HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.29.25 Board Correspondence_ FW_ Delegated Order issued in FERC P-803-123From: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; Little, Melissa; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami;
Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney, Kathleen; Teeter, Doug
Cc:Loeser, Kamie; Nuzum, Danielle
Subject:Board Correspondence: FW: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-803-123
Date:Tuesday, July 29, 2025 12:31:09 PM
Please see Board Correspondence
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Subject: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-803-123
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On 7/29/2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document:
Docket(s): P-803-123
Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Filing Type: Delegated Order
Description: Order Approving Temporary Variance of Minimum Flow Requirements Under Article 39 re Pacific Gas and Electric Company's DeSabla-Centerville Project under P-
803.
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192 FERC ¶ 62,050
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Pacific Gas and Electric Company Project No 803-123
ORDER APPROVING TEMPORARY VARIANCE OF MINIMUM FLOW
REQUIREMENTS UNDER ARTICLE 39
(Issued July 29, 2025)
1.On May 6, 2025, and supplemented on June 9, and July 18, 2025,Pacific Gas and
Electric Company (licensee)filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (Commission) for a temporary variance of the minimum flow requirements
under Article 39 of the project license for the DeSabla-Centerville Project No. 803. The
project is located on Butte Creek, West Branch Feather River, and their tributaries in
Butte County, California. The project occupies lands of the United States within Lassen
National Forest administered by the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) and Bureau of
Land Management.
License Requirement and Background
2.License Article 391 requires that the licensee maintain minimum stream flows at
various project locations. In part,and as relevant to the licensee’s variance request,the
licensee is required to maintain year-round instantaneous minimum flows of: (1) 7 cubic
feet per second (cfs) in dry water years, or 15 cfs in normal water years, in the West
Branch Feather River below Hendricks Head Dam;and (2) release 2 cfs from Philbrook
Reservoir into Philbrook Creek during all water year types. Article 39(e) allows the
licensee to modify flows for short periods of time upon agreement between the licensee
and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (California DFW).
Licensee’s Request
3.The licensee requests a temporary variance of the instantaneous minimum flow
requirements in the West Branch Feather River below the Hendricks Head Dam and in
Philbrook Creek below Philbrook Reservoir to be averaged over a period of 48 hours.
Specifically, the licensee requests that the instantaneous normal and dry year minimum
flow requirements: (1) in the West Branch Feather River, of 15 or 7 cubic feet per second
(cfs), respectively, be temporarily modified to 7 cfs, as averaged over 48 hours; and (2) in
Philbrook Creek, of 2 cfs (in both water year types), be temporarily modified to between
1 Order Amending Revised Exhibit S (26 FERC ¶ 62,236), issued March 15, 1984.
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025
Project No. 803-123 2
1 and 2 cfs,as averaged over 48 hours. The licensee proposes to execute these changes
as soon as the Commission grants approval until September 30, 2025. The licensee states
that the temporary variance would maximize the delivery of flows released from
Philbrook Reservoir 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 Hendricks Canal, and decrease water residence time in
DeSabla Forebay, thus providing additional water to Butte Creek during the hot summer
months to minimize high temperature effects to federally-listed Central Valley (CV)
spring-run Chinook salmon. The cold temperatures are expected to reduce the potential
stress and mortality risk faced by holding adults.The proposed variance would also aid
in the preservation of water for release later in the summer months towards the end of
their holding period when cold water is most critical to their life history.
4.During the proposed variance, the licensee would implement the following
conservation measures: hold weekly meetings with the California DFW, National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (collectively,
resource agencies); make operational adjustments in consultation with the resource
agencies; monitor and provide weekly flow changes to the resource agencies; and notify
the resource agencies of any event that significantly inhibits or impairs release structures.
Decisions on when and how to implement variance flows, as well as any changes under
the variance, will be done in consultation with the resource agencies.
