Lewis River Relicensing

PacifiCorp and Cowlitz County PUD are undertaking an alternative, collaborative approach to relicensing four hydroelectric projects on the Lewis River. Consistent with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Order No. 596, this approach consolidates relicensing the projects into a single, collaborative process that will result in a negotiated settlement agreement valid for all four developments.

Each of the Lewis River projects is licensed individually. The license for the Yale Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 2071) expires in 2001, Swift No. 1 (FERC No. 2111) and No. 2 (FERC No. 2213) in 2006, and Merwin (FERC No. 935) in 2009. Under a traditional approach to relicensing, each project would be relicensed in a separate process addressing only resource and operational issues specific to that project.

Relying on this individualized approach could result in many years passing before resource management and operational measures would be in place for all the system’s projects. For example, if the traditional FERC process were followed, Merwin relicensing would not even begin until 2004, and resource enhancements associated with the project would not begin to be put in place until 2009. The Yale enhancements would be required in 2001. These different expiration dates, combined with the potential for adversarial negotiations inherent in the regulations themselves, could possibly result in four complex, inefficient relicensing processes with little benefit to the natural resources of the Lewis River watershed.

In some circumstances, for example, relicensing proceedings have remained unresolved for decades while owners and other relicensing participants endlessly debate, negotiate and even litigate to define the resource enhancements associated with a new license. This adversarial situation can also result in unnecessary delays in implementation of resource enhancements as the various relicensing participants seek to resolve differences through the complicated procedures associated with traditional relicensing.

The alternative relicensing approach for the Lewis River projects seeks to avoid this long process.

PacifiCorp and Cowlitz PUD believe that consolidating these four individual relicensing processes into one makes sense for the long-term health of the watershed. To accomplish this combined relicensing, PacifiCorp is voluntarily accelerating the expiration date of Merwin by three years to 2006, concurrent with Swift Nos. 1 and 2, and the company is also requesting that FERC delay processing of the Yale license application to correspond with the latter three relicensing schedules.