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Home My WebLink About12.3.2024 Board Correspondence - FW_ Emergency Action Plan submitted in FERC P-2088-000 by Individual No Affiliation,et al.From:Clerk of the Board To:Loeser, Kamie; Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Jessee, Meegan; Kimmelshue, Tod; Kitts, Melissa; Lee, Lewis; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney, Kathleen; Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth Cc:Nuzum, Danielle Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Emergency Action Plan submitted in FERC P-2088-000 by Individual No Affiliation,et al. Date:Monday, December 9, 2024 4:47:51 PM Please see Board Correspondence - -----Original Message----- From: 'FERC eSubscription' <eSubscription@ferc.gov> Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 10:15 AM Subject: Emergency Action Plan submitted in FERC P-2088-000 by Individual No Affiliation,et al. .ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening attachments, clicking on links, or replying.. On 12/3/2024, the following Filing was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C.: Filer: Individual No Affiliation South Feather Water & Power Agency (as Agent) Docket(s): P-2088-000 Lead Applicant: South Feather Water & Power Agency Filing Type: Emergency Action Plan Description: South Feather Water and Power Agency submits request for a continuation of the exemption from filing an Emergency Action Plan for the South Feather Power Project under P-2088. To view the document for this Filing, click here https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20241203- 5125__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!FEvOu3s7iq-3Bsv2rcGGUQFubxAxZ- 9ZViQFDoyDzJDS7Es2k80qYv9v1yzSltzc89x4dvo-mVcyzy_KbyRBkIkB8l74rD9FT5DV$ To modify your subscriptions, click here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eSubscription.aspx__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!FEvOu3s7iq- 3Bsv2rcGGUQFubxAxZ-9ZViQFDoyDzJDS7Es2k80qYv9v1yzSltzc89x4dvo- mVcyzy_KbyRBkIkB8l74rNHPZlL9$ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please do not respond to this email. Online help is available here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ferc.gov/efiling-help.asp__;!!KNMwiTCp4spf!FEvOu3s7iq- 3Bsv2rcGGUQFubxAxZ-9ZViQFDoyDzJDS7Es2k80qYv9v1yzSltzc89x4dvo- mVcyzy_KbyRBkIkB8l74rFH5WQx2$ or for phone support, call 866-208-3676. 1 | P a g e December 3, 2024 Frank L. Blackett, P.E., Regional Engineer Filed electronically Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 100 First Street, Suite 2300 San Francisco, CA 94105 RE: South Feather Power Project (FERC No. 2088) 2024 Annual Review of Emergency Action Plan Exemptions Dear Mr. Blackett, Pursuant to Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Title 18 §12.21, South Feather Water and Power Agency (SFWPA) has conducted an annual review of the below listed facilities associated with the South Feather Power Project, No. 2088-CA. SFWPA continues to use the resource “Review of Potential for Flooding that would be Produced by Failure of South Fork Diversion Dam, Forbestown Diversion Dam, or Slate Creek Diversion Dam” produced by Sierra Hydrotech Engineering Consultants, along with data obtained during routine site inspections and preventative maintenance observations this year, in order to determine the necessity for emergency action plans. South Fork Diversion Dam: The dam is a 60 feet high concrete arch dam that impounds a diversion pool with an original capacity of 87 acre-feet. Located in a remote section of the South Fork Feather River canyon, there are two downstream facilities located below the dam. Approximately 3 miles downstream is a US Forest Service road bridge, maintained by the Plumas National Forest (PNF), known as Golden Trout Crossing. This bridge had been closed due to structural concerns following damage sustained during high flows in 2018, but in 2021, a private timber company worked with the USFS to shore up the bridge for use during salvage logging operations following the 2020 fires. This road bridge continues to provide access for camping at the Golden Trout Campground, which is also owned and operated by the USFS, and is the only access road available to this area. Additionally, SFWPA’s Woodleaf Powerhouse, manned daily by Agency staff, is located 9.8 miles downstream. The FERC Engineering Guidelines for the Evaluation of Hydropower Projects, Chapter 2 - Selecting and Accommodating Inflow Design Floods for Dams, was used to assist staff in analyzing peak discharge in the case of a dam break. SFWPA staff have worked with an independent consultant to determine that the maximum channel capacity in the area of the Golden Trout Campground, which is the most restrictive point in the area, would be capable of handling flows under a complete dam failure scenario. South