Agency Consultation
5.The licensee sent its variance request to the resource agencies for review on April
1, 2025. California DFW, FWS and NMFS concurred with the licensee’s request on
April 3, 28, and 29, 2025, respectively, and offered to provide technical assistance during
the weekly meetings during the variance period. In addition to concurring with the
request, the resource agencies stressed the importance of the variance in providing
conducive conditions to CV spring-run Chinook salmon (with ancillary benefits to
California Central Valley (CCV)steelhead).
Public Notice
6.The Commission issued a public notice of the application for the variance on May
27, 2025, with protests, comments, and motions to intervene due by June 26, 2025. On
May 29, 2025, California DFW and the California State Water Resources Control Board
filed motions to intervene to the proceeding, followed by Department of Interior on June
23, 2025. On June 2, 2025, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance filed
comments in support of the variance.
7.Finally, on June 11, 2025, a private citizen filed numerous comments regarding
the licensee’s management of Butte and Upper Centerville Canals, primarily as it relates
the maintenance and operation of the canals and allocated water rights for Upper
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025
Project No. 803-123 3
Centerville Canal.2 Given the nature of the comments, the comments are outside of the
scope of the proposed variance and are not germane to the proceeding; therefore, they
will not be considered further here.
Environmental Review
A.National Environmental Policy Act
8.The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to
consider the environmental impacts of their actions in the decision-making process and
provide a detailed statement on proposals for major federal actions significantly affecting
the quality of the human environment.
9.To fulfill its NEPA obligations,3 the Commission completed an environmental
assessment (EA), issued on July 29, 2025.4 The EA concluded that approving the
requested variance would not result in any long-term or significant adverse
environmental effects, would allow the licensee to conserve water storage and allocate
cold water resources to benefit CV spring-run Chinook salmon holding in Butte Creek, as
well as providing benefits to CCV steelhead,and recommended that the variance be
approved. Furthermore, the Commission invited agency and public participation in the
decision-making process.
B.Endangered Species Act and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act
10.Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)of 19735 requires federal agencies
to ensure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of
federally listed threatened or endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse
modification of the critical habitat of such species. According to the FWS’s Information
for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) page, the following species have the potential to
occur in the action area: the endangered gray wolf; the threatened North American
2 The Commission does not adjudicate water rights.
3 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.; see also 18 C.F.R. pt. 380 (2024) (Commission’s
regulations implementing NEPA).The Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) final
rule rescinding its NEPA regulations became effective on April 11, 2025.90 Fed. Reg.
10,610 (Feb. 25, 2025).
4 Environmental Assessment for Temporary Flow Variance, DeSabla-Centerville
Hydroelectric Project –FERC Project No. 803-123, California (EAXX-019-20-000-
1750253551, July 2025.
5 16 U.S.C. § 1536(a).
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025
Project No. 803-123 4
wolverine; the experimental population of California condor; the proposed threatened
California spotted owl; the proposed threatened northwestern pond turtle; the threatened
California red-legged frog; the threatened foothill yellow-legged frog; the endangered
Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog; and the proposed threatened monarch butterfly.
Further, IPaC identified proposed critical habitat for the foothill yellow-legged frog
within the affected area.
11.On June 12, 2025, Commission staff designated the licensee as its non-federal
representative for the purpose of conducting formal consultation with the FWS pursuant
to section 7(a)(2) of the ESA with the FWS. The licensee consulted with the FWS
regarding potential effects to the abovementioned species and determined the only
species that could be affected by the proposed action are the foothill yellow-legged frog
and northwestern pond turtle. In its Biological Assessment dated June 18, 2025, the
licensee concluded that the proposed action may affect, but is not likely to adversely
affect,foothill yellow-legged frog and its critical habitat and northwestern pond turtle.6
Commission staff reviewed the BA and reached the same conclusion. By letter dated
July 8, 2025, the FWS concurred with this determination, provided that the licensee
implements the proposed conservation measures previously described in this order.
