Coalition seeks delay in Oroville relicensing

Even though the process to secure a 50-year license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission typically takes years to complete, a local coalition is asking the federal agency to hold off on issuing a license for Lake Oroville until repairs to the damaged spillways are completed.

“We are asking for a pause to allow the forensic report to come back and allow FERC to thoroughly vet their findings,” said Sandy Linville, president and CEO of the Oroville Chamber of Commerce. “We want to make sure DWR (the Department of Water Resources) is looking at dam safety as being paramount, and that the new license reflects that.”

A coalition of local government agencies, elected officials, businesses, community organizations and residents formed in the months that followed the February evacuation, when it was feared the emergency spillway might collapse sending a tide of water downstream.

The group came together to act as a sort of watchdog to DWR’s operations at Lake Oroville.

The coalition drafted a letter for FERC and is gathering signatures from supporters. The letter states that, “It is unusual and undesirable for the commission (FERC) to relicense major hydroelectric dams with so many unresolved questions and issues.”

Some of the unresolved questions and issues mentioned in the letter include what caused the initial erosion at the main spillway, how the facility will be reconstructed and concerns over the emergency spillway’s adequacy and structural integrity.

DWR has been in the process

of relicensing its facilities at Lake Oroville since 2005. DWR’s initial 50year license to construct and operate the facilities expired in 2007.

By the end of 2016, DWR had completed the long process of applying, conducting environmental studies, gathering stakeholder input and receiving the necessary certifications. But then this winter happened. Linville said the original plans submitted by DWR over a decade ago will undoubtedly vary from those actually being implemented in the spillway recovery project today, which is why the coalition thinks FERC should hold off on issuing a new license until the dust of reconstruction and repairs has settled.

According to the letter, “It would be prudent for the commission to issue a new license only when there is clarity on both the configuration of the project and its potential effects and how the damage from the February incident will be addressed by the licensee.”

Calls to officials with DWR’s Hydropower License Planning and Compliance Office were not returned.

Linville said the Oroville Chamber of Commerce plans on sending the letter to FERC by the end of July, once various groups have had a chance to decide whether to support it or not.

Sutter County supervisors are one of the most recent entities to support the coalition letter – spearheaded by the Oroville Chamber of Commerce. The board voted unanimously to support the letter on Tuesday.

Ahead of the supervisors meeting, Sutter County Public Information Officer Chuck Smith – who brought the item to the board – said there is no reason to allow a relicensing at this juncture when no one is certain what caused the spillway erosion in the first place.

“Until we know what happened, we really shouldn’t be thinking that our government agencies should be considering relicensing,” Smith said.

Other local groups already signed on include the Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corp. and the Yuba-Sutter Realtors Association. Officials wth the city of Biggs, Paradise and Wheatland were also expected to take up the coalition letter at their respective meetings Tuesday night.

At the moment, FERC only has one active commissioner and does not have the quorum required to issue any new licenses.

Up to five commissioners can be active at a time, and three are needed to meet the quorum. Three commissioners have either resigned or retired since September 2016, leaving only the acting chairperson. Commissioners are appointed by the president.

Linville said without a quorum, a new license isn’t a possibility at the moment. However, she said new commissioners could be appointed at any time.

Two of President Donald Trump’s nominees have been approved by a Senate committee and a third could begin the process soon.

Linville said she hopes the coalition letter reaches FERC before commissioners make a final decision on DWR’s Lake Oroville license.

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