The Nushagak Cooperative, Dillingham’s local utility provider, is looking to build a hydroelectric facility on the Nuyakuk River in Bristol Bay. The river is a tributary of the Nushagak River and part of the watershed for the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.
The cooperative says the project could eventually generate enough energy to replace 1.5 million gallons of diesel fuel delivered to the region each year.
If constructed, a facility 60 miles north of Dillingham will divert water to a channel with turbines to capture the river’s energy. Current plans put the facility at a bend in the river, removing the need for a dam according to the project’s website.
Last week, the cooperative held a meeting where researchers presented findings from initial field studies in five categories: fishing and aquatics, water resources and terrestrial, cultural and recreational and visual programs of study. The project web page says that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which granted the cooperative its preliminary permit in 2018, requires these studies for the project to proceed.
At the meeting, community members and scientists asked questions about study details, including how the facility’s turbines would affect salmon swimming upstream and which salmon species scientists planned to track to determine the impact of the facility on their journey.
The cooperative states that it will continue to take public comment as the studies progress in 2024, including through a public survey. It says that it will file survey results next December.
The Nushagak Cooperative says that comments on the project and requests for modifications to studies or the Initial Study Report Meeting Summary are due January 30, 2024.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
