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 -
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Subject: Compliance Directives issued in FERC P-619-164
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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.
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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
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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
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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