Power plants kill fish in staggering numbers. Every year, they withdraw more than 1.2 trillion gallons from the Hudson River alone. That’s 5 billion gallons of biologically rich tidal River water per day during times of peak use! Power plants kill most of the aquatic life when withdrawing this massive volume, many billions of organisms each year, including a sizable portion of the Hudson's newly spawned fish populations. The massive water withdrawals and resulting fish mortality have been one of the Hudson River’s most contentious and important battles for almost 30 years.

Hyperspectral image showing thermal plumes from Indian Point and Lovett (Geophysical & Environmental Research Corp,1988

Entrainment takes place when small organisms, such as eggs and larvae, are sucked into the cooling system along with the massive withdraw of cooling waters from the River. The turbidity of the violent uptake of water, along with the application of biocides inside the plant, results in an almost 100% mortality rate. For example, in most years the plants cumulatively entrain more than 40% of young stripped bass, perhaps the River’s most prominent recreational species. Impingement occurs when larger fish are trapped against the screens that filter large debris from the intake structures during cooling water withdraw. Many fish are unable to free themselves from this deadly current while others are simply too fragile to survive the onslaught of water. Another cause of fish kills and ecological destruction from power plants is Heat Shock. After using river water to cool the generators, power plants discharge great amounts of super-heated water back into the Hudson River. This dramatic change in water temperature has negative impacts not only on aquatic organisms but also the ecology of the river itself. For example, just a few miles below Indian Point lies Haverstraw Bay, one of the most important habitats in the entire Hudson River. The thermal plume from this super-heated discharge could very likely have a devastating effect the critical spawning grounds located in Haverstraw Bay.

The truth is this ecological damage to the Hudson River is unnecessary. The power plants use "once-through" cooling, the most wasteful and destructive system. By contrast, common "closed-cycle" technology used on the Hudson’s new power plants, and on some older facilities elsewhere, could reduce water withdrawals and fish mortality by up to 97%. Abatement of these kills would help restore the estuary’s productivity. Therefore, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) failure to require the upgrade of cooling systems to closed-cycle cooling at these facilities is a scandal. The Clean Water Act (CWA), which the DEC administers under the State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) program, requires such facilities to employ “the best technology available (“BTA”) to minimize adverse environmental impact.” As well, Congress and the State Legislature mandated a 5-year SPDES permit period to ensure timely reconsideration in light of changes in technological standards and water conditions. However, DEC has allowed the Hudson River power plants’ outmoded permits, which expired over a decade ago, to continue in effect, and with minor exceptions has not reassessed the underlying technology since 1981. State scientists have for years acknowledged the need for greater fishery protection and in June 2003 released a long delayed Final Environmental Impact Statement rejecting the industry's absurd claim that the fish kills were environmentally benign. The report adopted the findings by expert consultants for DEC and environmental groups that the generators' population models were unreliable and based on flawed science.

With no other recourse after DEC rejected or ignored their petitions, Hudson River environmental advocates sued to compel the state to reconsider the SPDES permits for the Danskammer plant outside of Newburgh and for Indian Point in Buchanan, the biggest destroyer of biodiversity. Under legal pressure and court orders from Judge E. Michael Kavanaugh and Thomas W. Keegan, DEC has finally agreed to issue the four outstanding permits. As well, on June 25, 2003 the DEC accepted the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The FEIS described the potential negative environmental impacts that renewing power plant licenses would have on the aquatic ecology and biodiversity of the Hudson River. Click here to review the DEC’s 2003 FEIS full report and findings. Because of the 2003 FEIS, there is no longer any doubt that power plant fish kills are not environmentally benign, despite what some facilities still claim.

However, DEC is still failing to minimize the destruction. DEC’s most recent draft permit for Indian Point recognizes closed-cycle cooling as the proper technology - a historic breakthrough which confirms years of Riverkeeper advocacy. However, the permit does not require Entergy to begin construction at all during its five year period. Even worse, DEC has expressed an intent to relieve the plant of any retrofit requirements until it gets an extension of its nuclear operating license (set to expire in 2013 for Unit 2 and 2015 for Unit 3). Entergy would then have another five years for constructing the new cooling system. Similarly, DEC's permit for the Danskammer plant, effective as of June 1, 2006, fails to even identify closed-cycle cooling as the best technology available, wrongly finding it infeasible on the site.

It is unclear whether DEC will require the best technology available to minimize impacts as the law demands, especially given its initial insistence on fighting the court cases. In fact, the State’s legalistic arguments denying its responsibility to issue new permits and upgrade the technology would have badly damaged the CWA program in New York State had they prevailed. DEC has never ordered existing facilities to install closed-cycle cooling, and has yet to change their ways.

Hudson Valley citizens should not tolerate further gross abuse of the law or the River ecosystem. The stonewalling is indefensible, particularly since our leaders commonly tout their sensitivity to the environment in general and the Hudson River in particular. Please write the DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis to ask him to promptly fulfill his Clean Water Act mandate to issue new SPDES permits for the facilities, and ensure the best technology available to end the destruction. For more information, call Victor Tafur or Robert Goldstein at Riverkeeper at (914) 478-4501.