FERC hears county concerns
Federal agency taking public comment on relicensing of Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams
The time to comment to the Grant County PUD on its relicensing application is over.
But the time to comment to the federal government on what the new license should look like is just beginning.
Staff members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) were at the Moses Lake Convention Center Tuesday evening and Wednesday to hear local citizens tell how the licensing of the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project will affect them.
About 60 people attended the Tuesday evening session, which lasted nearly two hours. The discussion during that meeting centered around the benefits the dams bring to Grant County, according to PUD consultant Christine Stallard.
Some of the discussion revolved around whether the Columbia Basin hatchery should expand, Stallard said, with members of the public speaking on both sides.
The Wednesday meeting attracted a smaller group, consisting mostly of governmental agencies and representatives from tribes, trail-riding groups and some ag industry leaders whose businesses are affected by the license.
Mark Houghton, who spoke for the processing plant JR Simplot, said electricity rates impact the costs for 1,000-employee Quincy plant, and he wants to see the PUD receive the operating license soon.
"We support their (the PUD's) entire efforts and would like to see it move forward as quickly as possible," he said.
The public comments were centered around a scoping document that FERC released, which lists environmental issues included in relicensing and the proposed measure to be taken to address those issues.
For example, the operation of the Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams affect the surrounding soil, and FERC officials are concerned about the geological impact the dams have on the environment.
Two proposed measures include the continued monitoring of the soil to look for evidence of erosion and the development of sediment-control measures to protect the soil, according to the scoping document.
Dave Senne, general manager of the Port of Moses Lake, encouraged FERC officials to maintain a balance between environmental concerns and the costs borne by Grant County and its taxpayers.
"The bottom line is, the PUD customers will end up paying for it," he said.
Chuck Hall, FERC team leader for the relicensing of the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project and chair of the meetings, said FERC will issue a second scoping document, which will include slight changes from the original.
The agency will also accept written public comment for 30 days after the completion of the meetings, Hall said.
Members of the public can submit their public comment through the PUD before May 7, Linda Jones, PUD director of communications and resource management, said. Instructions on how to do so are available on the PUD's Web site at www.gcpud.org/relicensing, she said.
"FERC staff did a nice job of engaging everybody in discussion," Jones said of the meetings.
The PUD will submit its own written public comment within the next month, Jones said.
The 50-year license, which the PUD has held since 1955, to operate the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project expires in October 2005. After the PUD submitted an application for the new license of more than 10,000 pages, FERC must determine the conditions under which the PUD may operate
the license.
No serious competitors remain to obtain the license, so the PUD is virtually assured of maintaining control of the dams, which provide the
The Yakama Nation joined forces with Scottish power company PacifiCorp in 2001 to make a run at the license, but that partnership dissolved when PacifiCorp signed a power-purchase agreement with the PUD.