a high probability of being impacted (Figs. 4 and 7). This manuscript is dedicated to Dr. William L. Graf, University Foundation Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, who passed away December 27, 2019. Authors RAM, ESP, CRD and AMW conducted this research as employees of UT-Battelle under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and a portion of this research was funded by the DOE Water Power Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. We wish to thank several ORNL researchers, members of the stakeholder working group, and meeting facilitators for their feedback on the development of the tools and manuscript, including: Shannon Ames, Carl Atkinson, Mark Barandy, David Bowling, Kelly Catlett, Shelaine Curd, Tom DeBoer, Jeff Duda, Vic Engel, Sean Faulds, Jim Gill, Gordon Grant, Frankie Green, John S. Gulliver, Melanie Harris, Jeanne Hilsinger, Dana Infante, Nick JayJack, Jerry Kenny, Mona Koerner, Tara Moberg, Dave Moller, Debbie Mursch, Brenda Pracheil, Mike Pulskamp, Daniel Rabon, Kelsey Rugani, Brennan Smith, Doug Spaulding, David Terry, Brett Towler, Adam Ward, Paul Ward, Anna West, Larry Weber, Chris Williams, and Dave Youlen.

FundersFunder number
UT-Battelle
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
University of South Carolina
Water Power Technologies Office
UT-BattelleDE-AC05-00OR22725

    Keywords

    • Dams
    • Eco-evidence
    • Environmental indicators
    • River
    • Streams
    • Sustainability protocol

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