HomeMy WebLinkAboutNOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service - Response Letter RE Selection of Neutral Third Party and Information Requests UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
WEST COAST REGION
650 Capitol Mall,Suite 5-100
Sacramento,California 95814-4706
April 27, 2018
In response refer to:
WF:WCR:FERC P-21 OO/P-2105/P-2107/P-1962
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20426
Re: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, West Coast Region, files to the
Administrative Records of the Feather River Projects (P-2100; P-2105; P-2107; and
P-1962): "NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's Response to California
Department of Water Resources'(D WR) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
(PG&E) October 20, 2017, Letter Regarding Selection of eutral Third Party and
Information Requests" (dated April 27, 2018).
Dear Secretary Bose:
The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
National Marine Fisheries Service, West Coast Region (NMFS), hereby e-files in Enclosure A
"NOAA 's National Marine Fisheries Service's Response to California Department of Water
Resources' (DWR) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) October 20, 2017, Letter
Regarding Selection of Neutral Third Party and Information Requests"(dated April 27, 2018),to
the Administrative Records of the Feather River Projects (P-21.00; P-2105; P-2107; and
P-1962).
If you have questions about NMFS' response,please contact Bill Foster at 916-930-3617,
Sincerely,
� Z
Steve Edmondson
FERC Hydropower Branch Supervisor
NMFS, WCR, Sacramento Area Office
Enclosures
cc: FERC Service Lists (P-2100; P-2105; P-2107; and P-1962).
HEA/HEP Signature Parties List
Enclosure A
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
FERC "Feather River Projects" }
California Department of Water Resources } P-2100 and
AND
Pacific Gas and Electric Company ) P-21.05; P-2107; and P-1962
Feather River/NF Feather River
NOAA'S NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE'S RESPONSE
TO LICENSEES' OCTOBER 20,2017 LETTER
E-Filed Document
"NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's Response to California Department of
Water Resources' (D WR) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) October
20, 2017,Letter Regarding Selection of Neutral Third Party and Information Requests"
(dated April 27, 2018).
Enclosure B
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
FERC "Feather River Projects" }
California Department of Water Resources ) P-2100 and
AND
Pacific Gas and Electric Company } P-2105; P-2107; and P-1962
Feather River/NF Feather River
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I have this day served, by first class mail or electronic mail, a letter to
Secretary Bose of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,the U.S. Department of
Commerce's,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's,National Marine Fisheries
Service's Letter, "NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's Response to California
Department of Water Resources' (D WR) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E)
October 20, 2017, Letter Regarding Selection of Neutral Third Parry and Information Requests"
(dated April 27, 2018), for the above-captioned proceedings, and this Certificate of Service upon
each person designated on the official service lists compiled by the Commission in the above-
captioned proceedings.
Dated this 27th day of April 2018
1P z
William E. Foster
National Marine Fisheries Service
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
WEST COAST REGION
650 Capitol Mall,Suite 5-100
Sacramento,California 95814-4706
April 27, 2018 In response refer to:
SWR FERC P-2100 HEAMEP
Director Hydro Licensing, Power Generation
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
P.O. Box 770000
San Francisco, California 94177
Chief, Division of Environmental Generation
California Department of Water Resources
P.O. Box 9,42836
Sacramento, California 94236
Re: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's Response to California Department of
Water Resources' (DWR) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) October
20, 2017, Letter Regarding Selection of Neutral Third Party and Information Requests,
Dear Licensees:
Thank you for your recent letter, "Habitat Expansion Agreement, Selection of Neutral Third
Party,"dated October 20, 2017 (DWR and PG&E 2017). This letter regards selection of a
neutral third party with appropriate expertise to make an independent estimate of whether the
habitat expansion action(s)recommended in DWR and PG&E(2010), Final Habitat Expansion
Plan(FHEP), are expected to meet the Habitat Expansion Threshold (HET) under Section 4.2.5
of the Amended Habitat Expansion Agreement for Central Valley Spring-Run Chinook Salmon
and California Central Valley Steelhead(Amended HEA, dated March 2011).
Your letter acknowledges our previous letter(NMFS 2017) in which we concurred with your
request to initiate the independent estimate process described in Amended HEA Section 4.2.5.
In order to expedite this process,NMFS (2017) also provided a list of salmonid experts from
which a neutral third party may be selected(agreeable to DWR, PG&E, and NMFS)with
appropriate expertise to make an independent estimate of whether the habitat expansion action(s)
recommended in the FHEP are expected to meet the HET. Finally,NMFS (2017) also had three
information requests (IRs). In summary, these IRs are; IR-1, any detailed technical reports of
the spawning gravel enhancement project on the Feather River referenced in DWR and PG&E
(2016a;b); IR-2, any technical data from the Yuba RMT report referenced in DWR and PG&E
(2016a;b) as "RMT 2013"; and IR-3,, comparison of redd density estimates in the FHEP to
annual reports by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) entitled "Redd
Monitoring and Mapping in the Englebright Dam Reach of the Lower Yuba River, California."
