LIHI Certificate #154 – Barton Village Project, Vermont

Barton Village Project, LIHI #154
Nom du projet Barton Village
Numéro de certificat LIHI
 154
Durée du certificat LIHI
 March 29, 2019 – March 28, 2029
Propriétaire Barton Village Electric Dept
État Vermont
Emplacement River mile 11.3 on the Clyde River, Charleston VT
Capacité installée 1.4 MW
Génération annuelle moyenne 4,273 MWh
Type d'établissement Au fil de l'eau
Fédération internationale de radio-télévision (FERC) Non. P-7725 issued 2004, expires 10/31/2043

The Barton Village Project is located on the Clyde River in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The project is located in the Town of Charleston, which is approximately ten miles south of the United States-Canada border and fifteen miles northeast from Barton Village. Originally constructed in the 1890’s, the project lands include Pensioner Pond Barrage and the Great Falls of the Clyde. There are two other hydroelectric facilities on the Clyde River: the Clyde River Hydroelectric Project which consists of the West Charleston and Newport projects.

The project includes a masonry and concrete pesanteur barrage, déversoir, three conduites forcées, un centrale containing two Turbine Francis/generator units, and two canaux de fuite.

The gravity dam is a 77-foot-long, 24-foot-tall structure with a 665-foot-long, 7-foot-diameter steel conduite forcée and two 105-foot-long, 5.5 and 5.8-foot-diameter steel penstocks leading to the powerhouse containing two Francis turbine/generating units with an installed capacity of 1.4 MW. The primary water conveyance structure at the dam is the tableau flash topped spillway with a total length of approximately 53 feet. In addition, the west gate structure consists of three conveyances that allow water to pass into the bypassed reach which is a significant natural falls. Known as the Great Falls of the Clyde, the reach is a large limestone gorge with several waterfalls. The project uses an automation system which controls and records operation of the project. A series of Programmable Logic Controllers connects to a Human Machine Interface which allows for remote control, programming, and recording of key parameters.

Le projet opère dans au fil de l'eau mode and impounds a187-acre reservoir known as Pensioner Pond. The project provides a minimum flow of 45 cfs in the bypassed reach. The automation controls mentioned above assist in run-of-river adherence. This flow regime was developed in consultation with Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VANR).

Waters within the project reach are designated Class B and managed for cold water fish habitat. These waters maintain high quality habitat for aquatic biota, fish, and wildlife as well as exhibiting good aesthetic value and primary recreation. VANR confirms that the project does not have an adverse effect on water quality. Additionally, the project has measures in place to ensure high water quality including its run-of-river operations, minimum bypass flows, and water monitoring through the use of its automation controls.

Downstream dams create a barrier to upstream passage at the project. Resource agencies have not prescribed any passage des poissons facilities at the project due to the coarse nature of the substrate in the bypass reach. Downstream fish passage is facilitated via the 45-cfs bypass flow and entraînement is mitigated via trashracks with 1-inch spacing. VDEC worked with the project owner to facilitate improvements adjacent to the intake such that water is directed with adequate depth to allow for safe fish movement. Pensioner Pond and the Clyde River are home to about 50 fish species including white sucker, longnose sucker, smallmouth bass, slimy sculpin, brook trout, rainbow trout, rainbow smelt, and walleye.

The project lands consist of 14 acres. As a run-of-river facility, the project does not impact the shoreline nor its vegetation. The project area does not contain any lands of significant ecological value.

Threatened or endangered species potentially present in the project vicinity include the Canada lynx and Northern long-eared bat. While the Northern long-eared bat is not known to occur at the project, any potential impact is minimized by scheduling distribution line tree maintenance from October1-April 14 in accordance with Vermont’s Regulatory Review Guidance concerning Northern long-eared bat protection. Further review with the Vermont Nongame and Natural Heritage Database confirmed that no rare animal species are found in the project area.

The project itself is eligible for listing on the National Register for Historic Places but has not been included in the Register. Consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office must occur prior to any necessary alterations to the project.

Recreational resources at the project include a portage trail for anglers and canoeists/kayakers, a camping area, and several hiking trails. Access to the tailrace is provided via a wooden stairway. Public access is provided free of charge.

