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Home My WebLink About5.17.2022 Board Correspondence - FW_ Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2100-000 by Butte County, California,et al. (2) From:Paulsen, Shaina To:BOS Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2100-000 by Butte County, California,et al. Date:Tuesday, May 17, 2022 8:09:03 AM Attachments:05-17-2022 Pierce Atwood re Prohibited Off-the-Record Communications - P2100 Feather River Project - Oroville Dam Spillway 20220517-5062.PDF Importance:High Please see Attached Board Correspondence. Shaina Paulsen Associate Clerk of The Board Butte County Administration 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965 T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120 -----Original Message----- From: Bennett, Robin <RBennett@buttecounty.net> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2022 8:07 AM To: Paulsen, Shaina <SPaulsen@buttecounty.net>; Reaster, Kayla <kreaster@buttecounty.net> Cc: Pickett, Andy <APickett@buttecounty.net>; Teeter, Doug <DTeeter@buttecounty.net> Subject: FW: Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2100-000 by Butte County, California,et al. Importance: High RE: BOS correspondence Please see the attached FERC correspondence for your record of proceedings on behalf of Butte County, in P-2100 Oroville Dam Spillway. Thanks, Robin Bennett, Executive Assistant to Supervisor Doug Teeter, District 5 Butte County Board of Supervisors O: 530-762-2186 C: 530-990-2678 Email: rbennett@buttecounty.net Doug’s email: dteeter@buttecounty.net -----Original Message----- From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2022 7:36 AM Subject: Comment on Filing submitted in FERC P-2100-000 by Butte County, California,et al. .ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening attachments, clicking on links, or replying.. On 5/17/2022, the following Filing was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C.: Filer: Butte County, California Pierce Atwood LLP (as Agent) Docket(s): P-2100-000 Lead Applicant: California Department of Water Resources Filing Type: Comment on Filing Description: Comments of Butte County, California re Prohibited Off-the-Record Communications in Violation of Commission Rule 2201, 18 C.F.R. § 385.2201 for the Feather River Project under P- 2100. To view the document for this Filing, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20220517- 5062__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!CtXxiBKmOS4zUGBHDKt9zj6MgRle9cCZQ7f_hfwBdFIZLFEbpCTbGThDITJJcVaL_B881MESoTxtg-IMe-IOhBxGTKwkWA$ To modify your subscriptions, click here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eSubscription.aspx__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!CtXxiBKmOS4zUGBHDKt9zj6MgRle9cCZQ7f_hfwBdFIZLFEbpCTbGThDITJJcVaL_B881MESoTxtg- IMe-IOhByLrC60mg$ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please do not respond to this email. Online help is available here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ferc.gov/efiling-help.asp__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!CtXxiBKmOS4zUGBHDKt9zj6MgRle9cCZQ7f_hfwBdFIZLFEbpCTbGThDITJJcVaL_B881MESoTxtg-IMe- IOhBwaWmgFnQ$ or for phone support, call 866-208-3676. MATTHEW D. MANAHAN P F C foreseeable foreseeable which was a foreseeable consequence of these flawsSee also MATTHEW D. MANAHAN 254 Commercial Street Portland, ME 04101 P 207.791.1189 F 207.791.1350 C 207.807.4653 mmanahan@pierceatwood.com pierceatwood.com Admitted in: MA, ME, NH May 17, 2022 Ms. Kimberly Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20426 Re: Feather River Project, Oroville Facilities, P-2100; Prohibited Off-the-Record Communications in Violation of Commission Rule 2201, 18 C.F.R. § 385.2201 Dear Secretary Bose: On behalf of Butte County, California, I am writing to object to the off-the-record communications made to the Commission by the Feather River Project licensee, the made by the attorney of record for DWR, Michael Swiger, during Technical Conference on Financial Assurance Measures for Hydroelectric Projects, RM21-9- 000, despite numerous instructions from Commission staff during the conference not to discuss pending contested licensing proceedings. Specifically, Mr. Swiger made the following statements at the Technical Conference: Who knew that the Oroville spillway would fail and require a billion dollar repair project? I mean, who could have foreseen that? How would you? Oroville example. You know having a billion dollars set aside in a reserve account would have really made no difference in how DWR responded to the spillway