The Eugene Water and Electric Board has approved an additional $3.3 million for fish passages at the Carmen-Smith Hydro Electric project along the McKenzie River about 70 miles east of Eugene.
The additional funds–an amendment to the utility’s contract with an engineering company–bring the total design and planning costs for the fish passage, and some other nearby fish-related projects, to $18.3 million.
For over a decade, the public utility has been required to build a fish passage to comply with licensing requirements. This project is a trap and haul design – which is when fish are trapped and then driven around the dam in a vehicle…