The South Fork agreement is signed and sealed

Representatives of Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), PG&E, Friends of the River (FOR), the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, the American River
Recreation Association and other stakeholders signed an agreement for the relicensing of SMUD's Upper American River Project (UARP).

According to FOR, this agreement "greatly improves the existing conditions of the South Fork American River and its tributaries" by:

• Greatly increasing minimum flows on all river segments. These flows mimic natural variation, restore ecological functions, and enhance conditions for fish and wildlife.


• Enhancing recreation opportunities by creating new kayaking and rafting opportunities on the South Fork Silver Creek below Ice House reservoir as well as the South Fork American River below Slab Creek Dam.


• Creating pulse flows on the Rubicon River, South Fork Silver Creek, and Gerle Creek. These flows simulate natural springtime runoff events and maintain the river ecology by flushing sediment and debris, improving water temperature and quality, and creating habitat.


• Providing financial assistance to the U.S. Forest Service and BLM for the maintenance and operation of recreational facilities located on or near project reservoirs and affected river segments.


• Creating a quantitative and reliable flow schedule for California's most popular whitewater river—the South Fork American below Chili Bar reservoir.

Visit FOR's website for more details, a photograph of the signing, and downloads of the agreement and other related reports.

SMUD board approves South Fork relicensing agreement

Posted for Teresa Simsiman - After another 2 months of intense negotiation meetings and conference calls - I am pleased to announce that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Board of Directors as of 1/25/07 has approved the the Relicensing Settlement Agreement for the Upper American River Project and Chili Bar Hydroelectric Project (South Fork of the American River).

To view the video or meeting agenda, go to the SMUD meeting archives and select the SMUD BOD Special Meeting of Jan 25, 2007.

An official signing ceremony will be held at the SMUD headquarters Monday, January 29, at 1 p.m. (I'm practicing my penmanship!) SMUD, PG&E, the Agencies, NGO's and individual signatories will sign the historic agreement for the UARP and Chili Bar Hydroelectric Project. In other words - IT WILL BE OFFICIAL!!!!!!

The river community will really reap the benefits of this agreement and once the agreement is posted to FERC I will share the details! In the meantime please consider joining us - WE NEED TO OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGE SMUD (they really like this sort of thing!!!). Thursday February 1, 6pm SMUD Auditorium, in the District's Headquarters Building at 6201 S St., Sacramento. If you can't make it please take the time to drop them a note - Go to the SMUD Board website and click on the ward links to contact Board members.

Theresa L. Simsiman
ROAR!

SMUD accused of diverting too much water from Rubicon

Matt Weiser of the Sacramento Bee reported today that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) "has been taking more water from the Rubicon River in the high Sierra than its state permits allow, prompting complaints that the power supplier has harmed fish and neighboring water users."

The Rubicon River originates in eastern El Dorado County, but soon flows north into Placer County, becoming a tributary of the Middle Fork of the American River. (See map on our American River page.)

Weiser explains:

The two agencies are neighbors in the western Sierra, and share the Rubicon River. SMUD's Rubicon Reservoir, at 6,545 feet elevation, diverts a portion of the river's flow, via tunnel, into the south fork of the American River. SMUD uses that water to make electricity at several points.

The Placer water agency holds its share of Rubicon River flows at Hell Hole Reservoir, where it is stored for domestic and agricultural customers and used for power generation.

The result is that any excess Rubicon flows diverted by SMUD are not available to the Placer County Water Agency.

Complaints have been filed by the California Department of Fish and Game, the Placer County Water Agency, Friends of the River, and other fishing and environmental groups.

For details and an explanatory graphic, see "High Sierra diversions put SMUD in hot water" in the Bee.

SacBee on SMUD relicensing & Folsom Lake water

In today's SacBee.com, Matt Weiser reports in "Deal on raising river's flow:"

Outdoor lovers will begin to see major improvements along the American River's south fork in little more than a year under an agreement to modernize the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's vast hydroelectric system.

The article goes on to describe the agreement and the expected timeline for finalization and implementation.

Also in today's SacBee.com, on a different topic: in "Folsom Lake water limits lifted," Cathy Locke reports that "the state Water Resources Control Board has agreed to drop conditions restricting El Dorado Irrigation District's access to Folsom Lake water during certain periods."

Roar! This Day in History, Thank You's & Keys to the Candy Store

Posted for Theresa L. Simsiman

On Tuesday November 14, 2006 witnessing history in the making - drained & mentally exhausted the Agencies, NGO's, PG&E and SMUD sat across from each other in the Los Angeles room of the Marriot Hotel and agreed in principle to appendices A, B & C of the Agency/NGO's alternative proposal for the Upper American River Project. Though not likely to make the pages of "This Day in History" those of us following this historic soap opera should never forget the significance of this day! On this day in history, the 30-50 year legacy to restore our American River was officially put into play!

Here is the link to the documents filed & approved with FERC just today!

Who do we have to thank for this epic achievement? The simple answer, there isn't a SINGLE person we can thank! Rather, there is an entire COMMUNITY of river caring folks we should acknowledge for our private boating interests:

1. Our State & Federal Agency Representatives who truly waged the battle for our public trust. And while I would love to list all these individuals of great integrity and knowledge - that would take up my alloted 10 MB max. So I will bring to your attention the two individuals who most mattered to our private boater interests. First, the acknowledged general of the battle field - Beth Paulson, Forest Service - Eldorado National Forest. A firecracker who authored the alternative, kept the troops in line/informed and delicately but forcefully negotiated for our public trust throughout the proceedings. And second, the lone ranger of our interests below Chili Bar & Slab - Jim Eicher, Bureau of Land Management - Folsom. Jim literally was placed between a rock and a hard place but stood firm when it came to whitewater flows - never play poker with this man!


2. FRIENDS OF THE RIVER - serving as ROAR! headquarters I can not begin to express how important this organization is to our river interests! Ron Stork, Steve Evans & Soren Jespersen talk the talk & walk the walk! And because they have invested a lot of their time & resources on the UARP campaign and will continue to do so until the relicensing process is complete - I am making my pitch for folks with extra disposable income to send it their way - Donate to FOR - your dollars will not be wasted (be sure to type ROAR! in the comment line)


3. Bill Center - American River Recreation Association & Camp Lotus, Nate Rangel - President, California Outdoors, Chris Shutes - California Sportfishing Protection Alliance - despite the fact that our private boating is not their number one priority - these three remained steadfast spokespersons for everyone's interest and shared their wealth of knowledge for the asking.


4. Hilde Schweitzer - Private Boater. If one were to ask if one "lone" private boater could make a difference in a hydro relicensing effort you'd need look no further than Hilde. By patiently & tenaciously championing concepts like "year round" flow below Chili Bar, boatable flows on Ice House & boatable flows on the "crown jewel" SFA below Slab Creek - in one fell swoop she provided for the interests of all levels of private boaters class I-IV for no less than the next 30-50 years. There is no doubt this "lone" private boater made a difference.


5. Dave Steindorf - American Whitewater. With a plenty of other hydro relicensing projects on his plate Dave made the time to attend the negotiations and lend a hand.


6. Mark Davis, Chuck Siedler, Angela Arthur, Cathy Armstrong & Dan Bacher - in a restaurant full of so many fine chefs, to truly be successful, you need the folks willing to wait the tables and wash the dishes. In the scheme of things I was glad to roll up my sleeves to bus tables with these folks. These are the people who tirelessly attended or called in to ROAR! strategy meetings, consistently brought their smiling faces to the SMUD board meetings, helped write & fax press releases, wrote articles or spoke up for the UARP cause and overall tended to the trench work - not at all "high profile" but oh so important!


7. Last but not least the SMUD negotiating team - Jim Shetler, Steve Sorey, Scott Flake & Jim Tracy. Led by Jim Shetler these four cut through the red tape and really got to the meat of the matter. Not to mention for 2 weeks they had to literally walk into the lions den. We've spent a good amount of time pressuring the folks at SMUD it's time to sing their praises - SMUD Board website - be sure to mention how grateful we are for the top rate negotiating team!

NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE KEYS TO THE CANDY STORE - IN A NUTSHELL HERE IS THE WHITEWATER WE GET!

Year round whitewater flows below Chili Bar specified in a detailed flow schedule.
Boatable whitewater flow schedule on Ice House for the Spring.
Boatable whitewater flow schedule on SFA Slab creek with possible increase in days once we demonstrate use.

It's been a long haul but well worth it! And if you were one of the folks who attended or spoke at a SMUD board meeting, who emailed your concerns to the board, who passed on ROAR! information, donated to ROAR!, sent encouraging email to keep up the good work, wrote articles or editorials etc - pat yourself on the back you've definitely contributed to a legacy that will benefit the Upper American River Project for the next 30-50 years. THANK YOU!

