From...
http://www.choteauacantha.com/articles/2008/05/07/news/doc4820c84ba50ee236159247.txt
Hydro project
Gibson dam hydro project sets new line route
By Nancy Thornton - Acantha re****ter
Published:
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 4:06 AM MDT
A Wa****ngton company that holds a permit to develop a hydroelectric plant
at
Gibson Dam along the Rocky Mountain Front has abandoned plans to run its
transmission line up to Choteau in favor of extending the line nearly due
east out of Sun Canyon, along an existing utility easement to U.S. Highway
287.
The new route is discussed in the project's 44-page draft license
application and a 77-page preliminary draft environmental *****sment
released for public comment on April 11.
Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Co. LLC, of Bellingham, Wash., (Gibson Hydro)
currently holds a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission for a project to use existing water releases from the dam to
generate renewable energy.
Gibson Hydro, which is a partner****p of Whitewater Engineering of
Bellingham
and Greenfields Irrigation District of Fairfield, started the process to
harness Gibson Dam's hydropower nearly five years ago.
Gibson Dam and its penstocks, intake pipes, valves and its stilling basin
at
the bottom outlet are owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and
administered through the Upper Missouri Regional Office in Billings.
Greenfields Irrigation District, through a formal agreement with
Reclamation, operates and maintains the facility.
The dam and its reservoir, measuring 5.5 miles long by one mile wide, are
located in the Lewis and Clark National Forest where they capture water
from
the 575-square mile Sun River watershed. The river flows out the Sun River
Canyon, a popular recreational area west of Augusta.
The project would include a powerhouse near the dam's base, a maintenance
building about 1,400 feet downstream from the powerhouse next to existing
dam facilities, and 25.84 miles of transmission line extending east from
the
powerhouse to tie into Sun River Electric Cooperative's existing
69-kilovolt
line at Jackson's Corner.
The plans include upgrading Sun River Electric's existing line on new
armless poles, which also will carry three higher voltage lines, from the
powerhouse to a new switchyard adjacent to U.S. Highway 287. The company
plans to build a substation on federal land operated by Bureau of Land
Management where the line changes from 34.5 kVs to 69 kVs 4.5 miles east
of
the national forest boundary where Sun River Electric's existing 7.2 kV
electrical distribution line transitions from underground to overhead.
The revised route as proposed on April 11 would include 1.03 miles of
underground line and 3.7 miles of overhead line inside the canyon, and 4.9
miles of underground line extending east from the canyon to the proposed
BLM
substation. The remaining 20 miles to Jackson's Corner would be overhead,
rebuilding the existing line. Some of the underground line would be placed
under the existing road where applicable.
Also revised between earlier Gibson Hydro do***ents and the newly released
draft license application is a proposed mainte-nance building/control
house
that has been moved east from its former proposed location to a location
adjacent to the existing Reclamation building. The dimensions of the
powerhouse also changed from 120-by-80-feet wide to 120-by-60-feet wide.
According to the draft license application, the project would not alter
the
amount or timing of irrigation water stored or released from the
reservoir,
would not alter flows in the Sun River below Gibson Dam, and would not
change any point of irrigation use, but would merely use existing flows to
generate power.
According to the company's environmental *****sment, the proposed project
would have a beneficial cooling effect on Sun River water, which benefits
fisheries downstream. Turbine mortality of fish would be 24 percent to 32
percent, compared to 60 percent to 80 percent for existing conditions.
No significant increase in transmission line collisions is expected for
raptors or other birds that use the canyon area, the re****t states, since
partial burial of the lines would result in a net decrease in aboveground
lines, and raptor-proof poles.
Compared with the existing 7.2 kV power poles, the taller 69 kV power
poles
would be visible from a slightly greater distances to vehicle traffic on
Sun
Canyon Road and other local roads, the re****t states, but the overall
impact
to aesthetic resources would be small.
The company also released two other re****ts that are now available on the
company Web site, www.gibsonhydro.com. They are a 216-page record of
correspondence and a 42-page visual resources survey re****t. However, the
latter re****t includes information on the abandoned route to Choteau, and
not the new route to U.S. Highway 287.
The substantial record of correspondence is evidence of the high interest
in
the project, especially for people who are concerned that 43-foot-tall and
56-foot-tall power poles would have a negative visual impact for visitors
to
the canyon and the Rocky Mountain Front. At least one large landowner,
Deep
Creek Ranch, opposed the former route to Choteau which would have run
north
to South Belleview Road and then east to a NorthWestern Energy substation
near Rattles**** Butte a few miles south of Choteau.
