HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.27.26 Board Correspondence - FW_ Delegated Order 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; Cannon, Jamie
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-619-164
Date:Monday, April 27, 2026 8:41:46 AM
Please see Board Correspondence -
Lewis Lee
Administrative Technician - Confidential
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 • Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3326
www.buttecounty.ca.gov | lelee@buttecounty.ca.gov
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Subject: Delegated Order issued in FERC P-619-164
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On 4/27/2026, 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: Delegated Order
Description: Order Granting Extension of Time to Complete Gravel Augmentation Pursuant to Section 401 Water Quality Certification Condition 14
and Forest Service 4(E) Condition 41 re Pacific Gas & Electric Company's et al. Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, P-619.
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
ORDER GRANTING EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE GRAVEL
AUGMENTATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 401 WATER QUALITY
CERTIFICATION CONDITION 14 AND FOREST SERVICE 4(E) CONDITION 41
(Issued April 27, 2026)
1. On September 18, 2025, and supplemented on April 8, 2026, Pacific Gas &
Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara (licensees), licensees for the Bucks Creek
Hydroelectric Project No. 619,1 filed a request for an extension of time with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) to complete their gravel augmentation as
part of the Gravel Augmentation Plan (Plan). The project is located on Bucks, Grizzly,
and Milk Ranch creeks, tributaries of the North Fork Feather River, in Plumas County,
California. The project occupies federal land within the Plumas National Forest,
managed by the Forest Service.
2. California State Water Resources Control Board (California SWRCB) Section 401
Water Quality Certification (WQC) condition 14 and U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service)
4(e) condition 41 requires the licensees to implement the Plan as filed with the
Commission on September 20, 2019. License Article 401(a) approved the Plan and
incorporated it into the project license. In part, the Plan requires gravel augmentation at
two locations: (1) Bucks Creek downstream of Lower Bucks Dam Spillway, upstream of
the right bank mass wasting site; and (2) Grizzly Creek downstream of the Grizzly Creek
gaging weir. The Plan requires baseline topographic surveys of the stream beds to inform
gravel placement; the initial baseline surveys were reported in a July 20, 2024 filing.
3. After the licensees determined that they were required to obtain a Section 404
permit from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act before placing the
gravel, they requested an extension of time so that the 404 permit could be obtained. The
Commission granted an extension of time request to delay the first gravel placement until
October 31, 2025,2 with the condition that an additional topographic survey would be
1 Order Issuing New License (179 FERC ¶ 61,202), issued June 16, 2022.
2 Order Granting Extension of Time to Complete Gravel Augmentation Pursuant
(continued ...)
Project No. 619-164 - 2 -
required should a wet water year type occur before the first placement, as large volumes
of runoff would likely change the composition of the target streams by shifting sediments
and render the baseline topographic survey data obsolete.
4. The licensees state that now, after further consultation with the California
SWRCB, that a new Section 401 WQC must be obtained in conjunction with acquiring
the Section 404 permit. Given the statutory periods associated with pre-filing and
California SWRCB review, the licensees are requesting an additional extension of time
until October 31, 2026 to complete their first gravel placement under the Plan.
5. The licensees provided their extension of time request to the resource agencies via
email dated July 21, 2025. The Forest Service and California SWCRB concurred with
the licensees’ request on August 8, 2025, without modification. However, California
SWRCB reminded the licensees of their previous requirement to complete an additional
topographical survey of the gravel augmentation locations prior to gravel placement.
On October 10, 2025, the California SWRCB filed a notice of application for a WQC in
association with the Section 404 permit for the gravel augmentation project and stated
that it would act on the application by September 9, 2026.
6. The licensees’ request for an additional extension of time is reasonable when
considering the timelines necessary to obtain the proper permits. The California SWRCB
is statutorily required to respond to the WQC request associated with the Section 404 on
the gravel placement project within one year. Moreover, the conditioning agencies
concurred with the licensees’ request. This length of time is also necessary, as additional
topographic surveys of the target streambeds must be completed because a wet water year
occurred between when the baseline surveys completed in summer 2024 and the yet to
occur first gravel placement.3 With these considerations, the licensees’ request, as
modified, is reasonable and should be approved.
The Director orders:
(A) Pacific Gas & Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara’s (licensees)
request, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) on
September 18, 2025, and supplemented on April 8, 2026, for an extension of time until
October 31, 2026 to complete the first phase of gravel placement under their Gravel
Augmentation Plan, pursuant to State Water Resources Control Board Section 401 Water
Quality Certification condition 14 and U.S. Forest Service 4(e) condition 41 for the
to Section 401 Water Quality Certification Condition 14 and Forest Service 4(E)
Condition 41(Accession Number: 20250521-3041), issued May 21, 2025.
3 The licensees provided notice that the 2025 final water year type for the project
was determined to be wet in a May 16, 2025 filing.
Project No. 619-164 - 3 -
Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project No. 619 is approved, as modified by paragraph (B)
below.
(B) The licensees must complete another topographic survey of the gravel
augmentation sites and provide a report of the topographic survey results to the California
State Water Resources Control Board’s Deputy Director prior to gravel placement. The
licensees must also file notification with the Commission, within 30 days of completion,
that the first gravel placements have been completed, and include documentation that
they provided the topographic results report to the Deputy Director.
(C) This order constitutes final agency action. Any party may file a request for
rehearing of this order within 30 days from the date of its issuance, as provided in §
313(a) of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. § 825l, and the Commission’s regulations at
18 C.F.R. § 385.713 (2025). The filing of a request for rehearing does not operate as a
stay of the effective date of this order, or of any other date specified in this order. The
licensees’ failure to file a request for rehearing shall constitute acceptance of this order.
Andrea Claros, Chief
Aquatic Resources Branch
Division of Hydropower Administration
and Compliance