McCloud-Pit Hydroelectric Project Relicensing

McCloud-Pit Hydroelectric Project Relicensing

The McCloud-Pit Hydroelectric Project (Project) is owned and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The Project is located on the McCloud River, Iron Canyon Creek, and Pit River, in Shasta and Siskiyou Counties, California. The 368-megawatt Project consists of three power-generating developments that include two storage reservoirs (McCloud and Iron Canyon), two regulating reservoirs (Pit 6 and Pit 7), one afterbay (Pit 7), three powerhouses (James B. Black, Pit 6, and Pit 7), five dams (Pit 6, Pit 7, Pit 7 Afterbay, Iron Canyon, and McCloud), two tunnels, and associated equipment and transmission facilities. The Project is undergoing relicensing before the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC). The original FERC license for the Project expired on July 31, 2011. Since then, the Project has operated under annual licenses issued by FERC. PG&E applied to the State Water Board for a Project certification on November 9, 2018. The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) issued a final initial study and negative declaration on November 8, 2019. On November 8, 2019, the Executive Director issued a water quality certification (certification) for the Project. On December 6, 2019, PG&E (separately) and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and Noth Coast Rivers Alliance (NCRA) (jointly) filed petitions for reconsideration of the certification (Petitions) with the State Water Board. Each petition requests modification of the Project certification, and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and NCRA’s petition additionally challenges the CEQA analysis prepared for the Project certification. In response to the Petitions, the Executive Director directed staff to reinitiate consultation with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe to inform whether, and if so, what additional CEQA work may be necessary (Order WQ 2020-0041-EXEC). As part of the reinitiated consultation with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, staff determined that preparation of a subsequent environmental impact report (SEIR) would be appropriate to analyze impacts to tribal cultural resources that were unknown during the original CEQA process. A Notice of Preparation for the SEIR was issued on March 10, 2022.

McCloud

Shasta, Siskiyou

Countywide, Northern California, Unincorporated

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Northern and Eureka Region 1 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 2 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Fish and Game Commission (CDFGC), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Redding Region 5 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Delta Protection Commission, Delta Stewardship Council, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance, University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS)

Power:Hydroelectric (Megawatts 368)

Clean Water Act 401 water quality certification

Aesthetics, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Geology/Soils, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Recreation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian