November 16, 2015 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20426 Subject: USFWS Letter dated Nov. 9, 2016 Re: FERC Project No. 12496 - Lassen Lodge Hydroelectric Project Dear Secretary Bose: Rugraw, LLC is the Applicant for FERC Project No. 12496 - Lassen Lodge Hydroelectric Project (LLHP). The Applicant has reviewed the USFWS letter addressed to the Honorable Kimberly Bose, of the FERC, dated November 9, 2015, regarding FERC Project No. 12496 - LLHP. This letter addresses the first comment regarding the extent of the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project (BCSSRP). The other elements this USFWS letter will be addressed in the final Fish Habitat and Temperature Modeling Reports that are being completed by the Applicant s Consultants and scheduled for issuance latter this week. The Applicant appreciates the USFWS time and effort to review and comment on the LLHP license application documents. The USFWS letter correctly quotes the BCSSRP EIR/EIS Summary Section 2-1 of, which states, The upper project limit on South Fork Battle Creek is the natural fish barrier named Angel Falls, located approximately 6 miles above South Diversion Dam However, upon closer examination of the BCSSRP EIR/EIS details, it appears that this, and another, written reference to Angel Falls in Detailed Section 4.4, page 4.3-2, which states, The South Fork Battle Creek absolute fish barrier is Angel Falls, located at South Fork Battle Creek RM 18.9, about 4.5 miles above the South Diversion Dam states Angel Falls but are actually referring to the natural barrier identified at River Mile 18.85, a local stream feature commonly known as Panther Grade. This issue of the extent of the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project is not a new issue. When the Applicant submitted its license Exemption Application to the FERC in May of 2012, the issue of the physical extent of the BCSSRP was a specific point of discussion.
Please see United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) letter dated June 22, 2012 on this subject written to the Applicant in response to the Applicant s FERC Exemption Application, copy enclosed. In this letter, the USBR states definitively that the extent of the BCSSRP on South Fork Battle Creek is at River Mile 18.85 the exact location of Panther Grade. The question raised by the USBR about the obvious typo in the Applicant s FERC Exemption Application was confirmed by the Applicant in their June 26, 2012 letter, copy enclosed that, indeed, River Mile 18.85, the location of Panther Grade was the correct River Mile designation for the uppermost extent of the BCSSRP in the South Fork of Battle Creek and not the 19.95 typo. The USBR goes on to state in their letter, Based on the available information provided by Rugraw, Inc., it appears that overall the Lassen Lodge Project, as proposed and presented, may have no effect or, if any, a minimal effect to the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project (Restoration Project), which Reclamation is involved with pursuant to a 1999 Memorandum of Understanding between Reclamation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the California Department of Fish and Game, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service. The USBR - with input from multiple agencies - authored the BCSSRP EIS/EIR and as such would appear to the Applicant to be the definitive authority on this subject and that it is reasonable for the Applicant to rely on this. This statement by the USBR is supported by data and statements in the BCSSRP EIS/EIR - although their use of Angel Falls is misleading to a reader absent of digging deep into the BCSSRP details. The BCSSRP detailed data - illustrated in table 4.1-3. Distribution of Potential Natural Barriers and Diversion Dams That May Impede Fish Passage shows that the BCSSRP in the South Fork of Battle Creek ends at River Mile 18.85 at an Absolute Barrier*. The note for the * states, This refers to a 25 foot waterfall determined to be a barrier during a field visit by DFG Further discussion in the BCSSRP EIR/EIS states in Sections ES-2 and again in Section 3.1, The upper project limit on South Fork Battle Creek is the natural fish barrier above South Diversion Dam. Section 4.1 under heading Migration Habitat on page 4.1-15 states, Absolute barriers mark the terminus of the Restoration Project on North Fork and South Fork Battle Creek at all times An on-site survey identified transitory barriers in 18 locations on North Fork Battle Creek and five locations on South Fork Battle Creek (Table 4.1-3) (Thomas R. Payne and Associates 1998b).
An evaluation of Table 4.1-3 lists 4 transitory barriers identified on South Fork Battle Creek between Coleman and In-Skip (at River Miles 3.15, 3.40, 3.61, 3.81) and one transitory barrier between In-Skip and South Diversion (River Mile 11.68). The next barrier listed above the 5 transitory barriers noted is the Absolute barrier at River Mile 18.85 - not a transitory barrier. And, no other transitory barriers are listed further up stream in the South Fork above River Mile 18.85. Yet, surveys presented by the Applicant have identified several other transitory - if not absolute - barriers in the South Fork Battle Creek above River Mile 18.85. Panther Grade is located at River Mile 18.85 and is noted as the absolute barrier located 4.5 River Miles above South Diversion. This is the exact location where in Section 4.4 under the heading Affected Environment on page 4.3-2 the BCSSRP EIS/EIR states, The South Fork Battle Creek absolute fish barrier is Angel Falls, located at South Fork Battle Creek RM 18.9, about 4.5 miles above the South Diversion Dam Absent intimate knowledge of specific geographic features and locally used names for stream features it would appear that the physical description of the uppermost limit of the BCSSRP on South Fork Battle Creek at River Mile 18.85 is Panther Grade that by error has been listed as Angel Falls in the BCSSRP EIS/EIR. Angel Falls is located at River Mile 22.3-3.45 rugged river miles above Panther Grade. This stretch of the South Fork Battle Creek contains many transitory if not absolute barriers above Panther Grade at River Mile 18.85 below the LLHP powerhouse and tailrace return at River Mile 20.6, and yet more above there and below Angel Falls located at River Mile 22.3. None of these obvious and evident barriers as documented by the Applicant in the LLHP license application are listed in Table 4.1-3 lending more credibility to the conclusion that, as per Table 4.1-3 and related comments in the BCSSRP EIS/EIR, the uppermost extent of the BCSSRP is Panther Grade at River Mile 18.85 that has been miss-labeled Angel Falls. The * comment in Table 4.1-3 states, This refers to a 25 foot waterfall determined to be a barrier during a field visit by DFG Panther Grade at River Mile 18.85 would fit this description. Angel Falls is a sheer 75 foot cliff off of a volcanic shelf that is so obviously impassible that the concept of someone having to determine if it was passable or not would not be something to ponder. Such an obvious absolute barrier as Angel Falls is acknowledged by all immediately at first look and wouldn t be subject to any kind of determination or be subject for consideration of removal to allow upstream fish passage. Angel Falls could not be mistaken to be only 25 feet high. And, if it was intended that this 25 foot high River Mile 18.85 Absolute Barrier was somehow referring to the 75 foot high Angel Falls at River Mile 22.3, the very specific River Mile designation and lack of definition of barriers and stream features above Panther Grade at River Mile 18.85 and below Angel Falls at River Mile 22.3 nor even listing the barrier at River Mile 18.85 as a transitory barrier and then listing Angel Falls at River Mile 22.3 as an absolute barrier are clear evidence that the BCSSRP project limit at River Mile 18.85 is indeed Panther Grade mistakenly labeled as Angel Falls.
The reference to Angel Falls as quoted by the USFWS as stated in summary Section 2.1 in the BCSSRP EIR/EIS without reference to any other data states, The upper project limit on South Fork Battle Creek is the natural fish barrier named Angel Falls, located approximately 6 miles above South Diversion Dam. South Diversion is listed as River Mile 14.45 and, the BCSSRP EIR/EIS states in more detailed section 4 that the uppermost limit is at River Mile 18.85, approximately 4.5 miles above South Diversion the exact location of Panther Grade. It is unclear where the reference to 6 miles came from, as there are no data sources referenced in this summary Section 2.1. If this was correct, this would be River Mile 20.45, which is still below the proposed LLHP Powerhouse and Tailrace at River Mile 20.6 and almost 2 miles below the actual Angel Falls at River Mile 22.3. The actual Angel Falls is almost 8 miles above South Diversion. BCSSRP Appendix A -Memorandum of Understanding by and among Bureau of Reclamation, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company Section 2.19 states, Restoration Project Area means the areas in and around the following PG&E facilities: Coleman Diversion Dam, Inskip Diversion Dam, South Diversion Dam, Wildcat Diversion Dam, Eagle Canyon Diversion Dam, North Battle Creek Feeder Diversion Dam, and Asbury Pump Diversion Dam; Battle Creek, North Fork Battle Creek and South Fork Battle Creek, up to the natural barriers at 14 miles and 19 miles above the confluence, respectively; 19 Miles above the confluence on South Fork Battle Creek is the location of the natural barrier known locally as Panther Grade. Based on a detailed review of the BCSSRP EIR/EIS, the USBR appropriately designates the natural barrier [Panther Grade] at River Mile 18.85 This refers to a 25 foot waterfall determined to be a barrier during a field visit by DFG as the uppermost project limit for the BCSSRP on South Fork Battle Creek. And, as such, the Applicant shall continue to properly refer to River Mile 18.85 and Panther Grade as the uppermost project limit for the BCSSRP on South Fork Battle Creek in their LLHP license application documents. Respectfully Submitted, Charlie Kuffner Managing Partner Rugraw, LLC cc: Adam Becco-FERC
Mr. Brian L. Person June 26, 2012 Area Manager Bureau of Reclamation Northern California Area Office 16349 Shasta Dam Boulevard Shasta Lake, California 96I09-8400 Subject: Bureau of Reclamation Comments - June 22, 2012 Lassen Lodge Hydroelectric Project - FERC Project No. P-12496 Dear Mr. Person, We would like to thank you and the Bureau of Reclamation for comments pertaining to the Lassen Lodge Project. Regarding the reference in the "Lassen Lodge Summary" document and the river mile location (19.85) of Panther Grade and the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Project Upper Limit on the South Fork of Battle Creek, this is indeed a typographical error. The correct figure is river mile 18.85. This error escaped our best editing efforts and we are in the process of making this correction. We are in concurrence with Bureau of Reclamation concerns regarding potential project impacts to water quality during the construction phase and also throughout the operational life of the Lassen Lodge Project. The management of Rugraw, Inc. will work closely with our contractors to implement strict Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) and monitor their performance to assure compliance. Thank you once again for your comments on the Lassen Lodge Project. We will keep the Bureau of Reclamation informed of any changes or updates throughout the FERC licensing process of the Lassen Lodge Project. Sincerely, Jim Tompkins Vice President - Project Manager Rugraw, Incorporated Redding Office 16464 Plateau Circle Redding, CA 96001 Office - (530) 246-0103 Mobile - (530 949-8284 Email - h2owiz@sbcglobal.net cc: Mr. Kenneth Hogan Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20426 (202) 502-8434 Kenneth.Hogan@ferc.gov
Barrier feature at River Mile 18.85 Panther Grade with Fisheries Biologist Steve Cramer for scale.
Barrier feature at River Mile 18.85 Panther Grade with Applicant shown for scale.
Angel Falls, 13 cfs, July 4, 2013
On Top of Angel Falls July 11, 2015. For scale, boy in picture is 5-9 tall.
View from top of Angel Falls looking downstream July 11, 2015 12:30pm. Note shading, large boulders and trees below. Drop approximately 75 feet.