Action Alert: Comment on Hydropower Proposal for Sunset Falls (WA)
Posted: 06/05/2013
By: Thomas O'Keefe
On March 21, 2013 Snohomish PUD filed a Pre-Application Document and Notice of Intent to seek a
hydropower license to dam the South Fork Skykomish River and divert flows around Sunset
Falls. Sunset Falls is well known to paddlers as the traditional starting point for the run
known simply as the "Sky" and is recognized in the book Whitewater Classics. The
powerhouse would be constructed by blasting away the bedrock that forms the traditional seal
launch into the pool at the base of Sunset Falls.
This is not the first time a hydropower project has been proposed for this reach. Puget Sound
Energy considered the site in the early 20th century and then Snohomish PUD developed a proposal
in the early 1980s that was followed by more proposals by private developers and Tacoma Public
Utilities. The river, including the section at Sunset Falls, has been recommended by the Forest
Service as a Wild and Scenic River, is identified as a Protected Area from hydropower development
by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, and is recognized as the only Puget Sound river
in the Washington State Scenic River system.
The proposed hydropower development would consist of the following new facilities:
(1) The Dam: a 7-foot-high, 260-foot-long diversion weir with pneumatically-operated
bottom-hinged crest gates;
(2) The Reservoir: a 2-acre impoundment with a normal water surface elevation of 650 feet mean
sea level (msl);
(3) The Diversion: an intake structure with three 15-foot-high, 30-foot-wide, 190-footlong
tunnels with slide gates and trashracks with 4-inch bar spacing; a 75-foot-high, 120-foot-wide,
200-foot-long cavern structure with three V-shaped fish screens and trashracks with 1-inch bar
spacing; a 2,235-foot-long, 19.5-foot-diameter unlined, horseshoe-shaped power tunnel;
(4) The Powerhouse: a 60-foot-wide, 115-foot-long powerhouse containing
two 15-MW vertical Francis turbine generating units for a total installed capacity of 30 MW; a
15-foot-high, 30-foot-wide, 154-foot-long tailrace tunnel;
(5) Transmission Lines: a 75-foot-wide, 100-foot-long switchyard adjacent to the powerhouse; (9)
an 8.2-mile-long, 115-kilovolt three-phase overhead transmission line to transmit project power
to the regional grid; and
(6) Access Road: an access road leading from an existing road to the cavern structure.
Snohomish PUD has filed their Notice of Intent to seek a license for this project and their
Pre-Application Document that formally initiates the 5.5 year public process to secure a license
for hydropower development at the site. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioned has provided
public notice of the filing and scheduled a set of meetings and a site tour open to the public.
Any individual can attend these meetings to learn about the project and provide formal input.
Environmental Site Review
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 2:00 p.m.
Location: Gold Bar Park and Ride Lot
Intersection of State Road 2 and 2nd Street, Gold Bar, WA 98251
Phone Number: (425) 783-1709
Evening Scoping Meeting
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Index Fire Department
512 Avenue A, Index, WA 98256
Phone Number: (360) 793-0866
Daytime Scoping Meeting
Date and Time: Thursday, June 13, 2013, 10:00 a.m.
Location: Washington Department of Ecology Headquarters
300 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, WA 98503
Phone Number: (360) 407-6000
In addition to these meetings, there are three options for filing written comments. These
comments are due by July 19th, 2013.
1) For those who wish to file comprehensive comments you can register on the FERC website for
eFiling. Registering allows you to sign
up for the docket (in this case P-14295) and you will be notified of all filings and future
opportunities to comment on the project. We recommend this option for those who want to carefully
track the development of this project.
2) For those who do not wish to register but who would like to file a comment of less than 6,000
characters you can use the eComment
system. You will want to file your comment with docket P-14295. You must still include your name
and contact information at the end of your comments.
3) For those who wish to mail a hard copy of comments you can mail your comments to Kimberly D.
Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC
20426. Be sure to reference the docket number (for this project it is P-14295) in your
introductory paragraph so that your comment is filed correctly.
Additional Information
For those who wish to review additional information on the project, the following documents can
be accessed from the FERC website:
March 21, 2013
May 20, 2013
Thomas O'Keefe
3537 NE 87th St.
Seattle, WA 98115
E-mail: okeefe@americanwhitewater.org
Phone: 425-417-9012
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