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Aug 7, 2009 -
Alden (Alden Research Laboratory, Inc.) hosted the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.’s (EPRI’s) summer Water and Ecosystems Advisory Council Meeting on June 17 th and 18th. During the meeting, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff participated in technical presentations on EPRI project progress and toured the Alden campus.
EPRI selected Alden as the meeting site to allow EPRI staff and representatives of member companies to observe testing related to reducing environmental impacts at cooling water intake structures (CWIS). EPRI also invited EPA staff responsible for revising rules for implementing Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act, which requires that the location, design, construction, and capacity of CWIS reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. EPA suspended this rule in 2007 following a court decision and is working on revisions.
Since the mid-1970s, EPRI has initiated several research projects related to fish protection technologies to provide data to its membership and regulatory agencies. Alden has conducted many of these studies, including current cutting-edge research on traveling water screens aimed at preventing fish, fish eggs, and larvae from becoming entrained into cooling water systems.
The screens, resembling a series of wire mesh baskets, rotate automatically, scoop out living organisms, and return them to the water body. This technology has been used since the 1970’s, but has been refined more recently to preserve much smaller organisms. Alden is testing three different traveling screen designs, developing data for power plants and industrial facilities to evaluate options and make informed decisions.
Conditions in the field vary widely by location and by time of year, making it difficult to measure fish mortality and evaluate how well screen systems are performing. Alden’s research will make those tasks easier and more reliable, aiding §316 (b) decisions.
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