12.The affected area also is located within the range of threatened CV spring-run
Chinook salmon and threatened CCV steelhead and their critical habitat. Commission
staff determined that the proposed action may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect,
CV spring-run Chinook salmon and CCV steelhead and their critical habitats.7 Further,
the project watershed also contains Pacific Coast Salmon essential fish habitat for
Chinook salmon, as designated under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. Because the requested variance is designed to temporarily improve the
water quality component of EFH, Commission staff concludes that the proposed action
would not adversely affect Pacific Coast Salmon EFH. By letter dated June 30, 2025,
Commission staff requested concurrence from NMFS on these determinations. On July
8, 2025, NMFS provided concurrence with the Commission’s determination.
Conclusion
13.The licensee’s request is very similar to previous variances the Commission
approved, with the most recent approval in 20248, with past variances focusing on
6 The analyses supporting this determination is in Section 6.B of the
Commission’s July 29, 2025, EA, Effects of the Proposed Action.
7 See footnote 6.
8 Order Approving Temporary Variance of Minimum Flow Requirements Under
Article 39 (188 FERC ¶ 62,033), issued July 18, 2024. The order temporarily reduced
flow requirements under Article 39 from the date of issuance until September 30, 2024.
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025
Project No. 803-123 5
conserving water storage and allocating cold water resources to benefit CV spring-run
Chinook salmon in Butte Creek below DeSabla Tailrace and their critical habitat during
the holding period.The reduced water temperatures expected during the variance would
also reduce the potential for, and extent of, stress and disease, and benefit juvenile
steelhead, which may be present over-summering in Butte Creek. The increased flows to
Butte Creek under the variance would increase available aquatic habitat. In this way,
approving the licensee’s 2025 request would simply represent a continuation of previous
Commission approvals for the same purpose.
14.While the variance seeks to improve conditions for salmonids in Butte Creek
downstream of DeSabla Tailrace by allocating water to the Butte Creek basin that would
otherwise go the West Branch Feather River, aquatic species in the West Branch Feather
River basin are not expected to be negatively impacted because of the variance. The
proposed flow regime during the variance represents those flows required during a dry
water year under Article 39, and those flows have been adequate for maintaining aquatic
habitat and fish populations over the duration of the license. While some foothill yellow-
legged frog and northwestern pond turtle habitats would receive less water than required
during a normal water year under the variance, it is not likely to adversely affect these
species. This is further supported by the resource agencies comments on the variance,
which agree that it represents an overall benefit to the project area.
15.Given the benefits to ESA-listed salmonids, the close approximation of the
variance compared to required minimum flows, and the support of the resource agencies,
the proposed variance should be approved. We should also reserve our authority to
modify the current temporary variance based on any new information received, or as
updated conditions may warrant.
16.In order to minimize repetitive requests for a temporary variance, Commission
staff recommends that the licensee consider filing an application to amend license Article
39 of the project license, pursuant to 18 CFR 4.200. The amendment application should
detail any anticipated environmental effects of the proposed amendment and should
provide documentation of consultation with the relevant federal and state resource
agencies and Tribes, and the licensee’s response to any comments received.
The Director orders:
(A)Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (licensee) request for a temporary
variance of the minimum flow requirements under license Article 39 for the DeSabla-
Centerville Project No. 803, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission) on May 6, 2025,and supplemented on June 9 and July 18, 2025, as
modified by ordering paragraph (B),is approved through September 30, 2025.
(B) The Commission reserves its authority to modify this order based on any
new information received and as future conditions may warrant.
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025
Project No. 803-123 6
(C)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,and the Commission’s regulations at
18 C.F.R. § 385.713 (2024).The filing of a request for rehearing 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.
Andrea Claros
Chief, Aquatic Resources Branch
Division of Hydropower Administration
and Compliance
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025
Document Content(s)
P-803-123 Order.docx......................................................1
Document Accession #: 20250729-3038 Filed Date: 07/29/2025