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Mahoning Creek Dam Hydropower Licensing
Northern Pennsylvania

The Mahoning Creek Dam, New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Client: Mahoning Creek Hydroeclectric Company

Hull teamed with a hydroelectric power development company to perform a comprehensive ecological assessment of a reach of Mahoning Creek in Armstrong County in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Hull’s client sought to obtain a Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC) license to install hydroelectric generating capacity at the Mahoning Creek Dam, operated by the USACE. The project area included:

• The Mahoning Creek Lake Dam impoundment;
• The tailwaters of the dam;
• Mahoning Creek and its floodplain downstream of the dam; and
• An existing power line easement, which was upgraded to carry power from the dam to the nearest electrical substation.

The project utilized the latest-generation hydroelectric turbine technology for maximum efficiency and minimal environmental and aesthetic impact.  Hull’s work at the site included:

• Assessment of fish, aquatic macroinvertebrate and mussel communities within the dam impoundment and within the tailwaters of the dam;
• Riffle sediment, particle-size distribution assessment using U.S. Forest Service methods; and
• Natural resources, rare species and wetland survey within the project footprint.

Hull accomplished the work while meeting an aggressive project schedule. Hull provided the results of these studies to FERC in a series of technical memoranda to support the licensing process.  Hull brought added-value to this project because of our experience in managing large, complex, ecological assessment and regulatory projects within tight deadlines and our ability to work in difficult, remote terrain to accomplish project goals.

To find out how Hull can help, please contact Hull's Ecology and Wetlands Practice Leader, Hugh Crowell, PWS at (614) 793-8777.