failure and how that situation was addressed. All it would have meant was a other uses. But, you know, the spillway incident occurred. It was a dam safety emergency for the project because the spillway had to be repaired within a certain timeframe before the next winter rainy season. The assertion that DWR could not have foreseen or prevented the Oroville spillway failure is directly contrary to multiple filings in this contested proceeding. For example, by letter to the Commission dated October 19, 2017 I wrote as follows: {mmanahan.1} 15021302.1.1.1.1 Ms. Kimberly Bose, Secretary May 17, 2022 Page 2 The 2007 EIS also failed to address the foreseeable emergency spillways, which occurred in February 2017 and has resulted in significant social, economic, and environmental impacts to the community. As this type of failure was predicted by knowledgeable experts, it should have been more thoroughly addressed in the 2007 EIS. Among other things, therefore, the Supplemental EIS should consider the impacts associated with the 2017 failure as well as the socio-economic and environmental impacts of future failures during the term of the next long-term operating license. \[Emphasis added.\] Further, by letter to the Commission dated July 23, 2021 I wrote as follows: The 2007 EIS failed to address the foreseeable emergency spillways, which occurred in February 2017 and has resulted in significant social, economic, and environmental impacts to the community. That 2017 failure is a significant change that must be considered along with the socio-economic and environmental impacts of future failures during the term of the next license. That safety issue is still unresolved. If a failure of the Oroville Dam were to occur, it could easily be the worst disaster in U.S. history. If DWR does not make essential and necessary changes, 1 million residents and $80 billion in infrastructure including the water supply that serves 27 million people will remain at unnecessary and unacceptable risk. These risks must be considered in the Supplemental EIS. \[Emphasis added.\] In addition, the Feather River Recovery Alliance has provided to the Commission comprehensive materials that demonstrate that the spillway failure was not only foreseeable, but predictable. For example, on September 10, 2021 FRRA filed a Protest and New License, and attached numerous supporting issues from 1980-2018. The FRRA submission illustrate the flaws in the management of the dam in the past, which . . . suggest that the DWR has not changed its method of operation since the 2017 incident which was a foreseeable consequence of these flaws See also FRRA filings of November 20, 2019, November 22, 2019, February 12, 2020, February 18, 2020, March 10, 2020, March 17, 2020, October 7, 2020, November 2, 2020, November 4, 2020, and November 19, 2020. Notwithstanding these filings to the contrary in the record in this contested proceeding, Mr. Swiger nonetheless asserted to all present at the technical conference, including Chairman Glick and several other commissioners, that the spillway failure was not foreseeable. Those statements are in violation of Commission Rule 2201, 18 C.F.R. § 385.2201, which prohibits off-the-record communications to a decisional employee in a contested on-the-record proceeding such as this one. Pursuant to Rule 2201(f)(3), Butte County hereby requests that prohibited off-the-record communication be included in the decisional record in this proceeding. We expressly incorporate into this response the FRRA submissions referenced above, for inclusion in the decisional record. In a letter to the 15021302 Ms. Kimberly Bose, Secretary May 17, 2022 Page 3 Commission dated February 11, 2022, FRRA requested that the Commission require, before any license is issued, that DWR cooperate in a proposed study of the impact of high releases, or that DWR commission such a study prepared by another independent qualified source. The County joins in that request. Further, Butte County again requests that the Commission prepare a Supplemental EIS in this proceeding, as we have requested on multiple occasions. Sincerely, Matthew D. Manahan cc: FERC Service List Brad Stephens, Interim County Counsel, Butte County 15021302 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing document upon each person designated on the official service list compiled by the Secretary in this proceeding. Dated at Portland, Maine this day: May 17, 2022. ___________________________ Matthew D. Manahan Pierce Atwood LLP 254 Commercial Street Portland, ME 04101 207-791-1189 mmanahan@pierceatwood.com {mmanahan.1} 15021267.1.1.1.1