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CSPA and partners criticize FERC’s study determination for Merced River relicensing
November 20, 2009 -- CSPA and its conservation partners in the relicensing of the Merced River Hydroelectric Project (FERC #2179) have filed extensive comments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the Commission’s failure to order adequate studies for the relicensing. FERC ordered no studies of project effects on salmon or steelhead, and no studies to evaluate fish passage past dams on the Merced River.
The Study Plan Determination was issued in September. It was disputed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the State Water Resources Control Board. A meeting before a study dispute panel to discuss the disputed studies was held on November 17 in Sacramento.
CSPA and other conservation groups offered oral comments at the meeting, but were limited in their participation by the nature of the process. Today, CSPA and its allies filed an extensive written commentary with FERC and the study dispute panel. The comments address both the particulars of the Merced relicensing, and how FERC addresses studies in relicensings in general.
In addition to CSPA, signatories include American Rivers, Friends of the River, Trout Unlimited, Merced River Conservation Committee, Golden West Women Flyfishers, and the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers.