Hanford Reach Fall Chinook Protection Program Sample Clauses

Hanford Reach Fall Chinook Protection Program. Chelan PUD has participated since 1988 in flow management operations for the protection of fall Chinook salmon that spawn in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. These joint operations were originally specified in the Xxxxxxx Bar Agreement, which provided protective operations from the beginning of spawning activity (late October) through incubation until the end of the emergence period (late April to early May). The Xxxxxxx Bar Agreement was scheduled to expire in 2005, concurrent with the expiration of Xxxxx XXX’s License for the Priest Rapids Project. Research in the late 1990s found that flow fluctuations in the Hanford Reach can also adversely affect survival of fall Chinook fry during the first few weeks after emergence. Due to the extensive areas of backwater channels and shallow gravel bars in the Hanford Reach, changes in river elevation associated with daily and weekly flow fluctuations can cause fish to be stranded in areas where they are exposed to mortality from dewatering, or heat stress and predation in shallow pools that become isolated from the main river channel. To address these issues, Chelan PUD has voluntarily cooperated with Grant PUD, BPA and Xxxxxxx PUD to enable Grant PUD to operate the Priest Rapids Project to reduce flow fluctuations. These voluntary operations, initiated in 1999, included research covering alternative operating methods that resulted in development of a long-term operating plan has replaced and improved upon the Xxxxxxx Bar Agreement. The new agreement, the Hanford Reach Agreement, Appendix C, has been executed by most of the original parties to the Xxxxxxx Bar Agreement. In addition to Chelan PUD, this new agreement includes the following parties; Grant PUD, BPA, Xxxxxxx PUD, WDFW, NOAA Fisheries, and the CCT. The new agreement includes operations for the protection of fall Chinook salmon from the beginning of spawning through the early rearing period when Chinook fry are susceptible to stranding. The new agreement requires the same actions from Chelan PUD as the original Xxxxxxx Bar Agreement, but includes the additional time period that extends from April into June. This includes supporting Xxxxx PUD’s operations through the Hourly Coordination Agreement and providing up to one foot of draft from the Reservoir. Xxxxx XXX has submitted the new Hanford Reach Agreement to the FERC as part of its application to relicense the Priest Rapids Project. Under the terms of the Hanford Reach Agreement, the parties ha...