NESEN-PL-RP 19 MAY 1978 Mr. John W. Ellis President, Puget Sound Power and Light Company Puget Power Building. Bellevue, Washington 98009 Dear Mr. Ellis: This is in reply to your letter of 16 March 1978 requesting a correction in our March 1978 Public Brochure on the Skagit Levee and Channel Improvement Project. As agreed on 14 March 1978 in a telephone conversation between Mr. Forest Brooks of my staff, and Mr. Finnegan of your office, we orally noted our error. At our public meeting in Mount Vernon on 22 March 1978, we stated that the Secretary of Agriculture had not yet made a determination as to the effect of the Skagit Nuclear 'Power Plant on the proposal by the Forest Service to designate portions of the Skagit,Sauk, and Cascade Rivers, as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivet system. Since that time, the Department of Agriculture has stated that the project as propobed poses "direct and adverse" effects on the values for which the Skagit may be designated a component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers system and that, if Congress were to adopt the proposal, the nuclear project could be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission if certain mitigating measures were applied to elements of the project. Because our public brochure is a draft and subject to revision periodically through the planning process, we will indicate the status of theliild and Scenic River proposal and the Skagit Nuclear Power Plant application in the next edition of our Public Brochure.. POOL1470
NPSEN-PL-RP Mr. John W. Ellis Brooks/ds/3821 16 May 1978 Thank you for your interest in our studies and for pointing out nn error in our brochure. If you have further questions on this study, please contact the Skagit Study Manager, Mr. Forest Brooks, at the above address, or by telephone (206) 764-3621. Sincerely yours, cc/ref ltr: LB rooks Cook Mottling w/o ref ltr: RP file DWAIN F. HOGAN, P.E. (Net Ptnuung Branch REG PLNG PLNG BR /s/ MAILROOM ED PL FILE 2 PD0 1147 I
WHAT IS THE WILD AND SCENIC RIVER PROPOSAL? Congress is currently considering legislation that would Provide for the classification of portions of the Skagit River and its tributaries under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The legislation proposed by the U.S. Forest Service was sent to President Carter on 6 May 1977, and he forwarded it to Congress, along with his environmental message, on 23 May 1977. The U.S. Forest Service proposal includes the following additions to the National System: the Skagit River from the pipeline crossing at Sedro Woolley upstream to the mouth of Bacon Creek; the Cascade River from its mouth upstream to the junction of its north and south forks and up the South Fork to the Glacier Peak Wilderness; the Sauk River from its mouth upstream to Elliott Creek and up its North Fork from its mouth to the Glacier Peak Wilderness; and the Suiattle River from its mouth upstream to the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The Skagit River would be included in the National System under the recreational classification. The Cascade, Sauk, and Suiattle would be included under the scenic classification. The proposal if enacted by Congress would effectively preclude consideration of additional significant flood control storage on tributaries of the Skagit River.. There is some interest in removing the reach of the Skagit River from Hamilton to Sedro Woolley from the classification because of the recent decision by the Secretary of Agriculture t at le 4..: P1 would impair the values of reach of the Skagit River. Other modifications that have been suggested would provide that future riprapping be permitted to protect farm land along the Skagit River and that upstream storage on the Sauk be permitted if it is found that upstream storage is the most cost effective alternative for flood damage prevention. The final form of the legislation is not known at this time. WHAT IS SEATTLE CITY LIGHT PLANNING? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the former Federal Power Commission)' issued a license to Seattle City Light on 5 July 1977, to raise Ross Dam 122 feet. However, due to objections from Indian tribes and the Department of Interior,the license is under review indefinitely. If Ross Dam is raised 122 feet, the reservoir will total 3.456.000 acre feet of which 1,052,000 acre feet is usable by 120,000 acre feet of storage, would be maintained. Seattle City Light is currently conducting an environmental study of Copper Creek Dam on the Skagit River. The primary site under consideration is about one mile below Copper Creek on the Skagit River. The dam would be about 190 feet high and span 2,000"feet across its crest. It could provide 55,000 to 60,000 kilowatts of additional 1110 hydroelectric generation and would permit a more even flow of water downstream. The project would also allow future installation of 13004472 additional generating units at Gorge, Diablo, and Ross Powerhouses. The study should be completed early in 1979, and a recommendation made to the Seattle City Council on whether or not to proceed with the project.
PUGET SOUND POWER & LIGHT COMPANY PUGET POWER BUILDING (206) 454-6363 BELLEVUE. WASHINGTON 98009 OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT March 16, 1978 Colonel John A. Poteat District Engineer Department of the Army Seattle District, Corps of Engineers P. 0. Box C-3755 Seattle, Washington 98124 Dear Colonel Poteat: Draft 1 of the Public Brochure on the Skagit River Levee and Channel Improvements Project, dated March, 1978, which was received in our offices this week, has a serious error which should be corrected as soon as possible. On page 17 (attached), under the heading "What is the Wild & Scenic River Proposal?" it is stated that: "There is some interest in removing the reach of the Skagit River from. Hamilton to Sedro Woolley from the classification because of the recent decision by the Secretary of Agriculture that the Skagit Nuclear Power Plant would impair thevalues of this reach of the Skagit, - This statement is in error. As of this date, the Secretary of Agriculture has made no such decision. Briefly, the facts of the situation are as follows: In late 1975 the U. S. Forest Service was asked by Puget to reassess, in a separate study, the possible impact of the Skagit Nuclear Power Plant (SNPP) on the recreational values of the Skagit River, which were the bases for the river being proposed as an clement of the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System. Fly mid- 1976 the U. S. Forest Service did complete such a st.dy and furnished it to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and to the Secretary of Agriculture. The NRC relied extensively on the U. S. Forest Service assessment in a Supplement to the Final Impact Statement for the SNPP and found that there were no significant impacts on the proposed recreational status of the, river. The Secretary of Agriculture will use such Forest Service assessment as the basis for a decision as to whether the SNPP would adversely impact the recreational values of this reach of the Skagit River under the provisions of Section 7(b) of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The Secretary's Section 7(b) determination has not been made as yet, as I noted above. P004473
PUGET SOUND POWER & LIGHT COMPANY Colonel John A. Poteat -2- March 16, 1978 Igm.$109. Congress, as you know, at the same time is considering the Skagit Wild & Scenic River Study (along with several other similar river studies) which the U. S. Forest Service completed in mid-1977. In the Skagit study, the U. S. Forest Service proposes recreational classification for the Skagit River above the Sedro Woolley utilities crossing, and evaluates several other classification alternatives, one of which you note in your brochure. Again, it is not possible to predict when and how Congress will act on the various proposals. Because the statement in the brochure would be seriously misleading to the public, particularly in Skagit County, we request and would appreciate a corrected page being submitted to the same distribution as the brochure, and that the error be orally noted at the March 22, 1978 public meeting. Thank you for your cooperation. Very truly yours, 4 - (% ( John W. Ellis President Attachment P004474
SKAGIT 1 f. PUBLIC BROCHURE MARCH 1978 DRAFT 'I FOREST BROOKS, STUDY MANAGER (206) 764-3621 SEATTLE DISTRICT, CORPS. OF ENGINEERS ;_J- POST OFFICE BOH C-3755, SEATTLE WASHINGTON 98124 ar,d,li. PO04475
WHAT IS THE WILD AND SCENIC RIVER PROPOSAL? Congress is currently considering legislation that would nrovide for the classification of portions of the Skagit River and its tributaries under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The legislation proposed by the U.S. Forest Service was sent to President Carter on 6 May 1977, and he forwarded it to Congress, along with his environmental message, on 23 May 1977. The U.S. Forest Service proposal includes the following additions to the National System: the Skagit River from the pipeline crossing at Sedro Woolley upstream to the mouth of Bacon Creek; the Cascade River from its mouth upstream to the junction of its north and south forks and up the South Fork to the Glacier Peak Wilderness; the Sauk River from its mouth upstream to Elliott Creek and up its North Fork from its mouth to the Glacier Peak Wilderness; and the Suiattle River from its mouth upstream to the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The Skagit River would be included in the National System under the recreational classification. The Cascade, Sauk, and Suiattle would be included under the scenic classification. The proposal if enacted by Congress would effectively preclude consideration of additional significant flood control storage on tributaries of the Skagit River.. There is some interest in removing the reach of the Skagit River from Hamilton to Sedro Woolley from the classification because of the recent decision by the Secretary of Agriculture that t e 4.. would impair the values of,itis reach of the Skagit River.,, Other modifications that have been suggested would provide that future riprapping be permitted to protect farm land along the Skagit River and that upstream storage on the Sauk be permitted if it is found that upstream storage is the most cost effective alternative for flood damage prevention. The final form of the legislation is not known at this time. WHAT IS SEATTLE CITY LIGHT PLANNING.? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the former Federal Power Commission) issued a license to Seattle City Light on 5 July 1977, to raise Ross Dam 122 feet. However, due to objections from Indian tribes and the Department of Interior,the license is under review indefinitely. If Ross Dam is raised 122 feet, the reservoir will total 3.456.000 acre feet of which 1,052,000 acre feet is usable by 120,000 acre feet of storage, would be maintained. Seattle City Light is currently conducting an environmental study of Copper Creek Dam on the Skagit River. The primary site under consideration is about one mile below Copper Creek on the Skagit River. The dam would be about 190 feet high and span 2,000 feet across its crest. It could provide 55,000 to 60,000 kilowatts of additional hydroelectric generation and would permit a more even flow of water downstream. The project would also allow future installation of additional generating units at Gorge, Diablo, and Ross Powerhouses. The study should be completed early in 1979, and a recommendation made to the Seattle City Council on whether or not to proceed with the project. POOLN76