État de conformité

Le certificat comprend la condition spécifique à l'établissement suivante :

Condition partially satisfied in 2020 with submittal of data. Condition 1 : Upon completion of the current water year (Oct. 1, 2018 – Sep. 30, 2019), the Facility Owner shall provide operations data to VDEC that documents au fil de l'eau compliance. The Facility Owner shall submit the data to VDEC by December 31, 2019 and provide any response from the agency in the first annual compliance submittal to LIHI.

2024: No material changes or compliance issues were identified. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project reported no change and still no response from VDEC to data submittal.

2023: No material changes or compliance issues were identified. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project reported no change and still no response from VDEC to data submittal.

2022: No material changes or compliance issues were identified. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review. For Condition 1, the project reported no change and no response from VDEC to data submittal.

2021: For Condition 1, the project documented submittal to VDEC of operations data in 2020 with no response yet from VDEC. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review.

2020: The project reported ongoing consultation with VDEC on impoundment refill restriction management given upstream and downstream project impoundment operations. The project remains in compliance based on the annual review.

2019: Annual reporting for the current Certificate has not yet taken effect. However, the project reported a notice of alleged violation of the water quality certification by VDEC concerning impoundment refill restrictions after an emergency drawdown conducted with VDEC pre-approval. The project provided flow data as requested by VDEC which took no further regulatory action.

Historique des certifications

1er janvier 2022 : La durée du certificat LIHI a été prolongée conformément à la révision 2.05 du manuel de certification LIHI 2e édition publié le 1er janvier 2022. Reportez-vous au tableau des établissements ci-dessus pour connaître la nouvelle durée.

13 août 2019 : The decision to certify the Barton Village Hydroelectric Project is final. No appeals were received during the appeal period which closed on July 19, 2019. The new certification term for the Project is from March 29, 2019 through March 28, 2024.

June 19, 2019: The Low Impact Hydropower Institute has preliminarily approved Low Impact Certification for the Barton Village Hydroelectric Project.

Cette décision est préliminaire en attendant la période d'appel de 30 jours. Seuls ceux qui ont commenté la demande initiale pendant la période de commentaires de 60 jours sont éligibles pour déposer un appel. Un tel appel doit inclure une explication sur la raison pour laquelle le projet ne répond pas aux critères du LIHI. Les demandes d'appel peuvent être soumises par courrier électronique à commentaires@lowimpacthydro.org with “Barton Village Hydroelectric Project” in the subject line, or by mail addressed to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 329 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 6, Lexington, MA 02420. All requests will be posted to the website.  The applicant will have an opportunity to respond and any response will also be posted. Requests must be received by 5 pm Eastern time on July 19, 2019.  Le dossier complet et le rapport des évaluateurs sont disponibles ci-dessous.

If no appeal requests are received and the decision becomes final, the Certification term for the Project (pending LIHI #154) will be March 29, 2019 for a five (5) year term which will expire on March 28, 2024.

April 3, 2019: The Low Impact Hydropower Institute has received a complete application for Low Impact Certification of the Barton Village Hydroelectric Project.  LIHI is seeking public comment on this application.  Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Project meets the LIHI Low Impact Certification Criteria, as revised in the 2nd Edition Handbook.  Please review the program and criteria in LIHI’s revised Manuel et consultez ensuite les documents de candidature du projet ci-dessous.

Les commentaires directement liés à des critères spécifiques du LIHI (débits, qualité de l'eau, passage des poissons, etc.) seront les plus utiles, mais tous les commentaires seront pris en compte. Les commentaires peuvent être envoyés à l'Institut par courrier électronique à l'adresse commentaires@lowimpacthydro.org with “Barton Village Project Comments” in the subject line, or by mail addressed to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 329 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 6, Lexington, MA 02420.  Comments must be received on or before 5 pm Eastern time on June 2, 2019 à prendre en considération. Tous les commentaires seront publiés sur le site Web et le candidat aura la possibilité d'y répondre. Toute réponse sera également publiée.

Dossiers de certification

Certification 2019

Documents clés