THE WIRE
Spring 2019
Update on Relevant State and Federal Regulatory Processes
www.tid.org
T
he way we manage the Tuolumne River has a direct impact on you. How much water we release from the Don Pedro Hydroelectric Project, and when that water released, plays a major role in the economic value of Don Pedro’s electricity generation. Two regulatory processes, one before the State Water Resources Control Board and the other the federal relicensing of Don Pedro, have the potential to change how we manage water below Don Pedro Dam. State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB): TID continues to undertake a two-pronged approach following the SWRCB’s Dec. 12, 2018 adoption of its Substitute Environmental Document (SED) for Phase 1 of its Bay-Delta Plan. The state’s Plan, known by our region as the ‘state water grab’, prompted TID and Modesto Irrigation District to launch the ‘Worth Your Fight’ awareness Visit tidSED.com campaign in for the complete history of the SED 2016. The Plan process, including would require a comprehensive unreasonable video presentation and unfounded about the SED and Don Pedro measures be Relicensing. taken by TID and MID in the management of the Tuolumne River, with no proof that additional water releases would benefit the River or the people and species that depend on it.
Water is released from the Don Pedro Project to the Tuolumne River.
First, TID (and countless others including the federal government) mounted a legal challenge to the SWRCB’s adoption of the Plan’s environmental document, claiming the SWRCB did not comply with several laws before finalizing the SED.
Don Pedro Relicensing:
Secondly, TID and its partners on the Tuolumne River (MID and the City & County of San Francisco) began the process of negotiating a voluntary agreement with state agencies, in an effort to strike a compromise that would protect stakeholders on the River and be acceptable to the SWRCB. Such negotiations were supported by thenGovernor Brown and remain supported by Governor Newsom.
state’s Bay-Delta Plan Phase 1 SED.
Adoption of an agreement would establish an equitable resolution to the proposed measures of the state’s Plan and pave the way for River management projects to be implemented quickly to benefit our region and the environment alike.
TID’s efforts to relicense the Don Pedro Hydroelectric Project with favorable new operating conditions continue on a parallel path with our efforts on the
On Feb. 11 of this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). FERC hosted two meetings in Modesto on March 26 to hear comments on its DEIS. The DEIS acknowledges the science TID has used in assembling the Tuolumne River Management Plan that was presented in Don Pedro’s Amended Final License Application filed with FERC by TID and MID in 2018. For more on the relicensing process, including videos, expert science and documents, visit tidDonPedro.com.