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Smith Mountain Lake Permit

Proposed Virginia Water Protection permit
Appalachian Power Co. Smith Mountain Lake Project
Draft permit VWP 08-0572
August 2008

 Appalachian Power Co.’s Smith Mountain Lake Project discharges water from Smith Mountain Lake to Leesville Lake at Smith Mountain Dam and from Leesville Lake to the Staunton River at Leesville Dam. The project also pumps back water from Leesville Lake to Smith Mountain Lake. The permit will allow the applicant to continue to operate the project to generate electricity. The public comment period ends August 22, 2008.

The Commonwealth uses the Virginia Water Protection permit to protect wetlands, streams and instream flow from the impacts of human activities. In the case of reservoirs and their operation, the permit conditions typically limit the volume of water that can be withdrawn and set the amount of water that must be allowed to flow downstream.  

The permit also constitutes the Section 401 water quality certification required by the Clean Water Act. This certification is required for any activity that must have a federal license and results in a discharge to surface water. In this case, the federal license is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license and the discharge is the release from the hydroelectric turbines.

The below links contain detailed information relevant to this draft permit.