In 2002, Chugach Electric Association, Inc. (Chugach), initiated the
process to relicense its Cooper Lake Hydroelectric Project (Project: FERC
No. 2170). The Project is located near Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula
and provides power to southcentral Alaska as part of Chugach's generating
system. The operating license for the Project was issued by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on May 1, 1957. The existing license
is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2007 and therefore, Chugach filed
an application for a new license in April 2005.
Project Description
The Project is located on Cooper Creek, Cooper Lake, and Kenai Lake
(Seward B-8 Quadrangle, Alaska). The powerhouse, penstock and intake
structures are located on State-owned land. The Project dam and reservoir
are located within the Chugach National Forest. The Project transmission
line is located on lands owned by a number of different entities, including
Chugach National Forest and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
The primary components of the Project are:
- Cooper Lake Dam, a rock-and-fill structure across Cooper Creek at the outlet of Cooper Lake.
- Cooper Lake, a natural lake that has been increased in area to 3,100 acres
by the dam (Note: Since 1985, the water surface of the lake has been
maintained at an elevation 16 feet below licensed normal maximum pool elevation for
dam safety considerations; the current surface area of lake is 2,600 acres).
- An intake structure, located approximately 5 miles southeast of the dam.
Elevation of the invert of the opening to the tunnel/penstock is at 1,151 feet MSL
(43 feet below the water surface at the current full pool elevation of 1,194 feet MSL).
- A tunnel, conduit, and penstock extending 10,300 feet east from Cooper Lake
to the Cooper Lake Powerhouse on Kenai Lake.
- Cooper Lake Powerhouse, containing two turbine/generator units, each rated at
9.69 MW (upgraded from 7.5 MW in 2000).
- A 6.3-mile-long 69-kV transmission line from the Cooper Lake Powerhouse to the
Quartz Creek substation.
- An 90.4-mile-long 115-kV transmission line from the Quartz Creek Substation to the
Anchorage Substation.
Summary of Project Operations
The Project stores all inflow to Cooper Lake and diverts the entire natural outflow from the lake
through the tunnel/penstock and to the powerhouse, which discharges into Kenai Lake. The diverted natural
flow ranges on average from around 8 cfs during late winter / early spring to about 280 cfs during early
summer snowmelt, based on calculated inflows to Cooper Lake. Average annual inflow to / discharge from
the lake is approximately 72,500 acre-feet. Electricity generated at the powerhouse (which averages
approximately 50,500 megawatt hours [MWh] per year) is transmitted to the Quartz Creek Substation,
from where it is transferred to and distributed along the transmission line to the Anchorage Substation.
Key Resource Areas and Issues
The environmental setting of the Cooper Lake Project encompasses a number of different resource areas,
including water use and quality, fish resources and aquatic habitat, terrestrial resources (vegetation
and wildlife), cultural resources (archaeological and historical features), recreation resources, land
use and management, and aesthetic/visual resources. Information in each of these resource disciplines
will be compiled and analyzed, through research and field studies as needed, to fully address potential
impacts of ongoing Project operations on the environment. Based on discussions to date with agencies and
other relicensing participants,
the resource areas and issues of primary concern involve fisheries and aquatics-related effects associated
with the Project's diversion of all former Cooper Lake flow into Cooper Creek through the powerhouse on
Kenai Lake and fluctuating lake levels on Cooper Lake. Terrestrial resource issues related to fluctuating
lake levels also have been identified as a concern.
Overview of the Relicensing Process
Description of Process
Chugach has elected to use a relicensing process that is formally structured according to the traditional
three-stage consultation process, but which also incorporates a number of enhanced consultation aspects
beyond the formal requirements of the traditional process. The intent of this "enhanced traditional"
relicensing process is to provide higher quality opportunities for exchanging information with relicensing
participants than would be afforded under a strictly traditional process. Chugach's hope is that the open,
participative relicensing process that it is using will increase the potential for a mutually acceptable
relicensing outcome, by involving stakeholders in the scoping of relicensing issues, the design of
relicensing studies, the assessment of ongoing Project effects and the identification of potential
protection, mitigation and enhancement (PME) alternatives.
Formal Consultation Milestones and Schedule
FERC-required relicensing steps in the traditional process, from issuance of the Initial Consultation
Package (ICP) through FERC's processing of the final license application and conducting of the NEPA analysis,
are summarized below.
Any applicant for a new hydropower license is required to submit to FERC a Notice of Intent (NOI) to
relicense the project. The NOI must be filed five years prior to the end of the existing license. Chugach
filed its NOI with FERC on February 25, 2002 (a copy of the NOI is posted under the "Documents" section of
this web site). Under the traditional relicensing process, consultation with agencies and other stakeholders
on the relicensing is conducted in three stages. First-stage consultation is initiated with issuance of
the ICP (targeted for early June 2002), which summarizes existing information relevant to the relicensing
and identifies potential studies to be conducted. A public meeting / site visit is required to be held
within 30-60 days of issuance of the ICP (this meeting / site visit is targeted for mid-July 2002). After
a 60-day review period following the site visit, agencies and other stakeholders provide written comments
on the ICP, including requests for studies to be conducted. First-stage consultation also includes
development of resource-specific study plans. Chugach anticipates that first-stage consultation will
continue through early 2003.
Second-stage consultation involves conducting studies, issuance of the draft license application, and
documentation of consultation on the draft application. The draft license application needs to be issued
approximately one year ahead of the filing date for the final license application, to allow time for the
formal 90-day comment period on the draft application, the required "substantive disagreement" meeting
within 30 days of the close of the comment period, and revision and finalization of the license application.
Chugach anticipates that the draft license application will be issued for comment in the second quarter of
2004.
Third-stage consultation begins with filing of the final application, no later than April 30, 2005.
After it receives the final application, FERC evaluates the application for completeness and then conducts
its NEPA analysis. Third-stage consultation includes further opportunities for stakeholder comment on the
application in the context of FERC's NEPA analysis.
The current relicensing schedule
for the Cooper Lake Project is available for viewing, including the timelines for the
various formal process requirements described above.
Additional Proposed Interactions with Participants
In addition to the steps formally required under the traditional relicensing process, Chugach has
outlined further measures aimed at engaging relicensing participants in additional consultation throughout
the relicensing process. These proposed additional consultation opportunities include informational
meetings and workshops, input to study approaches, review of draft study plans and reports, and potential
formation of resource-specific work groups. Some of these planned consultation points are shown in relation
to the formal consultation milestones in the relicensing schedule.
To further facilitate information exchange with relicensing participants, Chugach has established
this relicensing web site. This web site will be used to post items such as meeting agendas, documents
(e.g., study plans, reports, and meeting summaries), and other information related to the relicensing. In
addition, a summary of the relicensing
consultation record has been developed for this web site, and will be updated on a regular basis.
Summary
Through its planned process for relicensing the Cooper Lake Project, beginning with preliminary
interactions with relicensing participants and continuing with issuance of the ICP and subsequent meetings
and workshops, Chugach hopes to conduct an open and participative process that will strengthen existing
working relationships among all the relicensing participants and ultimately result in a new license for
the Project that allows for both continued operation of this important regional source of electricity as
well as protection of the important environmental resources associated with the Project.
Relicensing Participants
Chugach has developed a list of participants in this relicensing process, based on agencies'/organizations'
and individuals' past interest and involvement in activities related to the Cooper Lake Project. Click here
to view the current list of relicensing participants. Organizations and individuals on this list will
receive regular mailings regarding the relicensing, including relicensing documents issued to the public
and invitations to meetings, workshops, and other events. If you would like to be added to the list of
relicensing participants, fill out the
relicensing participant contact information form and submit to Chugach.
List of relicensing participants (including contact information)
Contact Information
Questions or comments on the Cooper Lake relicensing may be sent to
relicensing@chugachelectric.com.
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