Whether the new route selection will pass muster with folks remains to be
seen. Gibson Hydro is inviting comments on its latest proposal per FERC
rules. That federal agency would issue a license to build the $24-million
hydroelectric plant and transmission line later this year, if it is
approved, although the agency has the option to issue its own
environmental
*****sment, which would include another round of comments. Once approved,
construction might begin during the fall of 2010 with construction being
completed in June 2011.
Projected costs and financing options are listed in the draft license
application.
According to Gibson Hydro, the Jackson Corner alternative was selected
because it follows the existing electrical line right-of-way extending
from
the Sun Canyon to Jackson's Corner. "By upgrading the existing line and
staying within the existing right-of-way, the need for two transmission
lines extending from Sun Canyon was eliminated. The existing distribution
line in Sun Canyon would be under-built on the new transmission line and
the
distribution wood poles would be removed to prevent dual lines in the
right-of-way," the re****t states.
Gibson Hydro is working with the existing line owner, Sun River Electric
Cooperative, to coordinate the planned work both within and outside the
canyon.
According to Sun River Electric's general manager Scott Odegard, the
right-of-way was acquired decades ago and is composed of land easements of
varying widths. He said he did not know the widths without looking at the
do***ents.
He said Sun River Electric is still working with Gibson Hydro and
continues
to sup****t the project, citing it as a source of renewable energy.
Gibson Hydro proposes two widths in its draft license application, 60 feet
and 60 meters (197 feet.) The distinction is im****tant because many Sun
River Electric easements are only 20 feet wide, and Gibson Hydro would
have
to negotiate for more land if it wants a wider easement.
In an e-mail last week, project manager Steve Marmon gave details about
the
two widths. He said the purpose of a 60-meter wide corridor is to allow a
small amount of alignment flexibility, within the corridor during final
design and construction. The flexibility would be used to adjust for and
accommodate landowner wishes, as well as sensitive plants, wetlands,
historic properties, and/or terrain features. Once constructed, the vast
majority of the transmission line would be accommodated to a final 60-foot
wide right-of-way, with the exception of only those locations where it is
necessary for a greater width, and a revised project boundary would be
submitted.
Marmon said that an example of a location that would require a width
greater
than 60 feet is where guy-line anchors extend beyond 30 feet from
centerline.
"We understand the im****tance of occupying the smallest footprint feasible
for the final transmission line right-of-way, and it is our intent to
continue working with the various land owners and resource agencies with
this goal in mind," Marmon said.
The transmission line would cross both public and private lands affecting
647.9 acres for buildings or right of way.
Jim Lange, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetland district manager for
the
11-county Benton Lake Complex, said he would review the new transmission
route and would make written comments and suggestions of alternative
routes,
if his agency determines the need. The transmission route crosses the
private "Boadle tract," where FWS has a perpetual conservation easement.
The easement agreement was probably made subject to existing electric
lines,
he said, and that would be determined as part of the review. Lange added
that his agency would do its best to protect FWS' interest.
The federal Natural Resources and Conservation Service also has an
interest
in the Boadle tract, having a 30-year agreement with the landowner for the
property to be a part of the Wetland Reserve Program.
The re****t contains details about the hydroelectric energy and the power
plant operation under various conditions. Power generation would vary
according to the amount of water being released. The capacity of the
plant's
four turbines would total 15 megawatts, however, the company estimates a
30-percent "plant factor," being the ratio of the actual output of the
power
plant and its output if it had operated at full capacity over a defined
time
period.
The plant would produce an estimated average 40 million kilowatt-hours per
year, or enough energy to power 375 households for a year, based on
Department of Energy consumer data.
The company has not found a buyer yet for the electricity it expects to
generate and is still discussing with NorthWestern Energy the feasibility
of
bringing its power onto the regional electrical grid. Sun River Electric
would "wheel" Gibson Hydro's power; however, Sun River Electric cannot
purchase the power because it has an "all-requirements" contract with its
power suppliers.
According to Gibson Hydro, the costs of constructing and operating the
project are at or below certain "long-run avoided costs," the marginal
cost
for the same amount of energy obtained from another means. "The project is
thus economical given current forecasts of energy prices," the application
states.
After incor****ating comments received on the draft license application and
environmental *****sment, the company will submit the final license
application and *****sment to FERC, anticipated in August 2008.
Written comments are due no later than July 11. The do***ents are
available
to download at the company's Web site and paper copies are available for
viewing at area libraries.
Written comments should be sent to Whitewater Engineering Corp., Attn:
Steve
Marmon, Project Manager, Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project, FERC No.
12478-001, 3633 Alderwood Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225 or via FAX to
360-733-3056 or via e-mail to smarmon @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
should be directed to Marmon at 360-738-9999 or via e-mail.
--
Alan
www.best-page.us
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