2
Neutral Third Party
As an alternative to the salmonid experts proposed by NMFS (2017),your letter proposes using
McMillen Jacobs Associates(MMJ) as the neutral third party to make the independent estimate
under Section 4.2.5 of the Amended HEA. While MMJ appears to"offer a full range of design,
design-build,self-performing construction and construction management services"
(https://mcmjac.com/; last visited November 21,2017),we are not aware of their qualifications
to make an independent estimate of the HET and therefore are unable to confirm whether they
have appropriate expertise to make the independent estimate under Section 4.2.5 of the Amended
HEA. Accordingly,please provide us with more current and specific information and rationale
regarding MMJ staffs qualifications to make an independent estimate of the HET. In particular,
please identify staff members who will conduct the HET estimate and highlight their expertise
and experience in calculating habitat capacity and spawning densities for Chinook salmon.
In addition,please consider selecting one or more individuals from our original list of salmonid
experts below, to either conduct the third parry review in lieu of, or in addition to MMJ:
George Pess,Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle,Washington.
Email: george.pess@noaa.gov; Phone: (206) 860-3450
Tim Beechie,Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington.
Email: tim.beechie@noaa.gov; Phone: (206) 860-3409
Tom Lisle, Humboldt State University& Stillwater Sciences,Arcata, California.
Email: tel7001 @humboldt.edu; Phone: (707) 822-3691.
John Buffington,United States Forest Service,Boise,Idaho
Email: jbuffington@fs.fed.us; Phone: (208) 373-4384
Leonard Sklar, San Francisco State University, San Francisco,California.
Email: leonard@sfsu.edu; Phone: (415) 338-1204
Dave Montgomery,University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Email: bigdirt@uw.edu; Phone: (206) 685-2560
NMFS Information Requests (IR)
IR-1: DWR's Article BI05 Gravel Suuulementation and Improvement Project
Thank you for providing a summary of this spawning gravel project on the Feather River.
However,while your summary did provide some very interesting information, the more detailed
data we had requested was lacking. Thus,we look forward to seeing all of the details in the final
Article B105 Gravel Supplementation and Improvement Project report.
a 3
IR-2: Yuba RMT's 2013 Re ort
Thank you for providing the Lower Yuba River Accord.River Management Team Aquatic
Resources of the Lower Yuba River, Past, Present, and Future, Yuba Accord Monitoring and
Evaluation Program, Draft Interim Report(RMT 2013) and for your summary. In your letter,
you acknowledge that in the RMT(2013)Report:
(1) "... there is no formal reference provided in the report..."for a redd"every 119.5ft'
[11.102M2]"and"equal areas of unoccupied space;"
(2) "...redd size and density estimates were generated from data collected during `...the
RMT's intensive redd pilot study in 2008...;"
(3) "We do not have the data collected in the [RMT's redd pilot] 2008 study;"but,
(4) "The Licensees can request that information from [the RMT]....11
Therefore,NMFS requests that the Licensees obtain the data from the RMT's 2008 redd pilot
study as well.
IR-3: Camarison o Redd Densities: FHEP vs PSFMC Data.
NMFS appreciates that you are seeking to acquire the PSFMC's annual reports,
"Redd Monitoring and Mapping in the Englebright Dam Reach of the Lower Yuba River,
California"(various years). NMFS looks forward to the licensees providing the annual PSMFC
reports as well as a comparison of your FHEP redd data with that found in these annual reports.
NMFS Additional Concerns
In addition, as we noted in our recent letter(NMFS 2017),NMFS (2014)provided our response
to DWR and PG&E(2010)FHEP whereby we determined that the FHEP did not meet four out
of six approval criteria(a-d) in Amended HEA Section 4.2.3. The third party review process
under Amended HEA Section 4.2.5 only addresses Amended HEA Section 4.2.3 approval
criterion(a): "estimated to meet the HET,"and does not address the remaining three NMFS
approval criteria in Amended HEA Section 4.2.3(b), (c), and(d) that the FHEP failed to meet in
NMFS` (2014)preliminary determination. We believe our preliminary determination in NMFS
(2014) considered the best available scientific information on the FHEP and we further conclude,
after reviewing available information, that there is no new technical information that would
materially change our NMFS (2014)preliminary determination.
