HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.01.2024 Board Correspondence - FW_ Environmental and Recreational Compliance Report submitted in FERC P-2107-000 by Pacific Gas and Electric Company,et al.From:Clerk of the Board
To:Bennett, Robin; Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Hancock, LeAnne; Jessee, Meegan; Kimmelshue, Tod; Kitts, Melissa; Lee, Lewis; McDonnell, Susan; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney,
Kathleen; Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth; Loeser, Kamie
Cc:Nevers, Dawn
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Environmental and Recreational Compliance Report submitted in FERC P-2107-000 by Pacific Gas and Electric Company,et al.
Date:Wednesday, May 1, 2024 10:33:34 AM
Please see Board correspondence -
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Subject: Environmental and Recreational Compliance Report submitted in FERC P-2107-000 by Pacific Gas and Electric Company,et al.
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On 5/1/2024, the following Filing was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C.:
Filer: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
PG&E Corporation (as Agent)
Docket(s): P-2107-000
Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Filing Type: Environmental and Recreational Compliance Report
Description: Pacific Gas and Electric Company submits Sandy Beach Recreation Improvements Biological Assessment re the Poe Hydroelectric Project under P-2107.
To view the document for this Filing, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20240501-
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Power Generation 300 Lakeside Drive Oakland, CA 94612 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 28209 Oakland, CA 94604
May 1, 2024 Via Electronic Submittal (E-File) Debbie-Anne Reese , Acting Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Division of Hydropower Administration and Compliance 888 First Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20426 RE: Poe Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2107-CA
Sandy Beach Recreation Improvements Biological Assessment Dear Acting Secretary Reese: This letter presents the Sandy Beach Recreation Improvements Biological Assessment for
Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) Poe Hydroelectric Project, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) No. 2107. On March 29, 2024, PG&E communicated to
FERC that PG&E was continuing informal consultation with the Unites States Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS). Based on feedback from USFWS, PG&E committed to preparing
and filing a Biological Assessment with FERC by May 31, 2024. The Biological Assessment is enclosed with this submittal (Enclosure 1). If you have questions or comments regarding this matter, please contact Sky Ramirez-Doble,
license coordinator for PG&E, at (530) 250-7002. Sincerely, Megan Young Senior License Coordinator Enclosure: 1. Biological Assessment in Support of Section 7 Consultation with USFWS, dated April 2024 cc: via email w/enclosure Leigh Bartoo, USFWS - Aondrea_Bartoo@fws.gov Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
ENCLOSURE 1 Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
Biological Assessment in Support of
Section 7 Consultation with USFWS
Sandy Beach Recreational Enhancement Project
Poe Hydroelectric Project
FERC Project No. 2107
LOCATION:
Butte County, California
April 2024
Contact Person: Shannon Johnson, Senior Terrestrial Biologist
Phone Number: (925) 719-4624
Email: Shannon.Johnson@pge.com
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
300 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA 94612
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Threatened, Endangered, or Proposed Threatened or Endangered Species ........................ 1
1.2 Critical Habitat .................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Consultation to Date ............................................................................................................ 2
2 Description of the Proposed Action .....................................................................................3
2.1 Project Background and Purpose ........................................................................................ 3
2.2 Project Location and Action Area ....................................................................................... 3
2.3 Project Proponents............................................................................................................... 5
2.3.1 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ............................................................. 5
2.3.2 US Department of Agriculture – Forest Service .................................................. 5
2.3.3 State Water Resources Control Board ................................................................. 5
2.3.4 California Department of Fish and Wildlife ........................................................ 5
2.3.5 Pacific Gas & Electric Company ......................................................................... 5
2.3.6 Other Permitting .................................................................................................. 6
2.4 Existing Project Facilities, Operations, and Maintenance ................................................... 6
2.4.1 Existing Project Facilities and Features ............................................................... 6
2.4.2 Existing Project Operations ................................................................................. 6
2.5 Proposed Action .................................................................................................................. 7
2.5.1 Proposed Action ................................................................................................... 7
2.5.2 Conservation Measures ........................................................................................ 8
3 Existing Environment .........................................................................................................11
3.1 General Description of the River Basin ............................................................................ 11
3.1.1 Watersheds and Tributary Streams .................................................................... 11
3.1.2 Climate ............................................................................................................... 11
