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Irrigation Districts begin FERC licensing of La Grange Dam
In a significant victory for CSPA and conservation allies, Turlock Irrigation District (TID) and Modesto Irrigation District (MID) have begun the process to get a hydropower license for TID’s powerhouse at La Grange Dam. This process may require a study of fish passage on the Tuolumne River. In the ongoing relicensing of the Districts’ Don…
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CSPA Opposes Delay in Licensing La Grange
CSPA and eight allied conservation groups have opposed a requested delay in the licensing of the unlicensed La Grange Powerhouse and Dam on the Tuolumne River. On December 20, owners of the dam, Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District, applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a second six-month delay in the licensing…
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FERC Rim Dam Trifecta
Operators of hydroelectric projects licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have filed Draft License Applications for hydroelectric projects on two major Central Valley rim dams. A FERC notice requiring recommendations, terms and conditions for a third such project is imminent. Each of the projects is centered on a major storage reservoir whose streamflow releases…
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CSPA intervenes in lawsuits against FERC
CSPA and five other organizations have intervened in two lawsuits against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concerning FERC’s jurisdiction over La Grange Dam on the Tuolumne River. The lawsuits contest FERC’s July 19, 2013 Order on La Grange, and FERC’s earlier Order of December 18, 2012, that require Turlock Irrigation District (TID) to initiate…
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CSPA and Coalition Seek Equal Protection for Fish
Many owners of hydroelectric projects use jurisdictional uncertainty to avoid improving conditions for fish. Operators of power projects that also deliver water for irrigation or drinking water deny responsibility for streamflows if they can peg a reach of stream to “water supply” instead of hydropower. Even if operators produce power while carrying out the primary…