Theresa L. Simsiman, ROAR!

Sac Bee & USFS on SMUD relicensing

An article in the Sunday, November 12, Sacramento Bee indicates that the U.S. Forest Service is demanding major changes at American River dams owned by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).

The following is an excerpt from the article, titled "SMUD dams face changes:"

The U.S. Forest Service is demanding major changes at American River dams owned by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, changes that could improve one of the Sierra Nevada's most popular recreation areas.

The demands came in a massive Oct. 18 filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is relicensing SMUD's 11 dams and eight powerhouses on the American River's south fork. The new license would allow SMUD to continue operating these facilities for 30 to 50 years. The Forest Service and others hope to improve recreation and wildlife habitat affected by the SMUD system.

Tensions have been high in the licensing process, which began in 2001 and is among the nation's most complex.

The full article, which can be found here, provides extensive details about the differences between SMUD and the coalition that includes the USFS and many other government agencies and nonprofit groups. See also the 3-D watershed map at the end of the article.

SMUD: All Quiet on the Western Front

From Theresa L. Simsim, ROAR! Restore Our American River:

For the first time since last June ROAR! will have no official presence at the upcoming SMUD Board of Directors meeting. Leaving Jim Shetler & his SMUD team free to focus on the momentous task before them. And despite the connotation of my title - NO NEWS will be GOOD NEWS for the next few weeks as it will point to two sides engaging in real negotiation. In other words, after taking the time to clarify questions at what can be described as a positive meeting with the Agencies & NGO's - SMUD is now set to release their "red lined" version of the Agency/NGO alternative this Wednesday. If acceptable to the Agencies & NGO's, Thursday will mark the beginning of marathon negotiations with the common goal of settlement before the FERC deadline on November 17th. (Yes, I'm holding my breath!)

To occupy your wait time - here is the FERC link to the "new" Agency/NGO Alternative Proposal filed last October 18th. Note that the agencies refined the proposal to add even more flexibility for SMUD operations on the UARP (i.e. language that allows for variance in reservoir levels). Also on the link is the 300+ page rationale that details solid arguments for the proposal.

Since my beer mug is always half full - I'm hoping to share some good news in the next few weeks! In the meantime make sure to enjoy added perks like Ice House (if more flows are possible) and Chili Bar flows which will continue to be coordinated by Bill Center, Hilde Schweitzer, SMUD & PG&E.

Water on Ice House Run of South Silver - Sat-Sun Oct 21-22

From Hilde Schweitzer:

In part due to ongoing negotiations, the Ice House Run of South Silver will have runnable water on it both Sat and Sun Oct 21-22. It will run from 10 am to 1 pm both days. If you do go, please let me know so I can get back to SMUD with the results. Sorry for the late notice but we just got the water today. If you want a bit more information go to Boof.com, go to forums and click on any of the several links to info about the run.

Thanks to SMUD for providing this rec flow. We have a long way to go in
negotiating set flows but this is a big step.

Announcement:

Due to ongoing outages on the UARP, SMUD will be using the valve below Ice House Reservoir for the next several days. Typically the rate of flow will be 250 CFS; however, on Saturday 10/21/06 and Sunday 10/22/06 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm the flow rate below Ice House Reservoir on the South Fork Silver Creek will be 500 CFS. Ramp up and down times will occur before and after the 10:00 to 1:00 time slot.

Note from webmaster: Silver Creek is a tributary of the South Fork of the American River. You can find Silver Creek and Ice House Reservoir on our watershed map. If you make the run and want to report back to Hilde, you can comment on this post or send us a message and we'll forward it to Hilde.

SMUD Update - it doesn't hurt to be vocal

From Theresa L. Simsiman of ROAR! Restore Our American River:

Since Jim Shetler, Assistant General Manager, Energy Supply, at SMUD took it personally upon himself to restore flow last Sunday after Hilde Schweitzer brought to his attention the situation with the whitewater symposium - I took the opportunity to acknowledge his efforts at yesterday's board meeting while Nate Rangel announced that the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce would endorse the Agency/NGO Alternative & Soren Jespersen presented some excellent graphics comparing the natural hydrograph, SMUD's proposal & the alternative.

http://smud.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2 (Select October 19th & jump to #8)

Marking the first day in which SMUD & the Agencies/NGO's could officially begin negotiating again - an encouraging sign came in the form of the representative from the Forest Service indicating to Jim a willingness to have productive negotiations.

