Western NC Conservancy May Acquire Oconaluftee Dam
The hydroelectric dam suffered an inadvertent sediment spill Oct. 3, 2021, that blanketed the riverbed from the dam to the confluence with the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City.
An Aug. 9 letter from the N.C. Division of Water Resources stated that dam owner Northbrook Carolina Hydro II, LLC, had provided regular reports on the cleanup, removed sediments from the river and returned sediment levels “to those typical of streams found in the area.”
Mainspring is part of a coalition that formed after the sediment spill. Members include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Swain County, NC, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), Mainspring Conservation Trust, American Rivers and Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Northbrook Power Management president Chuck Ahlrichs wrote in a June 10, 2022, email.
Mainspring’s mission is to conserve the waters, forests, farms in the Upper Little Tennessee and Hiwassee river valleys.
The 97-year-old dam, also known as the Bryson Hydroelectric Project, is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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