PRINTER'S NO. 3491
No. 308 Session of 1992
INTRODUCED BY COY, WAMBACH, SALOOM, McCALL, TULLI, MIHALICH,
KOSINSKI, PETRONE, CALTAGIRONE, FAIRCHILD, COLE, TRELLO,
BUSH, PHILLIPS, HARLEY, GEIST, ITKIN, STABACK, PESCI, HESS
AND BATTISTO, MAY 5, 1992
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MAY 5, 1992
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Supporting the prompt initiation of construction of fish passage
2 facilities at Holtwood Dam, Safe Harbor Dam and York Haven
3 Dam on the Susquehanna River.
4 WHEREAS, The Susquehanna River historically supported massive
5 runs of migratory fish such as shad, river herring, striped
6 bass, hickory shad and American eel, with some species moving as
7 far upstream as Binghamton, New York; and
8 WHEREAS, These species utilized nearly 350 miles of the
9 Susquehanna River main stem, as well as major tributaries, as
10 spawning and nursery grounds; and
11 WHEREAS, These species supported extensive fisheries in the
12 states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York; and
13 WHEREAS, By 1928, the construction of dams on the Susquehanna
14 had eliminated access by migratory fish species to all except
15 the nine most downstream miles of the river; and
16 WHEREAS, The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Federal and
17 state agencies (herein referred to as resource agencies) and
1 citizens groups have negotiated with the licensees of the
2 Conowingo, Holtwood, Safe Harbor and York Haven projects as a
3 result of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing
4 in an effort to resolve all issues related to the restoration of
5 anadromous fish to the Susquehanna; and
6 WHEREAS, Settlement was reached with Pennsylvania Power and
7 Light Company, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Safe Harbor
8 Water Power Corporation, York Haven Power Company and General
9 Public Utilities on December 1, 1984, to fund an ongoing ten-
10 year $3.7 million program for the restoration of anadromous fish
11 runs and to provide for other technical issues which contribute
12 to the population resurgence underway; and
13 WHEREAS, In a separate settlement agreement, the Philadelphia
14 Electric Company honored its commitment to stewardship of the
15 river by investing over $12 million in the construction of the
16 first phase of permanent, full-scale fish passage facilities
17 which began operating at Conowingo Dam in 1991 with the capacity
18 to pass 750,000 American shad and five million river herring per
19 year over Conowingo Dam and with an ultimate passage capability
20 of three million shad and 20 million river herring per year; and
21 WHEREAS, Based upon the December 1, 1984, "Susquehanna River
22 Settlement Agreement," achievement of fish passage imposes a
23 commitment on the operators of the dams upstream of Conowingo to
24 promptly negotiate in good faith to resolve all issues
25 concerning the design and construction of upstream and
26 downstream fish passage facilities; and
27 WHEREAS, The absence of fish passage facilities at the three
28 dams located upstream of Conowingo prevents access to virtually
29 all spawning and nursery habitat for migratory fish; and
30 WHEREAS, American shad and river herring now taken in the new
19920H0308R3491 - 2 -
1 lift must be sorted from other species, placed in trucks and
2 transported to spawning areas by the upstream dam operators at
3 an annual cost of over $600,000; and
4 WHEREAS, There are logistical limits to trucking which may
5 interfere with stock rebuilding by limiting the number of
6 spawning fish migrating upstream beyond the Conowingo Dam; and
7 WHEREAS, Continued rapid restoration of the Susquehanna
8 stocks of American shad and river herring requires that all
9 fish, including nontarget species, returning to Conowingo Dam
10 have access to their historical spawning and nursery areas; and
11 WHEREAS, The operators of Holtwood Dam, Safe Harbor Dam and
12 York Haven Dam have begun the planning and design phases but
13 have not yet initiated construction of fish passage facilities
14 at their respective hydroelectric projects; and
15 WHEREAS, The sequential construction of fish passage
16 facilities at these dams on an individual basis will
17 unnecessarily delay efforts to restore migratory fish to the
18 entirety of their historical spawning grounds; therefore be it
19 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
20 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge Baltimore Gas and
21 Electric Company, Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation, York
22 Haven Power Company, the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company
23 and General Public Utilities to:
24 (1) move as expeditiously as possible toward
25 construction of fish passage facilities at their respective
26 dams;
27 (2) conduct necessary engineering and scientific studies
28 to allow for completion of passage facility construction in
29 time to accommodate the Spring 1995 run of migratory fish;
30 and
19920H0308R3491 - 3 -
1 (3) unless engineering and scientific studies indicate
2 otherwise, or prevent timely construction, coordinate
3 activities so that fish passage facilities are constructed
4 concurrently at all three dams;
5 and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
7 Pennsylvania join with the resource agencies, citizens groups
8 and upstream dam operators who have been party to the
9 negotiations and are committed to working with such groups and
10 agencies toward the common goal of providing fish passage
11 throughout the Susquehanna River.
D14L82WMB/19920H0308R3491 - 4 -