HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.26.26 Board Correspondence - FW_ Formal Notice issued in FERC P-803-129From: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
Cc:Cannon, Jamie
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Formal Notice issued in FERC P-803-129
Date:Thursday, February 26, 2026 3:53:06 PM
Please see Board Correspondence -
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From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov>
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2026 6:16 AM
Subject: Formal Notice issued in FERC P-803-129
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On 2/26/2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document:
Docket(s): P-803-129
Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Filing Type: Formal Notice
Description: Notice of Application for Temporary Variance of Flow Requirements Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions to Intervene, and Protests re Pacific Gas and Electric
Company's DeSabla-Centerville Project under P-803.
To view the document for this Issuance, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20260226-
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Pacific Gas and Electric Company Project No. 803-129
NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY VARIANCE OF FLOW
REQUIREMENTS ACCEPTED FOR FILING AND SOLICITING COMMENTS,
MOTIONS TO INTERVENE, AND PROTESTS
(February 26, 2026)
Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the
Commission and is available for public inspection:
a. Application Type: Application for Temporary Variance of Flow
Requirements
b. Project No: 803-129
c. Date Filed: February 6, 2026
d. Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (licensee)
e. Name of Project: DeSabla-Centerville Project
f. Location: The project is located on Butte Creek, West Branch Feather
River, and their tributaries in Butte County, California. The
project occupies federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest
Service and Bureau of Land Management
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 USC 791a -825r
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Sky Ramirez-Doble, License Coordinator, Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, P.O. Box 28209, Oakland, CA 94604,
(530)250-7002
i. FERC Contact: Joy Kurtz, (202) 502-6760, joy.kurtz@ferc.gov
j.Cooperating agencies: With this notice, the Commission is inviting federal, state,
local, and Tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to
environmental issues affected by the proposal,that wish to cooperate in the preparation of
Document Accession #: 20260226-3006 Filed Date: 02/26/2026
Project No. 803-129 2
any environmental document, if applicable,to follow the instructions for filing such
requests described in item k below. Cooperating agencies should note the Commission's
policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation of any environmental document
cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ¶61,076 (2001).
k. Deadline for filing comments,motions to intervene, and protests: March 30, 2026
5:00 pm Eastern Time.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing.Please file comments,
motions to intervene, and protests using the Commission’s eFiling system
at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments
up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system
at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. For assistance, please contact FERC
Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202)
502-8659 (TTY).In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. Submissions
sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington,
DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne
A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should include the docket
number P-803-129. Comments emailed to Commission staff are not considered part of
the Commission record.
The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all intervenors filing
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each person whose
name appears on the official service list for the project. Further, if an intervenor files
comments or documents with the Commission relating to the merits of an issue that may
affect the responsibilities of a particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of
the document on that resource agency.
l. Description of Request:The licensee requests a temporary variance of the
instantaneous minimum flow requirements in the West Branch Feather River below
Hendricks Head Dam and in Philbrook Creek below Philbrook Reservoir. Specifically,
the licensee requests that the instantaneous minimum flow requirement in the West
Branch Feather River of 15 cubic feet per second (cfs) in a normal water year and 7 cfs in
a dry water year, be temporarily modified to 7 cfs over 48 hours regardless of water year
type (the water year type has not yet been determined). In Philbrook Creek,it requests
that the instantaneous minimum flow requirement of 2 cfs in both normal and dry water
years be temporarily modified to between 1 and 2 cfs over 48 hours.The modifications
would begin on May 4, 2026, and continue through September 30, 2026, with one
potential exception. That is, in the event that water storage in Philbrook Reservoir has
not exceeded 2,116 acre-feet by April 1, 2026, the licensee would commence
modifications in Philbrook Creek sometime between April 1, 2026 and May 4, 2026,if
Document Accession #: 20260226-3006 Filed Date: 02/26/2026
Project No. 803-129 3
supported by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries
Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (resource agencies)). The licensee states
that the temporary variance would maximize the delivery of flows released 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, thus providing additional water to Butte Creek during the hot
summer months to minimize high temperature effects to Central Valley spring-run
Chinook salmon, and to preserve water for release later in the summer months towards
the end of their holding period when the situation is most critical.Decisions on when and
how to implement variance flows, as well as any changes under the variance, will be
made in consultation and proceed with concurrence of licensee staff and the resource
agencies.
m. Locations of the Application: This filing may be viewed on the Commission's
website at http://www.ferc.gov using the "eLibrary" link. Enter the docket number
excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. You
may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be
notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects.
For assistance, call 1-866-208-3676 or e-mail FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov,for TTY,
call (202) 502-8659. Agencies may obtain copies of the application directly from the
applicant.
n. Individuals desiring to be included on the Commission's mailing list should so
indicate by writing to the Secretary of the Commission.
o. Comments, Protests, or Motions to Intervene:Anyone may submit comments, a
protest, or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice
and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, .214, respectively. In determining the appropriate
action to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments filed, but
only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules
may become a party to the proceeding. Any comments, protests, or motions to intervene
must be received on or before the specified comment date for the particular application.
p. Filing and Service of Documents: Any filing must (1) bear in all capital letters the
title “COMMENTS”, “PROTEST”, or “MOTION TO INTERVENE” as applicable; (2)
set forth in the heading the name of the applicant and the project number of the
application to which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone
number of the person commenting, protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise comply
with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All comments, motions to
intervene, or protests must set forth their evidentiary basis. Any filing made by an
intervenor must be accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed in the service
Document Accession #: 20260226-3006 Filed Date: 02/26/2026
Project No. 803-129 4
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR
385.2010.
q.For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions,
comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office of Public Participation at
(202) 502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov.
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
Document Accession #: 20260226-3006 Filed Date: 02/26/2026
Document Content(s)
2026 notice_P-803-129.docx................................................1
Document Accession #: 20260226-3006 Filed Date: 02/26/2026