Merwin Hydroelectric Project FERC Project No. P-935
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Merwin Hydroelectric Project FERC Project No. P-935 Before the United States of America Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Application for License Amendment Volume I of III Initial Statement and Exhibits D and E January 2020 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 This page intentionally left blank. This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 2 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) APPLICATION FOR LICENSE AMENDMENT This application for license amendment for the Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) consists of the following volumes: Volume I Initial Statement Exhibit D – Costs and Financing Exhibit E – Environmental Report Volume II Appendices to Exhibit E Volume III CONFIDENTIAL – Cultural Resource Summary for the Merwin, Yale and Swift No. 1 Projects This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 3 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 This page intentionally left blank. This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 4 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 Initial Statement Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 5 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 This page intentionally left blank. This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 6 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 BEFORE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION PACIFICORP PROJECT NO. P-935 APPLICATION FOR NON-CAPACITY AMENDMENT OF LICENSE FOR A MAJOR PROJECT – EXISTING DAM INITIAL STATEMENT (Pursuant to 18 CFR §4.201) 1. PacifiCorp (PacifiCorp, Licensee, or Applicant) applies to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) for a non-capacity amendment of the license for the Merwin Project (Project) as described in the enclosed exhibits. 2. The exact name, business address, and telephone number of the Applicant are: PacifiCorp 825 N.E. Multnomah St., Suite 1800 Portland, Oregon 97232 The exact name and business address of each person authorized to act as agents for the Applicant in this application are: Todd Olson Director of Compliance, Renewable Resources PacifiCorp 825 N.E. Multnomah St., Suite 1800 Portland, OR 97232 (503) 813-6657 [email protected] 3. The Applicant is a domestic corporation organized under the laws of the State of Oregon and Licensee for the Merwin Hydroelectric Project designated as Project No. 935 in the records of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, original license issued on October 29, 1956. The Commission issued a new license for the Project on June 26, 2008. 4. The amendments of license proposed and the reason(s) why the proposed changes are necessary: Ordering Paragraphs (F) and (G) of the Project license incorporate the fishway prescriptions submitted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” collectively with NMFS, the “Services”) This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 7 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 under Section 18 of the Federal Power Act. Among these prescriptions was an obligation to construct an upstream fish passage facility at the Project on or before June 26, 2025, the 17th anniversary of the date FERC issued the new license. These fishway prescriptions were developed collaboratively among PacifiCorp, the Services, Tribes and other stakeholders in a comprehensive Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”). The Agreement also provided that should the Services determine, after review of new information, that the fish passage facilities into or out of Yale Lake or Merwin Lake are inappropriate, PacifiCorp would establish an “In Lieu Fund” to support mitigation measures for anadromous salmonids in lieu of passage. Moreover, Article 401(b) of each FERC license includes a list of fish passage conditions that, if modified, would require a license amendment. The lists in Article 401(b) identify the Section 18 fish passage prescriptions that cover the Merwin and Yale Reservoir Facilities. In Article 401(b) of the licenses, FERC acknowledged that because of the provisions in the Agreement relating to the Services’ review of fish passage, changes to the fish passage conditions could be required: Certain conditions in the appendices contemplate unspecified long-term changes to project operations, requirements, or facilities for the purpose of protecting and enhancing environmental resources. These changes may not be implemented without prior Commission authorization granted after the filing of an application to amend the license. New Information Regarding Fish Passage Beginning in November 2011, PacifiCorp and Public Utilities District No. 1 of Cowlitz County (“Cowlitz PUD” together with PacifiCorp, the “Utilities”) began consultation with the members of the Lewis River Aquatic Coordination Committee (“ACC”) over the development of new information to submit to the Services for their determination if the additional fish passage facilities identified in the Agreement and in the Section 18 prescriptions were appropriate (the “New Information”). The Utilities submitted the New Information to the Services on June 24, 2016. A detailed description of the consultation with the ACC during preparation of the New Information is included in Volume II, Appendices to Exhibit E. The Services responded on April 11 and 12, 2019, providing the Utilities with a preliminary determination under Section 4.1.9 of the Settlement Agreement. Specifically, NMFS proposed and USFWS concurred in the following actions: 1) To forego construction of the Merwin Downstream Facility (Section 4.6 of the Settlement Agreement) and the Yale Upstream Facility (Section 4.7); 2) To require PacifiCorp to establish the In Lieu Fund consistent with the requirements of Section 7.6 of the Settlement Agreement; and 3) To defer a decision whether to construct the Yale Downstream Facility (Section 4.5) and the Swift Upstream Facility (Section 4.8) until 2031 and 2035, This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 8 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 respectively, so that performance of in lieu habitat restoration could be considered in that future decision. The Services directed that restoration efforts supported by the In Lieu Fund (the “In Lieu Program”) focus on stream reaches upstream of the Swift reservoir that benefit three salmon species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): (coho salmon [Oncorhynchus kisutch], winter steelhead [O. mykiss], and spring Chinook salmon [O. tshawytscha]). The Services identified the following reaches known to support all three species since reintroduction efforts began in 2012: • Clearwater River (8.37 kilometers [km]) • Clear Creek (22.96 km) • North Fork of the Lewis River (22.69 km) • Drift Creek (1.52 km) In addition, the USFWS, in an April 12, 2019, letter, directed the Utilities to proceed immediately with the development of the following fish passage measures for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) pursuant to Section 4.10 of the Settlement Agreement: • Yale Downstream Bull Trout Passage Facility • Swift Upstream Bull Trout Passage Facility • Yale Upstream Bull Trout Passage Facility USFWS elected to defer a decision on whether to require construction of the Merwin Downstream Bull Trout Passage Facility to evaluate whether bull trout have increased sufficiently in number in the Merwin reservoir to warrant construction. A determination by the USFWS regarding the Merwin Downstream Bull Trout Passage Facility is not due before 2025. Requested License Amendments Given the Services’ preliminary determinations, the Utilities are engaging in the following activities: • Development of an In Lieu Program Strategic Plan that will guide identification, selection and implementation of mitigation actions in the Lewis River in consultation with the Settlement Agreement parties; • Development of an In Lieu Program Monitoring Plan that will guide the review and reporting of Strategic Plan actions; • Development of a Biological Assessment to inform any required Endangered Species Act and Magnuson-Stevens Act consultation with the Services in support of the license amendment; and • Preparation of a Bull Trout Passage Plan outlining designs for bull trout facilities in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Settlement Agreement parties. This document is considered Public Information. Volume 1 – Page 9 Merwin Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. P-935) Review Draft – January 2020 In addition to these activities, subject to the Services’ final determinations, the Utilities seek non-capacity amendments to the Lewis River Project Licenses and the incorporated fishway prescriptions. These amendments are necessary to enable construction of bull trout facilities, construction of mitigation projects within the Project boundaries, and changes in the nature and timing of the construction of fishways prescribed under Section 18 of the Federal Power Act. Required Exhibits For this non-capacity amendment, consistent with the requirements of 18 CFR § 4.201(c), only those exhibits applicable to the proposed changes necessary to implement the Service’s In-Lieu Determination are provided. Exhibit A - Project