Electric officials fear Ga. mollusks' endangered-species designation would hurt hydropower output

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to add three species of North Georgia mollusks to the endagered species list, a move that the Southeastern Power Administration says would hurt hydroelectric power production. The habit designation for the mollusks may affect 160 miles of waterways across 11 counties in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, reports Andy Johns of the Chatanooga Times Free Press.

"Southeastern is specifically concerned with the fact that the [Service] knows little about the habitat requirements needed, yet proposes to list the entire reach of certain creeks and rivers as critical habitat," the federal agency wrote in a release. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said it doesn't have any objections to the designation, but has asked for a chance to comment about its effects on hyrdoelectic power production after an economic analysis, Johns reports.

The Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center applauded the decision and said the critical-habitat ranges of the mollusks should be expanded, Johns reports. (Read more)