Maine wildlife officials want a subsidiary of energy giant Brookfield Renewable to pay $120,000 for a series of mass fish strandings caused by malfunctions at the Ripogenus Dam near Baxter State Park.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife proposed the payments to compensate for the hundreds of landlocked salmon and brook trout that were killed when water flows from the dam were abruptly reduced in 2023, 2025 and 2026. The dam on the west branch of the Penobscot River is owned by Brookfield affiliate Great Lakes Hydro America.
“I wouldn’t characterize this as a warning, we have a responsibility to the resources so what this is attempting to do, is make this whole again,” James Bruce, deputy director of the department’s fisheries and hatcheries division, said in an interview.
The department calculated the cost of dead fish and future recreational value at $40,000 per stranding, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is responsible for approving the proposed payments. The money would go to support fisheries restoration and improvement in the region.
The department also wants Brookfield to install a river gauge to provide more data about river flows and accelerate replacement of electrical infrastructure to prevent future malfunctions.
The dam has automatic protective systems that shut down generators if there is an electrical or mechanical fault. When that happens, the dam defaults to a minimum-flow that is often much less than the amount of water that was flowing through the dam immediately before, which can expose shallow areas downstream.
A lightning strike in 2023 caused such a “trip event” but the other two strandings resulted from failing transmission line crossarms, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
In a statement, Brookfield said it has supported the concept of mitigation payments associated with flow interruptions.
“We are continuing to review MDIFW’s recent filing and the department’s other recommendations and intend to respond directly in the FERC docket,” spokesperson David Heidrich said.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.