AUGUSTA, Maine — Federal energy regulators say endangered Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec River can be protected without removing four hydroelectric dams — much to the surprise of conservationists.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reached the conclusion in a draft environmental assessment in the relicensing one of four dams owned by the Canada-based Brookfield Renewables.
According to the Associated Press, "regulators said the fish can be protected and brought back to a population of at least 2,000, even if the Shawmut Dam in Benton injures or kills as many as 4% of them." They added, "that’s a lower bar than both conservationists and Maine’s Department of Marine Resources have called for."
Conservationists say the proclamation puts the agency at odds with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
