ELLSWORTH, Maine — During a hot summer day, Brett Ciccotelli spent a few moments near the dam on the Union River in Ellsworth. While speaking with NEWS CENTER Maine, Ciccotelli picked up something he noticed hundreds of last week: a dead baby alewife.
“This dam does not have a lot of good options for fish migrating through it," he said.
For years, Ciccotelli and his organization, the Downeast Salmon Federation (DSF), have called for changes regarding fish passage at this dam. Brookfield Renewable Partners owns the dam, as well as others on multiple rivers in Maine.
“Brookfield Renewables sorts of prides itself on being this environmentally sustainable company and sort of markets themselves this way and we just don’t see that in Ellsworth," Ciccotelli, the Restoration and Engagement Coordinator for DSF, said.
Ciccotelli added that the dam on the Union River was built in 1907 before anyone considered the life history of these fishes as we do now. During rain events from June through November, Ciccotelli said alewives migrate downriver where he said they struggle to make it past the dam.
Brookfield Renewable purchased the Ellsworth facility in 2014. A spokesperson for the energy company told NEWS CENTER Maine in a statement that fish passage measures have been in effect since 2015.
"Some examples of the fish mortality mitigation measures that go into effect during migration periods include daily fish passage inspections by fish technicians or fish biologists, shoreline surveys, prioritization of units, and a voluntary shutdown of the generating units," the spokesperson said.
Fish passage technicians for the facility saw 100 juvenile river herring mortalities during a routine shoreline survey, according to Brookfield's statement.
Ciccotelli said during times of the migration season the bottom of the river is "carpeted with dead fish" which include alewives, river herring, American eel, and other species.
To help ensure better fish passage, Ciccotelli hopes Brookfield adds a state-of-the-art fish ladder or fish lift on the dam. He added the company told DSF it won't plan on changing any operations until they see at least ten dead fish a minute which is about 14,000 dead fish a day.
Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher sent a statement to NEWS CENTER Mane regarding the recent findings from the Union River, saying, “Fish kills at the dam on the Union River in Ellsworth are becoming annual events and are very problematic."
"We will continue to monitor the situation," the statement said in part.
The dam is also up for relicensing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
"DMR has made recommendations to FERC for long-term improvements in downstream and upstream fish passage at both Ellsworth and the Graham Lake dams as part of their current relicensing process. Ending these fish kills can’t happen soon enough," Keliher said.
Brookfield's statement echoed a similar message and added the company "continues to identify measures to further improve fish passage at the Ellsworth facility and, under the FERC relicensing process, supports the development of a robust fish passage system."
Brookfield also owns the two dams on the Kennebec River that were slated to be removed if an amendment to the DMR's Kennebec River Management Plan was adopted. That proposal was torn out as the DMR reworks the plan.
A spokesperson for the DMR added it is in the process of developing a fishery management plan for the Kennebec and plans to hold conversations with stakeholders to inform the development of the plan.