HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.12.25 Board Correspondence - FW_ FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies issued in FERC P-803-000From:Clerk of the Board
To:Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Jessee, Meegan; Kimmelshue, Tod; Kitts, Melissa; Krater, Sharleen;
Lee, Lewis; Little, Melissa; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney, Kathleen; Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth; Loeser, Kamie
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Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies issued in FERC P-803-000
Date:Monday, June 16, 2025 8:19:32 AM
Please see Board Correspondence -
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Subject: FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies issued in FERC P-803-000
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On 6/12/2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document:
Docket(s): P-803-000
Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Filing Type: FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies
Description: Letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - San Francisco Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office discussing the designation for non-
federal representative to conduct informal consultation under Section 7 etc. re the DeSabla-Centerville Project under P-803.
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FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20426
OFFICE OF ENERGY PROJECTS
Project No. 803-000 -- California
DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric
Project
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
June 12, 2025
VIA Electronic Mail
Donald Ratcliff
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
SF Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300
Sacramento, California 95814
donald_ratcliff@fws.gov
Subject: Designation for non-federal representative to conduct informal consultation
under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
Dear Mr. Ratcliff:
By letter dated June 9, 2025, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), licensee
for the DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project No. 803,1 requested designation as the
Commission’s non-federal representative for the purpose of informal consultation with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). The DeSabla-Centerville Project is located on Butte Creek and the
West Branch Feather River (WBFR) in Butte County, California.
PG&E’s June 9, 2025, filing seeks Commission approval for a temporary variance
of the flow requirements specified in Article 39 2 of the project license for the WBFR
below the Hendricks Head Dam and in Philbrook Creek below Philbrook Reservoir
between July 1 and September 30, 202. Specifically, PG&E requests that the
instantaneous normal water year minimum flow requirements: (1) in the WBFR, of 15
cubic feet per second (cfs), be temporarily modified to a target of 7 cfs averaged over 48
hours; and (2) in Philbrook Creek, of 2 cfs, be temporarily modified to a target between 1
and 2 cfs averaged over 48 hours, in order to maximize the delivery of flows released
1 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 11 FERC ¶ 62,207 (1980).
2 Order Amending Revised Exhibit S (26 FERC ¶ 62,236), issued March 15, 1984.
Document Accession #: 20250612-3024 Filed Date: 06/12/2025
Project No. 803-000 - 2 -
from Philbrook to Butte Creek by eliminating the need to release additional buffer flows
to ensure the requisite instantaneous minimum instream flows are always met. The
proposed variance would help preserve cold water storage in Philbrook Reservoir,
increase flow to Butte Creek via the Hendricks Canal, and decrease water residence time
in the DeSabla Forebay. This would provide additional water to Butte Creek during the
hot summer months to minimize elevated temperature effects to Central Valley spring-
run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and to preserve water for release later
in the summer months towards the end of their holding period when the situation is most
critical.
By this letter, we designate the licensee as our non-federal representative for the
purpose of conducting informal consultation with your office pursuant to the regulations
at 50 C.F.R. §402.08 implementing section 7 of the ESA. The role of the non-federal
representative may include conducting studies, developing and supplying information,
attending meetings, ensuring that pertinent endangered species information is maintained
in a project file, participating in informal consultation with your agency, developing a
draft biological assessment if necessary, and keeping the Commission apprised of its
actions. However, the Commission remains ultimately responsible for all findings and
determinations regarding the effects of the project on any federally listed species or
critical habitat.
We appreciate your assistance with ESA consultation regarding the proposed
temporary flow variance at the Desabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project. If you have
any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at (202) 502-6760 or by email at
joy.kurtz@ferc.gov.
Sincerely,
(for) Andrea Claros, Chief
Aquatic Resources Branch
Division of Hydropower Administration
and Compliance
Document Accession #: 20250612-3024 Filed Date: 06/12/2025
ROBERT
BALLANTINE
Digitally signed by
ROBERT BALLANTINE
Date: 2025.06.12
09:29:46 -04'00'
Project No. 803-000 - 3 -
cc: VIA Electronic Mail
Brittany Reaves
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
SF Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300
Sacramento, California 95814
brittany_reaves@fws.gov
Stephanie Millsap
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
SF Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300
Sacramento, California 95814
stephanie_millsap@fws.gov
Document Accession #: 20250612-3024 Filed Date: 06/12/2025
Document Content(s)
P-803-000_nonfed letter.pdf...............................................1
Document Accession #: 20250612-3024 Filed Date: 06/12/2025