Conclusion
We appreciate DWR's and PG&E's ongoing efforts towards addressing our requests. Therefore,
In order to continue timely progress in implementation of the Amended HEA,NMFS requests
that within 45 days from the date of this letter:
4
(1) The Licensees shall provide current and specific information regarding MMJ staff's
qualifications to make an independent estimate of the HET; or choose one or more
individuals from our neutral third-party list above.
(2) The Licensees shall submit the remaining information we requested above for IR-1 to IR-3.
NMFS looks forward to working closely with DWR, PG&E, and other HEA parties to consider
how implementation of the Amended HEA can contribute significantly to the recovery of
anadromous fish of the Sacramento River watershed. We are optimistic that more
comprehensive and holistic habitat expansion and restoration action(s),that satisfy the
requirements of the Amended HEA,will result from our mutual efforts as we work through the
Amended HEA process.
If you have questions about this response,please contact Bill Foster,at 916-930-3617.
Sincerely,
Steve Edmondson
Chief,FERC Branch
cc: Enclosure
Maria Rea,ARA California Central Valley Area Office
Howard Brown, Sacramento River Basin Branch Supervisor
Brian Ellrott,Delta Policy and Restoration
Steve Edmondson and William Foster,FERC Branch
HEA Signatory Parties
FERC Service Lists for P-2100,P-2105, P-2107, and P-1962.
5
References
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company
(PG&E). 2010. "Final Habitat Expansion Plan for HEA 2007'(FHEP). November
2010. DWR and PG&E, California.
DWR and PG&E. 2016a. Letter from DWR and PG&E to William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional
Administrator(NMFS), Re: "HEA Annual Report for Period Beginning July 2015
through June 2016." DWR and PG&E, California. July 18,2016.
DWR and PG&E. 2016b. Letter from DWR and PG&E to William W. Stelle,Jr., Regional
Administrator(NMFS), Re: "Updated Supplement to HEA Annual Report for Period
Beginning July 2015 to June 2016." DWR and PG&E, California. September 8, 2016.
DWR and PG&E. 2017. Letter from DWR and PG&E to Barry Thom,Regional Administrator
(NMFS),Re: "Habitat Expansion Agreement: Selection of Neutral Third Party."
October 20, 2017. DWR and PG&E,California.
Habitat Expansion Agreement,Amended,2011 (Amended HEA). 2011. "Amended Habitat
Expansion Agreement 2011 for Central Valley Spring-Run Chinook Salmon and
California Central Valley Steelhead." For FERC Projects on the Feather River,Nos.
P-2100,P-2107, P-2105, and P-1962. March 2011.
National Marine Fisheries Service(NMFS). 2014. Letter from William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional
Administrator(NMFS)to Licensees (PG&E and DWR) Re: "Response ofNOAA's
NMFS to the Final Habitat Expansion Plan submitted by the California Department of
Water Resources and Pacific Gas and Electric Company in November 2010." NMFS,
West Coast Region, Santa Rosa, California.
NMFS. 2017. Letter from Barry A. Thom(NMFS Regional Administrator)to Licensees
(PG&E and DWR), Re: "NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's Response to
California Department of Water Resources and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
Annual and Supplemental Reports Regarding the Continuation of the Final Habitat
Expansion Plan Approval Process." NMFS,West Coast Region, Sacramento, California.
June 7, 2017.
River Management Team(RMT). 2013. RMT's "Aquatic Resources of the Lower Yuba River,
Past, Present, and Future, Yuba Accord Monitoring and Evaluation Program, Draft
Interim Report."Lower Yuba River Accord River Management Team, CA. 2013.
Stearman, L. and Massa, D. 2015. Redd Monitoring and Mapping in the Englebright Dam Reach
of the lower Yuba River, CA. Summary report by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission for the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers. June 29, 2015.
Enclosure A
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Oroville Facilities Hydroelectric Project } Project No. 2100
California Department of Water Resources )
Rock Creek-Cresta Hydroelectric Project ) Project No. 1962
North Fork Feather Hydroelectric Project } Project No. 2105
Poe Hydroelectric Project } Project No. 2107
Pacific Gas and Electric Company,Inc. )
Feather River
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that I have this day served,by first class mail or electronic mail, a letter to
Secretary Bose of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC) from the U.S.
Department of Commerce's,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's,National
Marine Fisheries Service's, West Coast Region(NMFS) containing NMFS' "Response to
California Department of Water Resources'and Pacific Gas and Electric Company's
October 20, 2017, Letter Regarding Selection of Neutral Third Party and Information Requests."
for the above Projects and this Certificate of Service upon each person designated on the official
service list compiled by the FERC in the above-captioned proceedings.
Dated this 27th day of April 2018
William E. Foster
National Marine Fisheries Service