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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.01.20 EMail from FERC - Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2088-000,et al. by Plumas National Forest,et al. From:Schuman, Amy To:Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Lambert, Steve;Lucero, Debra; McCracken, Shari;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Rodas, Amalia;Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug Subject:FW: Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2088-000,et al. by Plumas National Forest,et al. Date:Wednesday, April 1, 2020 8:12:42 AM Good morning, Please see the email below. Amy Schuman Associate Clerk of the Board Butte County Administration 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965 T: 530.552.3308 | F: 530.538.7120 Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest -----Original Message----- From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov> Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 9:26 AM Subject: Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2088-000,et al. by Plumas National Forest,et al. .ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening attachments, clicking on links, or replying.. On 3/31/2020, the following Filing was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C.: Filer: Plumas National Forest USDA Forest Service - Tahoe NF (as Agent) Docket(s): P-2088-000 P-2088-068 Lead Applicant: South Feather Water & Power Agency Filing Type: Comment on Filing Description: Comments of the Plumas National Forest under P-2088-068, in response to the Commission's notice of request for waiver determination To view the document for this Filing, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20200331- 5124__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!Tee6sgp8SojibIK-UyKmgFhLICMu6vkFfuO6T6xyU4ZK5Qb- 5AtzQRyYcEB5tOGhH3izBSv05p4$ To modify your subscriptions, click here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eSubscription.aspx__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!Tee6sgp8SojibIK- UyKmgFhLICMu6vkFfuO6T6xyU4ZK5Qb-5AtzQRyYcEB5tOGhH3izNYKrukQ$ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please do not respond to this email. Online help is available here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ferc.gov/efiling-help.asp__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!Tee6sgp8SojibIK- UyKmgFhLICMu6vkFfuO6T6xyU4ZK5Qb-5AtzQRyYcEB5tOGhH3izBR8gztM$ or for phone support, call 866-208-3676. LogoDepartment NameAgency OrganizationOrganization Address Information United States Forest Pacific Southwest Region159 Lawrence Street Department of ServicePlumas National ForestQuincy,CA95971 Agriculture530-283-2050 TDD: 530-534-7984 Fax: 530-283-7746 File Code: 2770 Date: , 2020 Ms. Kimberly D. Bose Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, NE Washington, D. C. 20426 Via Electronic Filing Subject:F OREST SERVICE RESPONSE TO THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSIONS NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR WAIVER DETERMINATION FOR SOUTH FEATHER WATER AND POWER AGENCYS SOUTH FEATHER POWER PROJECT (FERC NO.2088-068) Dear Ms. Bose: (Project) new license (FERC No. 2088), the Plumas National Forest (Forest Service) submits the following comments. Below, we provide background information followed by a discussion of potential inconsistencies between Forest Service Federal Power Act Section 4(e) Final ia State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Water Quality Certification (WQC) Conditions. We have confined our that directly invoke Final 4(e) Conditions, but that does not indicate our agreement with other portions of the waiver request, upon which we have withheld comment. inconsistent with, and would conflict with the previously issued Final 4(e) Conditions. However, any perceived or real conflicts, may be readily resolved as anticipated in Final 4(e) Condition No. 1 (Modification of 4(e) Conditions After Biological Opinion or Water Quality Certification; see below), following the collaborative approach that SFWPA, SWRCB, and the other agencies have observed over the past several years. In fact, given the intense collaborative process that occurred prior to the issuance of the final WQC, and the apparent assent of SFWPA to the this time. Background On December 12, 2019, SFWPA submitted a letter to the Commission requesting a waiver of the WQC that was issued to SFWPA by the California SWRCB on November 30, 2018 (filed with Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper 2 of specific inconsistencies, conflicts, and redundancies between SWRCB WQC Conditions and The Forest Service issued Final 4 (e) Conditions for this Project in March 2009. Two Final 4(e) Conditions are particularly relevant to our current comment letter: Condition No. 1: Modification of 4(e) Conditions After Biological Opinion or Water Quality Certification The Forest Service reserves the right to modify these conditions, if necessary, to respond to any Final Biological Opinion, Section 18 conditions for this Project issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service, or any Water Quality Certification issued for this Project by the State Water Resources Control Board. Condition No. 3: Consultation (in part) s the right, after notice and opportunity for comment, to require changes in the project and its operation through revision of the Section 4(e) conditions to accomplish protection and utilization of National Forest lands and resources. In late 2016, the Forest Service (Plumas National Forest staff) and SFWPA began meeting to discuss several management and monitoring plans (Plan\[s\]) that would need to be completed within one year of issuance of a new license for the Project. Our mutual intent was to work through the details of these Plans ahead of license issuance so that relatively short deadlines could be met after license issuance. More recent meetings also included SWRCB, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife (USFWS), and by early 2019 there was preliminary agreement on several of these collaboratively developed Plans. Following issuance of the draftWQC in November 2017, SFWPA and the SWRCB held several meetings that also included the Forest Service, CDFW, and USFWS. The Forest Service understood the goal of these meetings was to address comments made on the draftWQC, and then to work collaborativel finalWQC Conditions. Through this process, it also became clear that a revision of Final 4(e) Conditions would be necessary. Potential Inconsistencies with Forest Service Conditions In the letter requesting a waiver, SFWPA provided their interpretation of all potentially inconsistent or redundant Forest Service and SWRCB License Conditions (see Appendix C of r intent in this letter is not to address each Condition point by point, rather, inAttachment A, we provide the Forest Service interpretation of issues for two key Conditions, and also identify SWRCB Conditions that were not included in Forest Service Conditions. We believe a collaborative discussion among all parties would be a more appropriate venue for resolving any inconsistencies between Forest Service and SWRCB Conditions. As noted in the Forest Service comment letter on the draftWQC (filed with the Commission on January 17, 2018; Accession Number: 20180117-5074), we expected to revise our Final 4(e) Conditions in response to the finalWQC. We maintain this intent, and have been considering the appropriate timing of such a revision in relation to ongoing discussions on management and monitoring 3 plans. The rationale for revising our Final 4(e) Conditions would be threefold: (1) to incorporate new (since 2009) information and/or operational practices that are expected to improve protection of Forest Service resources, including special-status species (Attachment A), (2) to align our Conditions with the SWRCB Conditions so that SFWPA may readily implement their new license, and (3) to directly incorporate management or monitoring plans that have been agreed to among the Forest Service, other federal and state agencies, and SFWPA. To that end, we recommend a meeting, to include SFWPA, SWRCB, Forest Service, CDFW, and USFWS to discuss, and collaboratively identify, potential revisions to Final 4(e) Conditions. The timing of such a meeting may depend on the timing of the remaining steps in the FERC licensing process, prior to license issuance. We understand these to be: (1) consultation required under the ESA, waiver request. We have appreciated the open discussions with SFWPA, SWRCB, CDFW, and USFWS during development of management and monitoring plans, and in relation to finalSWRCB WQC Conditions. We look forward to continued collaboration with all parties prior to and following issuance of a new FERC license for this Project. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact Amy Lind, Hydroelectric Coordinator, Regional Hydropower Assistance Team, at (530)478-6298, amy.lind@usda.gov, or Emily Moghaddas, Recreation, Engineering, Lands, and Minerals Staff Officer, Plumas National Forest, at (530) 283-7772, emily.moghaddas@usda.gov. Sincerely, CHRISTOPHER CARLTON Forest Supervisor cc: Dawn Alvarez, Amy Lind, Emily Moghaddas, David Brillenz 4 Attachment A - Relationship Between Forest Service 4(e) Conditions and Analogous State Water Board Water Quality Certification Conditions Two key Conditions differ substantially between Forest Service Final 4(e) Conditions and SWRCB WQC Conditions: (1) ramping rates, and (2) aquatic species entrainment. In addition, we have identified seven other SWRCB Conditions, not included in Final 4(e) Conditions that provide additional protection for aquatic species and habitats, or provide whitewater recreation opportunities. Ramping Rates (Forest Service Condition Nos. 18-Part 5 and 19-Part 2; SWRCB WQC Condition 3) The SWRCB Condition addressing ramping rates includes Interim Ramping Rates and a requirement for SFWPA to develop a Long-term Ramping Rate Plan. Within the Final 4(e) Conditions, two addressed ramping rates - Condition Nos. 18-Part 5 and 19-Part 2. Based on recent research, these older (2009) Forest Service Conditions do