HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.14.25 Board Correspondence_ FW_ Delegated Order issued in FERC P-803-121From: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; Hancock, LeAnne
Subject:Board Correspondence: FW: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-803-121
Date:Thursday, August 14, 2025 8:33:30 AM
Please see Board Correspondence
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Subject: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-803-121
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On 8/14/2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document:
Docket(s): P-803-121
Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Filing Type: Delegated Order
Description: Order Granting Extension of Time to File Butte Creek Fisheries Mitigation Plan re Pacific Gas and
Electric Company's DeSabla-Centerville Project under P-803.
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Pacific Gas and Electric Company Project No 803-121
ORDER GRANTING EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE BUTTE CREEK FISHERIES
MITIGATION PLAN
(Issued August 14,2025)
1.On June 18, 2025, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (licensee)filed a request for
an extension of time to file a Butte Creek Fisheries Mitigation Plan (Plan) with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) 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 and Bureau
of Land Management.
2.On August 9, 2023, the project’s Butte Canal was breached when the licensee
increased flows diverted to the Canal from Butte Creek Diversion Dam. As a result of
the breach, approximately 6,700 cubic yards of debris entered Butte Creek from a newly
formed channel spurring off the Canal. Between November 29, 2023, and November 18,
2024, Commission staff investigated the incident, which ultimately culminated in a
November 18, 2024, letter, in which the Commission found the licensee in violation of
the project license. The Commission’s November 18, 2024, letter required multiple
follow-up actions to address the adverse environmental effects of the failure, including
the development of a Butte Creek Fisheries Mitigation Plan (Plan). The Plan must
contain provisions to mitigate for the loss of federally-listed Central Valley (CV)spring-
run Chinook salmon. Mitigative actions may include habitat improvement, fish stocking,
fish passage improvements, funding for habitat improvement projects or broodstock
rearing, or other similar measures. The Plan must be developed in consultation with the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and California Department of Fish and
Wildlife (California DFW) (collectively, agencies)and filed with the Commission no
later than February 17, 2025. On February 19, 2025, the licensee provided an update on
the development of the Plan, indicating that it was actively coordinating with the agencies
on its development and would file the final Plan with the Commission by June 18, 2025.
3.The licensee is requesting an extension of time until September 18, 2025, to file
the Plan with the Commission. The licensee states that it has been consulting extensively
with the agencies on the Plan since its February 18, 2025, update, and held seven
meetings with the agencies on the Plan, as well as the results of other studies it has done
on water quality and potential dredging in the DeSabla Reservoir, both of which are
Document Accession #: 20250814-3043 Filed Date: 08/14/2025
Project No. 803-121 2
related to potential mitigative efforts following the 2023 failure. Also during this time,
the licensee completed an evaluation of potential mitigation to CV spring-run Chinook
salmon, which concluded that a captive broodstock program may the most appropriate
form of mitigation.1
4.During a meeting with the agencies on potential mitigation (which the Plan would
be based on) in May 2025, the licensee and agencies agreed that a captive broodstock
program is an appropriate form of mitigation; however, the licensee and agencies
disagree on how such a program should be implemented. Therefore, the licensee requests
additional time to resolve the differences in opinion, arrive at a mutually agreeable
approach, and develop a Plan.
5. The licensee is making steady progress on developing the Plan and an extension
would afford it and the agencies additional time to come to a consensus on the most
appropriate mitigation for the Butte Creek fishery following the 2023 canal failure. The
licensee’s request should be approved.
The Director orders:
(A)Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (licensee) request to extend the
deadline for filing a Butte Creek Fishery Mitigation Plan (Plan) for the DeSabla-
Centerville Project No. 803, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission) on June 18, 2025,is approved. The new deadline for filing the Plan is
September 18, 2025.
(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, 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
1 Central Valley Spring-Run Chinook Salmon Habitat Assessment. Available at:
https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filedownload?fileid=98360DC9-0816-C76A-9E07-
9594A7A00000
Document Accession #: 20250814-3043 Filed Date: 08/14/2025
Document Content(s)
P-803 Butte Creek Fisheries Mitigation Plan EOT.docx......................1
Document Accession #: 20250814-3043 Filed Date: 08/14/2025