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Home My WebLink About02.26.26 Board Correspondence - FW_ FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies issued in FERC P-803-000From:Clerk of the Board To:BOS Cc:Loeser, Kamie; Cannon, Jamie Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies issued in FERC P-803-000 Date:Thursday, February 26, 2026 3:53:20 PM Please see Board Correspondence - -----Original Message----- From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov> Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2026 6:26 AM Subject: FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies issued in FERC P-803-000 .ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening attachments, clicking on links, or replying.. On 2/26/2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document: Docket(s): P-803-000 Lead Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company Filing Type: FERC Correspondence With Government Agencies Description: Letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - San Francisco Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office discussing the designation for non-federal representative to conduct informal consultation under Section 7 etc. re the 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- 3010__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!BqAfctARdClKQfZ57WruIbRvkCfZBNvUcSTzvKz27I4eT_alCWPmmLOg_aMpr0mzYqET4c7D5ewNEVh1Bc5vy4jVMToORWSogSoJ$ To modify your subscriptions, click here: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please do not respond to this email. Online help is available here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ferc.gov/efiling-help.asp__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!BqAfctARdClKQfZ57WruIbRvkCfZBNvUcSTzvKz27I4eT_alCWPmmLOg_aMpr0mzYqET4c7D5ewNEVh1Bc5vy4jVMToORfRtEE3p$ 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. 803-000 -- California DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project Pacific Gas and Electric Company February 26, 2026 VIA Electronic Mail Donald Ratcliff U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, SF Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300 Sacramento, California 95814 donald_ratcliff@fws.gov Subject: Designation for non-federal representative to conduct informal consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act Dear Mr. Ratcliff: By letter dated February 9, 2026, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), licensee for the DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project No. 803,1 requested designation as the Commission’s non-federal representative for the purpose of informal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The DeSabla-Centerville Project is located on Butte Creek and the West Branch Feather River (WBFR) in Butte County, California. PG&E’s February 6, 2026, filing seeks Commission approval for a temporary variance of the flow requirements specified in Article 39 2 of the project license for the WBFR below Hendricks Head Dam and for Philbrook Creek below Philbrook Reservoir between May 4, and September 30, 2026.3 Specifically, PG&E requests that the 1 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 11 FERC ¶ 62,207 (1980). 2 Order Amending Revised Exhibit S (26 FERC ¶ 62,236), issued March 15, 1984. 3 The licensee’s February 6th filing states that it may reduce flows in Philbrook Creek as early as April 1, 2026, if water storage in Philbrook Reservoir is less than 2,116 acre-feet and it receives concurrence from FWS, National Marine Fisheries Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Document Accession #: 20260226-3010 Filed Date: 02/26/2026 Project No. 803-000 - 2 - instantaneous minimum flow requirements in the WBFR 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.4 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 intent of the modifications is to 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. This would provide additional water to Butte Creek during the hot summer months to minimize elevated temperature effects to Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and to preserve water for release later in the summer months towards the end of their holding period when the situation is most critical. By this letter, we designate the licensee as our non-federal representative for the purpose of conducting informal consultation with your office pursuant to the regulations at 50 C.F.R. §402.08 implementing section 7 of the ESA. The role of the non-federal representative may include conducting studies, developing and supplying information, attending meetings, ensuring that pertinent endangered species information is maintained in a project file, participating in informal consultation with your agency, developing a draft biological assessment if necessary, and keeping the Commission apprised of its actions. However, the Commission remains ultimately responsible for all findings and determinations regarding the effects of the project on any federally listed species or critical habitat. We appreciate your assistance with ESA consultation regarding the proposed temporary flow variance at the Desabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at (202) 502-6760 or by email at joy.kurtz@ferc.gov. Sincerely, Joy Kurtz Aquatic Ecologist Division of Hydropower Administration and Compliance 4 The water year type has not yet been determined. Document Accession #: 20260226-3010 Filed Date: 02/26/2026 JOY KURTZ Digitally signed by JOY KURTZ Date: 2026.02.26 08:01:15 -05'00' Project No. 803-000 - 3 - cc: VIA Electronic Mail Brittany Reaves U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, SF Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300 Sacramento, California 95814 brittany_reaves@fws.gov Stephanie Millsap U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, SF Bay Delta Fish and Wildlife Office 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 8-300 Sacramento, California 95814 stephanie_millsap@fws.gov Document Accession #: 20260226-3010 Filed Date: 02/26/2026 Document Content(s) P-803-000_nonfed letter_2026.pdf..........................................1 Document Accession #: 20260226-3010 Filed Date: 02/26/2026