Fork Diversion’s overall capacity has been reduced by more than 50% due to sediment and siltation. Because there is a negligible amount of storage behind South Fork Diversion Dam, a complete dam failure would produce no significant change in the flow downstream. Although field reconnaissance is not possible at any other location between South Fork Diversion Dam and Woodleaf Powerhouse because there are no other access roads, SFWPA requests to maintain exemption status for South Fork Diversion Dam based on the fact that all potential flows from a dam failure are capable of passing through the channel at Golden Trout Campground. Document Accession #: 20241203-5125 Filed Date: 12/03/2024 2 | P a g e Slate Creek Diversion Dam: The dam is a 62 feet high concrete overflow arch dam that impounds a diversion pool with negligible storage due to being filled with cobble and sediment from a breached upstream historic debris dam. Located in a remote section of the Slate Creek canyon, the nearest facility is New Bullards Bar Reservoir situated 9.2 miles downstream. Approximately 0.5 miles downstream of the diversion is a PNF road bridge that crosses over Slate Creek. This road bridge provides access into the canyon area owned and managed by both the PNF and a private timber company. Field reconnaissance is not possible between the upstream bridge and the confluence of Slate Creek with the North Yuba River because there are no other access roads, however, SFWPA requests to maintain exemption status because there is a negligible amount of storage behind the dam and failure would produce no significant change in the flow downstream. Forbestown Diversion: The dam is an 80 high concrete overflow arch dam that impounds a 352 acre-feet diversion pool. It functions as the afterbay for the Woodleaf Powerhouse and the forebay for the Forbestown Powerhouse, which is located 5.2 miles downstream. Ownership and management of the land in the canyon is share between the PNF and private owners. Although field reconnaissance is not possible because there is no road access into the South Fork Feather River canyon between Forbestown Diversion Dam and the Forbestown Powerhouse, SFWPA requests to maintain exemption status because a failure of Forbestown Diversion Dam would produce a less than four feet rise in the Ponderosa Reservoir level and would remain within its spillway capacity. Ponderosa Dam: The dam is a 160 feet tall zoned, rolled earthfill dam that impounds a 4,178 acre-feet reservoir. Water released from Ponderosa Reservoir flows directly into Lake Oroville with no intervening river section between the two water bodies. A native surface road crosses the crest of the dam, and a maintenance access road runs along the south shore of the South Fork arm of Lake Oroville. Staff can confirm that there is no development downstream of Ponderosa Dam, as ongoing site visits allow for visual observations of downstream areas. SFWPA requests to maintain exemption status for Ponderosa Dam based on the fact that failure of Ponderosa Dam would result in a release directly into Lake Oroville, and would remain within its spillway capacity. Based on the aforementioned details, South Feather Water and Power Agency requests a continuation of the exemption from filing an EAP for the South Fork Diversion, Slate Creek Diversion, Forbestown Diversion and Ponderosa dams. If you have any questions related to this filing, please feel free to contact me at (530) 534-1221, or via email at kmckillop@southfeather.com. Sincerely, South Feather Water and Power Agency Cc: Rath Moseley, General Manager Dan Leon, Power Division Manager Silas Sanderson, PE, Chief Dam Safety Engineer Document Accession #: 20241203-5125 Filed Date: 12/03/2024 3 | P a g e Contact List – Low Hazard Dams South Feather Water and Power Agency – all dams Regulatory Compliance Manager Emergency Action Plan Coordinator Kristen McKillop (office) Power Division Manager Dan Leon (office) General Manager Rath Moseley (office) Maintenance Foreman Brian Howerton (office) Operations Foreman Hunter Doyle (office) Slate Creek Diversion Dam Yuba Water Agency – Control Room (staffed 24/7) Roving Operator 530-740-7100 South Fork Diversion Dam and Forbestown Diversion Dam Butte County Sheriff Emergency Dispatch 530-538-7322 Butte County Sherriff, Search & Rescue Sergeant, Dave Ennes 530-895-6577 Butte County/CALFIRE Patrick Purvis, Deputy Chief 530-538-7111 Plumas National Forest Feather River Ranger District Front Desk 530-534-6500 Ponderosa Dam DWR Hyatt Powerhouse (for Oroville Dam) Senior Operator 530-534-0273 California Dept. of Parks & Recreation NorCom Emergency Line 916-358-1300 Document Accession #: 20241203-5125 Filed Date: 12/03/2024 Document Content(s) to FERC_12032024_2024 SFWPA Annual Low Haz EAP exempt.pdf.................1 Document Accession #: 20241203-5125 Filed Date: 12/03/2024