Residents question hydroelectric project’s operational costs

The Snohomish County Public Utility District Board of Commissioners took public comment on the proposed Sunset Falls hydroelectric project during its Oct. 18 meeting, after adding it to the agenda in response to constituent concerns about operational costs.

The Sunset Falls Fish Passage and Energy Project is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric project proposed for the south fork of the Skykomish River, near Index. Meant to help the PUD address its future power needs, the project would reroute water from the Skykomish River through a series of subterranean tunnels, blasted out of bedrock using controlled dynamite charges. The rerouted water would divert to a powerhouse at the base of Sunset Falls, creating a 1.1-mile bypass reach between the intake site and the base of the falls.   

The PUD filed its Draft License Application (DLA) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in January. According to the DLA, final design and construction cost for the project is being estimated between $138 million and $225 million.

The next step in the process is for the PUD to submit its Final Licensing Application (FLA) to FERC, the agency tasked with approving hydroelectric projects.

PUD General Manager Craig Collar outlined the process for clarity.

“We’re currently engaging with regulatory agencies and tribal governments that will lead us to a conclusion of whether or not a feasible project even exists,” Collar said. “It may not. If it looks like a feasible project may exist, we will proceed with the licensing process to get to an FLA, which may be successful, may not.”

Documentation provided to commissioners in their meeting packet included comments from project opponents Lora Cox and Dr. Pete Rainey, along with current photos of an ongoing landslide in the vicinity. Rainey expressed concerns about the state-mandated minimum river flows, issues with forecasting power generation estimates based on historical data, issues with construction and operational costs and projected power generation.

Cox focused on several issues, including land instability in close proximity to the project and other areas of the Mount Index Riversites region.

The packet also included a lengthy response to concerns raised by Gold Bar resident Irene Nash, who developed the website Ratepayers for Accountability. Nash zeroed in on operational costs during a Sunset Falls study session in August, asking a series of questions related to project financing, the PUD’s annual estimated revenue projections, debt service coverage ratio and projected operating costs.

She touched on the landslide as well. Initially, when Sunset Falls project feasibility studies began, all areas of Mount Index Riversites, including the base of Sunset Falls, were easily accessible by a small private roadway. In December 2013, the hillside adjacent to Sunset Falls gave way and has been moving ever since. Any and all attempts at recreating the roadway have been unsuccessful, as the hill continues to shift and droop. According to project opponents, the slide is approximately 330 feet from the falls.

“It’s significant and it has had recent activity,” Nash said. “It took out another cabin in February of this year, so it is ongoing and it’s huge.”

She reminded commissioners of PUD’s own criteria for selecting sites for hydropower projects, which states such projects should only be considered in areas with “no known geological hazards or unstable areas.”

Now, according to local residents and confirmed by Snohomish County, a new landslide has occurred just downstream of the project that is impacting Bridal Veil Creek. According to the county, the new slide appears to be similar in size to the original landslide that occurred next to Sunset Falls in December 2013, although the volume of the new slide is not yet known.

Area residents are reporting the new landslide is extensive. When a nearby property owner expressed concern about occupying a travel trailer on his property during nighttime hours, the county encouraged him to occupy the trailer during daylight hours only, according to county staff.

Cox apprised commissioners of the new slide.

“That other slide is downstream and a little bit to the south of where Sunset Falls is, but it’s in the same neighborhood,” Cox said.   

Rainey owns property just downstream from Sunset Falls and has been heavily involved in researching PUD documentation relevant to the project. He urged commissioners to closely review the comments received on the DLA by key stakeholders, including the Tulalip Tribes, the Snoqualmie Tribes, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

Rainey has had concerns about the project from the beginning, and others seem to agree, he said.

“I thought that it was a highly flawed project, and the way to see that would be to look at the comments that were made on the Draft License Application about the process,” Rainey said. “There were actually several hundred comments on the Draft License Application, almost all of them pointing out problems with the project and or calling for FERC to deny the license.”

He focused on what he considers to be a significant issue with PUD’s analysis of anticipated power generation. Since water from the river would be rerouted to the powerhouse by way of a subterranean tunnel, the resulting 1.1-mile bypass reach would theoretically contain less water. That power generation estimates were based on a minimum river flow in the bypass reach of 250 cubic feet per second (CFS) is a serious issue, Rainey said.

“The biggest problem is the fact that the expected generation was presumably calculated based on a minimum flow of 250 cubic feet per second in the bypass,” Rainey said. “This is completely incompatible with current Washington law.”

Flows set for the south fork of the Skykomish River range from 450 to 1250 CFS, depending on the time of year. Ecology submitted a comment on the DLA, directing that the project stay in compliance with state water quality standards during both construction and operation.

“They do not intend that you all will be allowed to go below the state mandated minimum flows,” Rainey said. “This is a law.”

For more about Sunset Falls, visit snopud.com/PowerSupply/hydro/sfpep.ashx?p=1956. To view Nash’s website, visit ratepayersforaccountability.org. To review PUD’s response to Nash’s questions raised during an August commission meeting, view the Oct. 18 packet at snopud.com/AboutUs/Leadership/commmtg/cm1016.ashx?p=2979.