not provide acceptable protection measures for the foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii), a Forest Service Sensitive Species, that has also recently received formal State (California) protection. Forest Service 4(e) Conditions submitted in recent relicensing processes have included improvements to ramping and spill recession (or cessation) rates to protect aquatic species (see Conditions for Middle Fork American River Project \[FERC No. 2079\], Yuba-Bear Project \[FERC No. 2266\], Drum- Spaulding Project \[FERC No. 2310\], Yuba River Development Project \[FERC No. 2246\] and Bucks Creek Project \[FERC No. 619\]). In 2018, prior to issuance of the final WQC, SFWPA, SWRCB, Forest Service, CDFW, and USFWS worked together over the course of several meetings discussing SFWPA facility and operational constraints at each dam/diversion in relation to aquatic species protection needs. At the conclusion of these meetings, it appeared to Forest Service staff that consensus was reached among all parties, on operationally feasible, and protective Interim Ramping Rates WQC Long-term Ramping Rate Plan (within Condition 3) was also included to provide an evaluation of the interim rates and define a process for development of long-term rates, during the first several years of the new license period. The Long-term Ramping Rate Plan will also provide an opportunity to integrate whitewater recreational boating measures. Ramping rate measures that integrate aquatic species protection, whitewater recreation, and facility constraints are consistent with Forest Service Conditions submitted in recent relicensing processes (above list). The Forest Service believes the adaptive approach included in final SWRCB WQC Condition 3 offers a flexible and responsive pathway to setting ramping rates that will be protective of aquatic resources, while addressing recreation measures, and we plan to include an approach consistent with this SWRCB Condition, in revised Final 4(e) conditions. Aquatic Species Entrainment at Diversions (Forest Service Condition No. 18, Part 6; SWRCB WQC Condition 11) The SWRCB Condition addressing entrainment of aquatic species at Project diversions, provides an adaptive approach that first requires evaluation of the magnitude and severity of entrainment at key points of diversion, and then focuses on targeted solutions. These solutions could include physical barriers, operational adjustments, or other measures. The analogous Forest Service Condition requires wild fish supplementation to address entrainment at Project diversions, 5 without assessing the severity of entrainment, or the relative entrainment risk among different diversions. We understand that wild fish supplementation in rivers is inconsistent with protection measures that CDFW (the permitting agency) has submitted in recent hydropower project relicensings; i.e., CDFW has focused primarily on approaches that reduce entrainment (e.g., physical barriers and/or operational changes). In addition, we understand that modern hatchery practices would first require an assessment of the existing genetic composition of the fish within the Project reservoirs and affected river reaches. For a wild fish supplementation program to be permitted by CDFW, SFWPA would need to conduct such an assessment, and proposal is a scientifically valid, adaptive, and targeted approach, where information gathered on entrainment risk will be directly tied to Project operations, and remedies would then be developed within several years after new license issuance. The Forest Service believes the general approach included in final SWBCB WQC Condition 11 adds protection and mitigation for aquatic resources, and we plan to include an approach consistent with this SWRCB Condition, in revised Final 4(e) Conditions. Final SWRCB WQC Conditions without Analogous Forest Service Conditions In addition to the two Conditions described above, the Forest Service recognizes that seven SWRCB resource Conditions would provide added protection to aquatic and recreation resources on National Forest System (NFS) lands, and adjacent non-NFS lands. The following SWRCB Conditions do not have directly analogous Forest Service Conditions: Condition 2 Gaging, Condition 4 Water Quality, Condition 5 Slate Creek Diversion Dam Sediment Management, Condition 6 Geomorphic Flows in Lost Creek, Condition 14 Water Resources Management for Recreation, Condition 15 Large Woody Material, and Condition 17 Potential Anadromous Fish Reintroduction. We note there are also elements of other SWRCB Conditions that, due to changes in scientific information since 2009, are expected to provide improvements to analogous Forest Service Conditions. To the extent that SWRCB Conditions provide additional protection for Forest Service resources, we will consider revising our Final 4(e) Conditions to be consistent with these SWRCB Conditions. We understand that in the event that two Conditions addressing similar resource objectives are included in the pending FERC license, the Condition that is more protective would need to be implemented by the SFWPA.