HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.11.21 BOS Correspondence - FW_ Delegated Order issued in FERC P-2107-028
From:Schuman, Amy
To:Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Cook, Robin;Kimmelshue, Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Rodas,
Amalia;
Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Subject:BOS Correspondence - FW: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-2107-028
Date:Thursday, February 11, 2021 11:01:10 AM
Please see the email below from FERC.
Amy Schuman
Associate Clerk of the Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
O: 530.552.3300 |D: 530.552.3308 | F: 530.538.7120
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From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov>
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2021 7:45 AM
Subject: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-2107-028
.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening attachments, clicking on links, or replying..
On 2/11/2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document:
Docket(s): P-2107-028
Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Filing Type: Delegated Order
Description: Order Approving Sediment Management Plan Pursuant to Article 401 re Pacific Gas and Electric Company under P-2107.
To view the document for this Issuance, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20210211-
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174 FERC ¶ 62,092
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Pacific Gas and Electric CompanyDocket No.2107-028
ORDERAPPROVING SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN
PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 401
(IssuedFebruary 11, 2021)
OnMarch30, 2020,as supplemented on January 21, 2021, Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, licensee for the Poe Hydroelectric Project No. 2107, filed a Sediment
1
ManagementPlan, pursuant to Article 401 of the project license.The project is located
onthe North Fork Feather River in Butte County, California, andoccupies federal land
within the Plumas National Forest administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service (Forest Service).
License Requirements
Appendix A of the project license contains the Water Quality Certification (WQC)
conditions issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board (California
SWRCB), and filed on December 29, 2017. Appendix B of the project license contains
the conditions issued by the Forest Service and filed on July 9, 2018 under section 4(e) of
the Federal Power Act (4(e) conditions). Condition 4of the WQC and condition 23,
part3of the 4(e) conditions, require the licensee to file asediment management planfor
themanagement of fine-grained sediment and organic material in riffles and spawning
sizedstream substrate within the Poe bypass reach, including implementation of pulse
flows.Theplanmust be developed in consultation with the Forest Service, California
StateWaterResources ControlBoard (California SWRCB),California Department of
Fish and Wildlife(California DFW), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(FWS)
(collectively, resource agencies), and approved by theCalifornia SWRCB and the Forest
Service.Article401(a) of the project license, in part,requires the licensee to file the Plan
2
with the Commission for approval within one year of license issuance.
1
Pacific Gas and Electric Company,165 FERC ¶ 62,172 (2018).
2
On December 31, 2019, Commission staff granted an extension of timeuntil
ProjectNo. 2107-028 -2-
Licensee’s Plan
The licensee filed originally filed the Sediment Management Plan on
March30,2020, and filed a modified version of Sediment Management Plan (Sediment
Plan)on January 21, 2021. TheSediment Plandescribes the objectives; defines the study
area and monitoring locations, monitoring methods, evaluation methods, pulse flows, and
reporting; and includes a provision for modifying the plan, as needed, due changes in
conditions.
Based onsite visits, a review of studies, and discussions with the Forest Service
and California SWRCB, the licensee states the objectives are: to monitor the
accumulation of fine-grained sediment and organic materials in where they were
previously observed or could potentially accumulate, and to provide or augment spill
flows when fine-grained sediment and organic materials increases by more than
25percent compared to baseline measurements.
In order to meet these objectives, the licensee will monitor three sitesin the North
Fork Feather River below Poe Dam: immediately below Poe Dam, Bardees Bar, and Poe
Beach. The licensee will conduct baseline sampling in 2021,between three and nine
months,and prior to September30, following a flow eventwith a mean daily flow of
2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). If a second year of baseline monitoring is necessary,
the licensee will average the two years of datato determine the baseline.
