About dam time! The emergence of dam removal in river management policy : lessons from the Elwha River restoration project
(2012) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM01 20121LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
- Abstract
- Dams
are
pervasive
features
of
the
river
systems
in
the
United
States.
More
than
80,000
large
dams,
and
as
many
as
2.5
million
small
dams,
are
spread
throughout
every
major
watershed
in
the
country.
While
this
vast
number
of
dams
has
made
a
considerable
contribution
to
development,
recognition
of
the
environmental
impacts
has
significantly
increased.
Furthermore,
over
25%
of
the
nation's
dams
are
now
reaching
the
end
of
their
operational
lives,
facing
physical
deterioration,
risk
of
failure,
loss
of
economic
viability,
and
expired
federal
contracts.
The
convergence of these environmental, economic, social, and regulatory concerns is reflected ... (More) - Dams
are
pervasive
features
of
the
river
systems
in
the
United
States.
More
than
80,000
large
dams,
and
as
many
as
2.5
million
small
dams,
are
spread
throughout
every
major
watershed
in
the
country.
While
this
vast
number
of
dams
has
made
a
considerable
contribution
to
development,
recognition
of
the
environmental
impacts
has
significantly
increased.
Furthermore,
over
25%
of
the
nation's
dams
are
now
reaching
the
end
of
their
operational
lives,
facing
physical
deterioration,
risk
of
failure,
loss
of
economic
viability,
and
expired
federal
contracts.
The
convergence of these environmental, economic, social, and regulatory concerns is reflected in the sudden, remarkable emergence of Dam Removal in river management.
Dam removal represents a fundamental transformation in river management discourse, yet has been rarely studied. Through exploration and description of the emerging concept of dam removal, this thesis contributes to the discourse on river management. The transformation is further illustrated through a study of a pioneering dam removal project currently underway on the Elwha River in the Pacific Northwest United States. This monumental project is the country's largest dam removal and most expensive river restoration ever attempted.
The evolution of the Elwha River Dam Removal project is representative of the broad shift in river management and also indicative of the significant policy issues that still exist around dam removal. Analysis of the phenomenon of policy change applied to the Elwha River case reveals factors of political receptivity, physical complexity, and advocacy coalitions that have been critical in the policy change process. From this case, policy lessons are found regarding the implications of congressional intervention in dam removal proposals, and the need for reforming hydropower dam licensing procedures in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. These specific policy lessons are valuable for the integration of dam removal in lasting river management policy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/2760244
- author
- Berg, Bjorn LU
- supervisor
-
- Mine Islar LU
- Sara Brogaard LU
- organization
- course
- MESM01 20121
- year
- 2012
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- river management, policy change, Elwha River, dam removal, river restoration, sustainability science
- publication/series
- Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
- report number
- 2012:012
- language
- English
- id
- 2760244
- date added to LUP
- 2012-06-19 18:57:23
- date last changed
- 2012-11-26 10:18:54
@misc{2760244,
abstract = {{Dams
are
pervasive
features
of
the
river
systems
in
the
United
States.
More
than
80,000
large
dams,
and
as
many
as
2.5
million
small
dams,
are
spread
throughout
every
major
watershed
in
the
country.
While
this
vast
number
of
dams
has
made
a
considerable
contribution
to
development,
recognition
of
the
environmental
impacts
has
significantly
increased.
Furthermore,
over
25%
of
the
nation's
dams
are
now
reaching
the
end
of
their
operational
lives,
facing
physical
deterioration,
risk
of
failure,
loss
of
economic
viability,
and
expired
federal
contracts.
The
convergence
of
these
environmental,
economic,
social,
and
regulatory
concerns
is
reflected
in
the
sudden,
remarkable
emergence
of
[i]Dam
Removal[/i]
in
river
management.
Dam
removal
represents
a
fundamental
transformation
in
river
management
discourse,
yet
has
been
rarely
studied.
Through
exploration
and
description
of
the
emerging
concept
of
dam
removal,
this
thesis
contributes
to
the
discourse
on
river
management.
The
transformation
is
further
illustrated
through
a
study
of
a
pioneering
dam
removal
project
currently
underway
on
the
Elwha
River
in
the
Pacific
Northwest
United
States.
This
monumental
project
is
the
country's
largest
dam
removal
and
most
expensive
river
restoration
ever
attempted.
The
evolution
of
the
Elwha
River
Dam
Removal
project
is
representative
of
the
broad
shift
in
river
management
and
also
indicative
of
the
significant
policy
issues
that
still
exist
around
dam
removal.
Analysis
of
the
phenomenon
of
policy
change
applied
to
the
Elwha
River
case
reveals
factors
of
political
receptivity,
physical
complexity,
and
advocacy
coalitions
that
have
been
critical
in
the
policy
change
process.
From
this
case,
policy
lessons
are
found
regarding
the
implications
of
congressional
intervention
in
dam
removal
proposals,
and
the
need
for
reforming
hydropower
dam
licensing
procedures
in
the
Federal
Energy
Regulatory
Commission.
These
specific
policy
lessons
are
valuable
for
the
integration
of
dam
removal
in
lasting
river management
policy.}},
author = {{Berg, Bjorn}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
title = {{About
dam
time! The
emergence
of
dam
removal
in
river management
policy : lessons from the Elwha River restoration project}},
year = {{2012}},
}