Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.09.25 Board Correspondence - FW_ Compliance Directives issued in FERC P-619-164From: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 Cc:Loeser, Kamie; Nuzum, Danielle Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Compliance Directives issued in FERC P-619-164 Date:Thursday, October 9, 2025 4:38:56 PM Please see Board Correspondence - -----Original Message----- From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov> Sent: Thursday, October 9, 2025 8:05 AM Subject: Compliance Directives issued in FERC P-619-164 .ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening attachments, clicking on links, or replying.. On 10/9/2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document: Docket(s): P-619-164 Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company Filing Type: Compliance Directives General Correspondence Description: Letter to Pacific Gas & Electric Company discussing the 09/23/2025 et al. results of the 2025 Environmental Inspection for the Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project under P-619. To view the document for this Issuance, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist? accession_num=20251009-3023__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!GG8UzyJW4XbV7fPV5-S6PZ4l- TaPPLo5fzM9PEIm5jowMzvTSw_dDrNU7f5azXjEBSxwnqEgTFHQ1qSuxi_dT57m5uboHOzlcNSX$ To modify your subscriptions, click here: S6PZ4l-TaPPLo5fzM9PEIm5jowMzvTSw_dDrNU7f5azXjEBSxwnqEgTFHQ1qSuxi_dT57m5uboHBOb_z9S$ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please do not respond to this email. Online help is available here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ferc.gov/efiling-help.asp__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!GG8UzyJW4XbV7fPV5- S6PZ4l-TaPPLo5fzM9PEIm5jowMzvTSw_dDrNU7f5azXjEBSxwnqEgTFHQ1qSuxi_dT57m5uboHI_YXrud$ or for phone support, call 866-208-3676. Comments and Suggestions can be sent to this email address: mailto:FERCOnlineSupport@Ferc.gov FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Washington, D. C. 20426 OFFICE OF ENERGY PROJECTS Project No. 619-164 – California Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project October 9, 2025 VIA FERC SERVICE Stephanie Maggard, Director Pacific Gas & Electric Company P.O. Box 28209 Oakland, CA 94604 Subject: Results of the 2025 Environmental Inspection for the Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project Dear Mrs. Maggard: On September 23 – 26, 2025, I conducted an environmental inspection of the Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project No. 619. Thank you for the cooperation and assistance that your staff extended to me during the inspection. Based on file reviews, discussions, and field observations made during the inspection, the project was found to be in overall compliance with license articles related to fish and wildlife, recreation, cultural resources, and public safety. However, the following items were identified and require your attention and action. 1. The section of the Part 8 sign for the project, available at the Haskins Valley Campground, that displays the contact information for the project has faded and become illegible. Please replace or repair the Part 8 sign so that this information is legible and available to the public. You can refer to the regulations for additional guidance and install signage displaying the required information (Section 8.2(a) of the Federal Power Act). At a minimum, a Part 8 sign should include: the project name and number; a statement that the project is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; the licensee name; an active phone number that can be called to obtain additional project-related recreational information; permissible use times Document Accession #: 20251009-3023 Filed Date: 10/09/2025 - 2 - and activities for the available recreational facilities; identification of the other recreational sites and opportunities available at the project; and a statement that the recreational facilities are open to all members of the public without discrimination. We recommend that Part 8 signage be placed at all public recreational facilities throughout the project; however, it is preferrable that one be placed at each larger recreational facility of the project. The signs should be conspicuous, on durable signposts, and on sunfast material, so that the public can easily access information about recreational opportunities offered by the project. Accordingly, please replace or repair the Part 8 sign before the start of the 2026 recreational season and file photo documentation of the correction by May 31, 2026. 2. Please bring the out-of-service shower unit at Sandy Point Boat Launch back into use, before the start of the 2026 recreational season, and file photo documentation that this maintenance activity has been completed by May 31, 2026. 3. In your Recreation Management Plan, potable water is described as an amenity of the Hutchins Group Campground, Sundew Campground, and Mill Creek Campground but, for various reasons, was not available at the time of the inspection. Instead, signs were posted on informational boards indicating that potable water was available as Sandy Point Day Use Area. Your staff indicated that they are working towards addressing this issue; however, until the potable water systems are repaired/resolved, I request that you post on the affected campground information boards: clear notice that potable water is not currently available at the site, a simple but clear map directing the public from the affected campground to the site with available potable water, and the reasons why potable water is not currently available at the affected site. In cases where water quality issues prevent use of the water for human consumption but could be safely used for other needs, such as dishwashing, fire suppression, etc., please clearly state the safe and unsafe uses of the water at the campground but maintain access to the spigots. This is to ensure that desired outcomes, such as putting out campfires, continue to occur but drinking or cooking with the water, which could make the public sick, are avoided. In addition, at recreational sites that continue to provide potable water without issues, please affix a sign on the general information board or other conspicuous areas that clearly states as such, so the public can be assured the water from that site is safe for consumption. Please affix these signs as soon as possible, but no later than 7 days from the date of this letter. Please continue to update and change the signs as water supply repairs are completed and water quality testing informs potable water safety, to reflect current conditions at each campground. Please file photo documentation of the potable water information signs when this action is completed. 4. At Sandy Point Boat Launch, please restock the child loaner life vest rack by the Document Accession #: 20251009-3023 Filed Date: 10/09/2025 - 3 - start of the 2026 recreational season and file photo documentation of life jacket availability by May 31, 2026. We request that you check and restock throughout the recreational seasons going forward. 5. Hutchins Group Campground was severely affected by the Dixie Fire. Though it currently does not supply potable water (referenced above) due to the destruction of its water tank, the campsites have been cleared of hazard trees and remain available for occupation by the public. From Hutchins, the trailhead sign to Lower Bucks was also burned. Please replace this directional signage by the start of the 2026 recreational season and file photo documentation by May 31, 2026. 6. At Mill Creek, an accessible pathway to the bathrooms from one of the two accessible campgrounds has been raised up due to nearby tree roots, causing the sidewalk to have two sharp edges, which has decreased the accessibility of the pathway to those requiring mobility devices such as walkers or wheelchairs. Your staff informed us that Mill Creek Campground is in the process of being rehabilitated and many amenities will be replaced in time. In the interim, please grade the pathway to allow accessibility by the start of the 2026 recreational season and file photo documentation of the pathway by May 31, 2026. Continue to annually check this location to ensure further displacement by tree roots does not occur and continue to address this issue to maintain accessibility. When the site undergoes construction, please correct the issue more permanently and note it in the final construction report. 7. An aquatic plant was observed in the Grizzly Forebay, visible from several Grizzly Campground campsites, that could be a water milfoil species. Please obtain a sample of the aquatic plant to determine its species and file your determination, with photo documentation and the key species characteristics that indicate its species, by November 30, 3025. If it is found to be an invasive aquatic plant, please include it in your next scheduled aquatic invasive species management plan survey, determine the locations that it has colonized, and use the processes in your aquatic species management plan to monitor and eradicate it from your reservoirs according to requirements of the plan. 8. In several bathrooms, wasps and yellow jacket occupation was evident and may prevent the public from utilizing these facilities. I request that you continue regular wasp abatement (i.e., baited traps, nest removals, etc., in consultation with the resource agencies) for public amenity structures, such as showers, bathrooms, and wildlife resistant food boxes, within the bounds of existing environmental plans and requirements. Document Accession #: 20251009-3023 Filed Date: 10/09/2025 - 4 - Thank you for your cooperation regarding these matters. If you have any questions, please contact me at (415) 369-3348 or by email at katherine.schmidt@ferc.gov. Sincerely, Katherine T. Schmidt Aquatic Resources Branch Division of Hydropower Administration and Compliance Document Accession #: 20251009-3023 Filed Date: 10/09/2025 KATHERINE SCHMIDT Digitally signed by KATHERINE SCHMIDT Date: 2025.10.09 07:32:54 -07'00' Document Content(s) P-619-164_2025 Environmental Inspection Followups.pdf ....................1 Document Accession #: 20251009-3023 Filed Date: 10/09/2025