The California Environmental Flows Framework: A Holistic Functional Flows Approach to Instream Flow Determinations for the FERC Hydropower Relicensing Process
The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the Davis Campus
Recipient
Davis, CA
Recipient Location
3rd
Senate District
4th
Assembly District
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The research team has compiled a database of FERC relicensing information with details such as relicensing status available gage data, and minimum flow requirements. Using this information, the team is analyzing changes to minimum flow requirements for projects that have been relicensed in the past 20 years. The team has also worked with agency experts to understand FERC processes and determine how the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) can most effectively be applied within FERC relicensing, including the McCloud-Pit as a case study. A draft report on these findings is in preparation.
The Issue
In the next 13 years, 50 FERC projects will be up for relicensing, and will require a reduction of the ecological impact of operations. The various lengthy studies necessary for FERC relicensing on aquatic species and ecological conditions can increase project costs and prolong the relicensing processing time. This also leads to delaying improved flow conditions for downstream aquatic species and habitats as well as healthy river ecosystems necessary to ensure sustainable clean hydropower operations.
CEFF can lower costs and time associated with FERC reliciencing and substantially simplify and improve the ecological assessment process for permitted facilities, but practitioners lack examples and instruction to enable them to use the approach and associated tools.
Project Innovation
This project will develop and provide resources for the application of Functional Flows via CEFF as a holistic approach to instream flow determinations within FERC relicensing to achieve improved ecological conditions downstream of hydropower projects. Functional Flows can benefit ratepayers by improving efficiency in the relicensing process through reducing time and costs associated with hydropower operations, and also by supporting better integrated hydropower into California’s zero-carbon generation portfolio. Furthermore Functional Flows can produce flow schedules that are holistic and ecologically sound, and support river ecosystem resilience, ensuring sustainable clean energy production through time.
The objectives of this project are to: 1) Assess recent FERC relicensing projects to inform development of methods for applying CEFF to instream flow determinations within the relicensing process, 2) Demonstrate application of CEFF within the ongoing McCloud-Pit Hydroelectric Project relicensing, and 3) Develop web resources to support application of CEFF for hydropower projects. The proposed project would provide the needed examples, methods, and tools to enable stakeholders to use functional flow metrics to quantify the functionality of instream flow determinations within the FERC relicensing process and align resulting flow schedules with environmental flow needs to achieve improved ecological outcomes.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
The benefits of the research project will be to lower costs and the time associated with the FERC relicensing and permitting process which helps facilitate the timely integration of hydropower into California’s zero-carbon generation portfolio. Furthermore the framework recommended can produce flow schedules that are holistic, ecologically sound, and support river ecosystem resilience, ensuring sustainable clean energy production through time.
Affordability
The research project’s recommended single consistent framework will lower costs and reduce the time associated with the FERC relicensing process. This process will avoid having to complete various species-specific research studies and instead use one consistent framework which accounts for various biological and anthropogenic flow regime needs
Reliability
The research project facilitates the timely integration of hydropower into California’s zero-carbon generation portfolio, supporting greater reliability, by avoiding delays associated with lengthy and costly species studies and instead using one consistent framework which accounts for various biological and anthropogenic flow regime needs.
Key Project Members
