Bishop Creek FERC Relicensing
Southern California Edison (SCE) required regulatory and environmental support for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing for the Bishop Creek Hydroelectric Project. The Project is located in the Eastern Sierra’s and consists of five powerhouses with a licensed capacity of 28.6 megawatts. SCE was interested in a relicensing approach that would address schedule constraints of a lengthy licensing process.
Kleinschmidt is managing the modified Integrated Licensing Process with SCE, and has developed a draft PAD and study plans, in collaboration with technical work groups pre-filing of the NOI and PAD. The approach enabled SCE to identify issues early and reach agreement in the primary issues to be addressed in relicensing. This allows for additional time to conduct and conclude studies in
support of a new license.
Early consultation and front-end work has engaged stakeholders and will result in agreement upon studies which will be implemented in support of the license application. This early engagement is expected to reduce project costs by minimizing rework and streamlining stakeholder approvals in the later stages of the project. Moreover, the early implementation of studies will provide for additional time in advance of the filing of the license application to consider appropriate protection, mitigation, and enhancement measures.