LIHI Certificate # 53 --- Bear River Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 20) Bear River, Idaho
May 19, 2010 (Portland, Maine) - At their May 19, 2010 meeting the Governing Board of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) determined that the Bear River Hydroelectric Project meets the LIHI Certification Criteria. In reaching its decision to certify the Bear River Hydroelectric Project, the Institute's Governing Board reviewed the application for certification, as well as the Application Reviewer's report and recommendations. An original LIHI certificate will be forwarded to you once the Governing Board Chair and Secretary have executed it. The Board's vote to certify the Bear River Hydroelectric Project was unanimous. LIHI received no public comments on this application. LIHI certification for the Bear River Hydroelectric Project is granted for 5-year term beginning on December 31, 2009 with the following Project Specific Conditions:
1. Provide LIHI the annual results of the Creel and Macro invertebrate Studies required under Article 407, as approved on June 14, 2005 by FERC as identified in the Black Canyon Monitoring Study Plan. As noted in the Plan, the seven year study period would cover investigation of potential impacts during year 1 (2004), during opportunistic whitewater flows during years 2-4 (i.e. 2005 - 2007) and of scheduled white water releases (assuming such flows would begin in 2008) during years 5-7 (i.e. 2008-2010).
2. (Optional) In reviewing the watershed protection information the Application Reviewer recommended that the LIHI Board award the Bear River project an extra three years of certification because of the Applicant's watershed protection efforts. The Board discussed the recommendation but did not come to an agreement and asked whether the Applicant is interested in seeking the extra three years. If they are the Board asks PacifiCorp to supply supporting information. The supporting information should be (1) copy of entire settlement document, (2) Annual status of land protection measures, (3) contacts with whom LIHI can discuss the administration of this land protection (e.g., land trust given to, etc) to see how it is going, and; (4) any additional information that helps the Board answer "yes" to D.2 of the Watershed Protection criterion:
D.2 Has the facility owner established an approved watershed enhancement fund that: 1) could achieve within the project's watershed the ecological and recreational equivalent of land protection in D.1.,and 2) has the agreement of appropriate stakeholders and state and federal resource agencies?
LIHI certification for five years for the Bear River Hydroelectric Project is granted, with the 5-year certification time period beginning on December 31, 2009. The certification of the Bear River Hydroelectric Project will expire on December 31, 2014 unless the Applicant successfully completes Condition 2. and receives three extra years of certification, which would have the certification expiring on December 31, 2017.
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Portland, Maine (December 31, 2009) – The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced today that PacifiCorp Energy ("PacifiCorp" or "Applicant") has submitted an application for certification for three of the of the Bear River Hydroelectric Project facilities on the Bear River in Idaho. This application seeks certification of the Soda, Grace, and Oneida facilities which were licensed as one project (FERC No. 20) for a 30-year term by FERC Order dated December 22, 2003.
A Settlement Agreement dated August 28, 2002 was incorporated into the license. Signatories to the Settlement Agreement included the resource agencies, tribes and non-governmental organizations that have jurisdiction and/or interest in the natural and cultural resources in the watershed. Representatives from the signatory groups continue to serve in a consultation capacity as part of the Bear River Hydroelectric Projects Environmental Coordination Committee (ECC). The ECC has a role in the development of monitoring and adaptive management plans and the administration of post- licensing activities. The Cove development, which was also addressed in the Bear River Hydroelectric License and Settlement Agreement, was decommissioned by FERC Order dated May 23, 2006.
Oneida Dam and Reservoir
The Soda development is located the farthest upstream on the Bear River, five miles west of the city of Soda Springs in Caribou County, Idaho. The Last Chance development is located on the Last Chance Canal, a diversion from the Bear River that is located four miles downstream of the Soda powerhouse. The Last Chance Development, is not part of PacifiCorp's LIHI certificate applications for either FERC Project No. 20 or 2420. The Grace development is the next facility downstream and it is also located in Caribou County, Idaho. The Oneida Project is located in Franklin County, Idaho, approximately 6 miles south of Cleveland, Idaho. The Cutler hydroelectric project which is not part of this LIHI certification application is located in Utah some 44 miles downstream of the Oneida project and near the confluence of several major tributaries.
Soda Dam and Powerhouse
PacifiCorp operates the hydroelectric developments on the Bear River in a coordinated manner to meet irrigation demands and generate power. River flows are generally higher than the natural conditions during the irrigation season (April through October) due to irrigation releases from Bear Lake. The Soda, Grace, and Oneida developments are usually operated in a modified run- of-river mode during this season; water stored in Soda and Oneida reservoirs may be used to satisfy short-term irrigation demand or to maintain reservoir levels in Cutler reservoir. The Cutler reservoir level must be maintained for environmental protection purposes even when the Cutler facility normally ceases to generate power during the summer low-flow period. Substations containing step-up transformers and circuit breakers are located adjacent to the powerhouses at Soda, Oneida, and Grace. The substations serve as the point of interconnection to the transmission grid system.
Note: A separate LIHI Certification Application posted on the same date (December 31, 2009) deals with the Cutler Hydroelectric Project that is operated under FERC license No. 2420 and is located on the Bear River in Utah.
Public Comments
We encourage public comments on this application. Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Bear River Project meets our LIHI criteria. Review the program and criteria in greater detail and then review the Bear River Project's application. Comments that are directly tied to specific LIHI criteria (flows, water quality, fish passage, etc) will be most helpful, but all comments will be considered.
Comments may be submitted to the Institute by e-mail at info@lowimpacthydro.org with " Bear River Project comments" in the subject line; by fax at (206) – 984-3086; or by mail addressed to LIHI, 34 Providence Street, Portland, ME, 04103. Comments must be received at the Institute on or before 5 pm Eastern time on March 3, 2010 to be considered. All comments will be posted to the web site and the applicant will have an opportunity to respond. Any response will also be posted.