Common use of Adult Measures Clause in Contracts

Adult Measures. The District shall emphasize adult project passage Measures in order to give high priority to adult survival in the achievement of 91% Combined Adult and Juvenile Project Survival for each Plan Species. To accomplish this, the District shall implement at least the following Tools: a. The District shall use best efforts to maintain and operate adult passage systems at the Project according to criteria developed through the Coordinating Committee and as provided in the DFOP. b. Areas within the adult fish passage systems which are identified by the Coordinating Committee as either continuously out of criteria or where significant delay occurs (as it relates the biological fitness of the adult Plan Species) shall be addressed as soon as feasible. c. The District shall use best efforts to eliminate identified sources of adult injury and mortality during adult migration through the Dam. d. By the end of Phase I, the District shall identify adult fallback rates at the Dam. This evaluation will include the magnitude of voluntary and involuntary fallback, will assess how ladder trapping, project operations, the influence of the Turtle Rock Fish Hatchery, and the Wenatchee River have upon observed rates of fallback. This assessment will also determine the biological significance of these fallback events on the overall fitness of adult Plan Species. If the observed rates of adult fallback and steelhead kelt loss are determined to make a significant difference in meeting the relevant survival standard, then the Coordinating Committee shall determine the most cost effective methods to protect adult fallbacks and steelhead kelts at the Dam, and the District shall immediately implement the agreed to Measures. Reduction in fallback rates, mortalities and protection of kelts shall be factored into juvenile bypass and adult passage development and implementation and into Project operation decisions. Before the District is asked to implement additional operation of the bypass system or other measures for kelts or fallbacks, there will need to be a high level of certainty that these Measures will make a significant difference in meeting the relevant survival standard. e. The Parties to this Agreement recognize that current technology does not allow for a precise estimate of hydroelectric project induced mortality to adult salmonids. Until adult survival studies can accurately differentiate between natural and hydro-project inducted mortality, the District shall use the best available technology to conduct, on a periodic basis, adult passage verification studies toward the diagnosis of adult loss, injury and delay at Rocky Reach Dam. Prior to the completion of adult survival studies, compensation for adult mortality shall be assumed completely fulfilled by the District’s contribution to the Tributary Fund. Following the completion of adult survival studies, should adult survival rates fall below 98% but the Combined Adult and Juvenile survival rate be maintained above 91%, additional hatchery compensation for that portion of adult losses that exceeds 2%, toward a maximum contribution of 7% hatchery funding and 2% tributary funding, would be utilized to satisfy NNI compensation requirements for each Plan Species. f. Pursuant to the 2000 Biological Opinion for the Federal Columbia River Power System (the “Bi-Op”), federal action agencies are required to conduct a comprehensive evaluation to assess adult survival at federal dams. The Bi-Op sets forth a series of evaluation methods to be employed. The Coordinating Committee should review the information and techniques utilized in those studies and evaluate their potential for accurately measuring Combined Adult and Juvenile Project Survival. The Coordinating Committee should also evaluate technologies found at the federal dams to increase adult survival for possible implementation at the Project. Based upon those evaluations, the District shall implement as necessary technologies appropriate for the Project.

Adult Measures. The District shall emphasize adult project passage Measures in order to give high priority to adult survival in the achievement of 91% Combined Adult and Juvenile Project Survival for each Plan Species. To accomplish this, the District shall implement at least the following Tools: a. The District shall use best efforts to maintain and operate adult passage systems at the Project according to criteria developed through the Coordinating Committee and as provided in the DFOP. b. Areas within the adult fish passage systems which are identified by the Coordinating Committee as either continuously out of criteria or where significant delay occurs (as it relates the biological fitness of the adult Plan Species) shall be addressed as soon as feasible. c. The District shall use best efforts to eliminate identified sources of adult injury and mortality during adult migration through the Dam. d. By the end of Phase I, the District shall identify adult fallback rates at the Dam. This evaluation will include the magnitude of voluntary and involuntary fallback, will assess how ladder trapping, project operations, the influence of the Turtle Rock Fish Hatchery, and the Wenatchee River have upon observed rates of fallback. This assessment will also determine the biological significance of these fallback events on the overall fitness of adult Plan Species. If the observed rates of adult fallback and steelhead kelt loss are determined to make a significant difference in meeting the relevant survival standard, then the Coordinating Committee shall determine the most cost effective methods to protect adult fallbacks and steelhead kelts at the Dam, and the District shall immediately implement the agreed to Measures. Reduction in fallback rates, mortalities and protection of kelts shall be factored into juvenile bypass and adult passage development and implementation and into Project operation decisions. Before the District is asked to implement additional operation of the bypass system or other measures for kelts or fallbacks, there will need to be a high level of certainty that these Measures will make a significant difference in meeting the relevant survival standard. e. The Parties to this Agreement recognize that current technology does not allow for a precise estimate of hydroelectric project induced mortality to adult salmonids. Until adult survival studies can accurately differentiate between natural and hydro-project inducted mortality, the District shall use the best available technology to conduct, on a periodic basis, adult passage verification studies toward the diagnosis of adult loss, injury and delay at Rocky Reach Rock Island Dam. Prior to the completion of adult survival studies, compensation for adult mortality shall be assumed completely fulfilled by the District’s contribution to the Tributary Fund. Following the completion of adult survival studies, should adult survival rates fall below 98% but the Combined Adult and Juvenile survival rate be maintained above 91%, additional hatchery compensation for that portion of adult losses that exceeds 2%, toward a maximum contribution of 7% hatchery funding and 2% tributary funding, would be utilized to satisfy NNI compensation requirements for each Plan Species. f. Pursuant to the 2000 Biological Opinion for the Federal Columbia River Power System (the “Bi-Op”), federal action agencies are required to conduct a comprehensive evaluation to assess adult survival at federal dams. The Bi-Op sets forth a series of evaluation methods to be employed. The Coordinating Committee should review the information and techniques utilized in those studies and evaluate their potential for accurately measuring Combined Adult and Juvenile Project Survival. The Coordinating Committee should also evaluate technologies found at the federal dams to increase adult survival for possible implementation at the Project. Based upon those evaluations, the District shall implement as necessary technologies appropriate for the Project.