The licensee will conduct monitoring onevery tenthlicense year inthe fall (i.e.,
fall of 2028, 2038, 2048, and 2058), and in eachyear following any October 1 to June 30
in which the average daily flow at the NF-23 gage does not exceed 2,000 cfs. The sites
willbemonitored using an unmanned aerial system to create a basemap of sediment
accumulation that is then verified and completed in the field. A geomorphologist will
map the appearance and characteristics of the sediment in the bankfull channel at each
site.During the baseline and subsequent surveys, the volume, surface area, and
location(s) of fine-grained sediments will be compared. At sites where sediment
accumulation exceeds 25 percent of the baseline, follow-up monitoring will occur after a
pulse flow or natural spill event to confirm fine-grainedsedimentwas removed.
Thelicensee will provide pulse flows prior to April 1 in the year following a
finding of greater than 25 percent accumulation, provided a natural spill greater than
2,000cfs has not occurred. The flows will follow therestrictions andtables included in
condition4of the WQC and condition 23, Part3of the 4(e) conditions.
The licensee will file the baseline surveyreport with the resource agencies by
January 15, 2022, and by January 15, 2023, if a second-year baseline survey is deemed
March 31, 2020, to file the Sediment Management Plan.
ProjectNo. 2107-028 -3-
necessary. To determine if monitoring is necessary, by August 15 of each year, the
licensee will provide the resource agencies anannual flow monitoring reportof the daily
average flows between October 1 and June30.If the annual flow monitoring report
indicates monitoring is necessary, the licensee will conduct the monitoring and provide a
draft sediment monitoring report to the resource agencies by January 15 of the following
year.If the resource agencies determine a pulse flow is necessary, the licensee will
implement the pulse flow by April 1, and provide a revised draft sediment monitoring
report detailing the pulse flow to the resource agencies by April 15. A final sediment
monitoring report will be filed with the Commission by June 30 of each yearthat a pulse
flow has occurred.Reports for the 10-year monitoring efforts will follow the same
schedule.
If the licensee, in consultation with the resource agencies, determines the Plan
needs to be revised,the licensee would modify the Plan in coordination and agreement
with theresource agencies. The licensee would then filethe revised Plan with the
Commission for approval.
Agency Consultation
The licensee provided an initialdraft of the plan to the Forest Service,California
SWRCB, California DRW, and FWSon October 8,2019. The license incorporated the
agencies’comments, and provided a final draft to the Forest Service and California
SWRCBfor approval on March 18, 2020.By letter dated March19, 2020, the Forest
Service provided its approval of the licensee’s plan.The licensee then conducted a
conference call with the agencies on September 3, 2020, and provided a copy of the
modified Sediment Plan to the agencies on September 22, 2020. The California SWRCB
approved the Sediment Plan in a letter dated October 15, 2020, and a follow-up email
dated October 27, 2020, and the Forest Service approved it in a letter dated
December16,2020.
Review
The licenseedeveloped theSediment Plan in consultation with resource agencies,
andreceivedapprovals fromtheCalifornia SWRCBandForest Service, as required. The
Sediment Plan includes the provisions required byWQC condition 4, 4(e) condition 23,
part 3, and Article 401(a) of the project license. The Sediment Plan should adequately
monitor and remediate fine-grained sediment and organic material accumulation,and
includes provisions for modifications if the Sediment Plan is determined to be
inadequate. Therefore, the Sediment Plan filed on January 21, 2021, should be approved.
TheDirectororders:
(A)Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Sediment Management Plan, filed on
January 21, 2021, pursuant to Article 401(a) of the project license for the Poe
ProjectNo. 2107-028 -4-
Hydroelectric Project No. 2107, is approved.
(B)This order constitutes final agency action. Any party may file a request for
rehearing of this order within 30 days from the date of its issuance, as provided in section
313(a) of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. § 825l(2018), and the Commission’s
regulations at 18 CFR § 385.713 (2020).The filing of a request for hearing does not
operate as a stay of the effective date of this order, or of any other date specified in this
order.The licensee’s failure to file a request for rehearing shall constitute acceptance of
this order.
Kelly Houff
Chief, EngineeringResources Branch
Division of Hydropower Administration
and Compliance