3.1.3 Major Land Uses ................................................................................................ 12
3.1.4 Major Water Uses .............................................................................................. 12
4 Foothill Yellow-legged Frog ...............................................................................................12
4.1 Status and Critical Habitat ................................................................................................. 12
4.2 Species Description ........................................................................................................... 13
4.2.1 Stream Habitat ................................................................................................... 13
4.2.2 Life History ........................................................................................................ 13
4.2.3 Migration/Dispersal Routes and Connectivity ................................................... 14
4.3 General Distribution and Population Status ...................................................................... 15
4.4 Factors of Decline ............................................................................................................. 17
4.5 Local Site Evaluations and Survey Results ....................................................................... 17
5 Effects of the Proposed Action ...........................................................................................21
5.1 Direct and Indirect Effects ................................................................................................ 21
5.2 Effects on Critical Habitat ................................................................................................. 21
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
5.3 Cumulative Effects ............................................................................................................ 22
6 Conclusion and Determination ..........................................................................................23
7 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................................24
8 List of Contacts/Preparers .................................................................................................26
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
FIGURES
Figure 1. Sandy Beach Recreation Enhancement Project Area. ......................................................4
Figure 2. DPSs of the Foothill Yellow-legged Frog Listed as Endangered or Threatened
(from USFWS 2023) ..............................................................................................16
Figure 3. YOY observations in the Poe Reach, 2007-2023 ...........................................................20
TABLES
Table 1. Egg mass counts and lambda (λ) estimates in the Poe Reach NFFR, 2001 –
2023........................................................................................................................19
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A Sandy Beach Recreational Improvement Project – Project Description
Attachment B USFWS Species List
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024
1 Introduction
The purpose of this Biological Assessment (BA) is to evaluate the effects of the Sandy Beach
Recreational Improvement Project (Project) (PG&E 2023a, Attachment A) construction on
species listed as threatened, endangered, or proposed as threatened or endangered under the
federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Sandy Beach is one recreational component of the Poe
Hydroelectric Project (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC] Project No. 2107)
located along the North Fork Feather River (NFFR). The Proposed Action is the improvement of
the existing recreation area and is described in Section 2.5 and the Project Description (PD,
Attachment A). This work will occur entirely in disturbed, upland areas.
The Project Description incorporates numerous conservation measures (i.e., protection,
mitigation, and enhancement (PM&E) measures) intended to avoid, minimize, and mitigate
potential adverse effects on special-status species. This BA was prepared in accordance with
legal requirements set forth under Section 7 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1536 [c]).
1.1 Threatened, Endangered, or Proposed Threatened or Endangered Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) page was
queried on April 16, 2024, to identify federally listed and proposed species that could potentially
occur in the Project Area (Attachment B). This query returned the following species:
• California spotted owl, Strix occidentalis occidentalis – Proposed Threatened
• Northwestern Pond Turtle, Actinemys marmorata – Proposed Threatened
• California Red-legged Frog, Rana draytonii – Threatened
• Foothill Yellow-legged Frog, Rana boylii – Threatened
• Western Spadefoot, Spea hammondii – Proposed Threatened
Based on a search of the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB, CDFW 2023), US
Forest Service Natural Resource Information System database (NRIS, USFS 2023), and PG&E’s
surveys for foothill yellow-legged frog (FYLF) for the Action Area and a 1.5 mile buffer, only
FYLF are known to occur at or near the Sandy Beach Day Use Area.
While California spotted owl occur in the general vicinity of the work area, the nearest
documented activity center is located more than 0.5 miles away. The work area lacks suitable
habitat for California spotted owl (large trees > 24 inches diameter breast height and a multi-
layered canopy, USFWS 2022), being primarily open sand and an existing parking area, with
some associated willows, alders, and other riparian vegetation.
The site and adjacent areas lack the lacustrine or slow velocity lotic habitat required by
California red-legged frog for breeding and they have not been observed in the area during more
than 20 years of surveys with multiple surveys per year during FYLF monitoring studies. The
nearest recorded observation of California red-legged frog is at private ponds near Big Bend in a
different watershed with significant topographic separation, approximately six miles distant
(CDFW 2023).
There are no CNDDB or NRIS records of northwestern pond turtle within the search area, nor
have they been observed during PG&E’s FYLF surveys, where they would have been noted.
Document Accession #: 20240501-5189 Filed Date: 05/01/2024