On the private boating front - after an extensive email dialogue with Hilde, last Saturday's flow fiasco and subsequent email from Mark Davis & other vocal boaters - Jim agreed to meet after the board meeting. In brief it was the most productive contact with SMUD the private boaters have had to date. First they acknowledge our position as a separate & distinct stakeholder of private whitewater recreational users - not just being lumped into the commercial interests as the "rafters". Second, we discussed how to facilitate better communication between the private boaters & SMUD. And irregardless of what may actually go on during the negotiations, Jim expressed a real desire to provide for the private boaters in the interim of an actual license - which in the best case scenario could be at least 2 yrs away. So look for a more coordinated effort communicated by Steve Sorey (key SMUD "gatekeeper") Bill Center & Hilde. Also as an added bonus of direct communication - Hilde was able to get Steve to consider the possibility of Ice House flows for this weekend - we will get the word out today if this is a go. And while we mostly focused on the interim communication - I believe Jim & Steve at least get the concept that ultimately we want a specified flow schedule for the months outside of summer.

I want to close by sending out a thanks to all who contacted SMUD after Saturday's events - it doesn't hurt to be vocal.

More background on SMUD relicensing

Dan Bacher of The Fish Sniffer wrote an editorial last week: "Fish Groups Say No To SMUD's Hard Line On Relicensing Upper American." In it he detailed the varied concerns from stakeholders including whitewater boaters, conservationists and fisherman. He described the September SMUD Board meeting and notes:

"In some California watersheds, anglers, white water boaters and regulatory agencies have clashed over the timing and extent of pulsed dam releases for whitewater boating....

"In the UARP relicensing, these interests worked together to fashion boating flows that stay largely within the size and shape of the natural hydrograph and minimize impacts to fish, amphibians and aquatic insects. SMUD staff has not recognized the depth and extent of this accord....

"Just about every stakeholder is on the same page except for SMUD. On November 1, 2005, seven resource agencies, and several NGOs and individuals jointly issued a this Comprehensive Resource Agency/NGO Alternative for the UARP relicensing and the connected relicensing of the Chili Bar Project just downstream."

In a follow-up email, Bacher described SMUD's heavy-handed reaction to stakeholders attending the October 6th SMUD Board meeting. "The parking lot entrance and exit was blockaded by a SMUD security truck and a group of security officers were nervously watching the two dozen kayakers, river rafters, anglers, conservationists and Coloma-Lotus area business owners that were milling in the parking lot."

During the meeting, he says, twenty individuals spoke in favor of the Agency/NGO alternative, including "Mark Davis, Mother Lode Chapter, Sierra Club; V. John White, Director At-Large, Environmental Council of Sacramento; Chris Shutes, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance; Howard Penn, Owner, the Sierra Nevada House," and several members of the Coloma-Lotus Chamber of Commerce.

According to Bacher, SMUD is stating a commitment to a negotiated agreement. Expect a meeting, probably October 19th, between SMUD and the Agencies/NGOs. SMUD Board member Genevieve Shiroma asked the river advocates present to help her in bringing the parties together for a planning meeting (not negotiating) meeting before October 19 — and they agreed to help to bring the parties together.

Let SMUD know how you feel

From Theresa L. Simsiman of ROAR! (Restore Our American River):

At the last SMUD Board of Directors meeting General Manager, Jan Schori, gave a report on the water year coming to an end with 158% of normal. Even without her proud announcement we all know there's plenty of water available - yet SMUD does it again - they TURN OFF THE TAP TO WATER THEY DON'T OWN!

As Bill Center pointed out - so much for their water predictions on the SMUD website - as early as Thursday they "predicted" water for this weekend prompting PG&E to release early to make room for the expected water. FINE example of how SMUD will "coordinate" water flow with PG&E for the next 50 years.

If you find yourself making a flurry of calls to notify your boating pals, are putting away the kayak/raft/inflatable for your mountain bike or worst yet find yourself participating in the NATIONAL WHITEWATER SYMPOSIUM in FISH FLOW - be sure to drop a line to the SMUD Board of Directors:

http://smud.org/board/ (See Contact the Board)

See more background from Simsiman, along with action items and people to contact, in this SMUD Relicensing article.

SMUD Relicensing Meeting this Thursday

The future of flows on the South Fork of the American River are in the balance. Interested parties are encouraged to attend SMUD's board meeting this Thursday at 6 p.m. and a press conference at 5:30 p.m. See this article for more information.