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City begins five-year push to relicence upriver hydro dam, seeks 40-year FERC term
Summary
Public Works outlined a five-year relicensing effort for the city's upriver hydroelectric dam, seeking a 40-year license through FERC's integrated licensing process and planning multiple studies, stakeholder interviews and possible upgrades funded in part by a federal loan.
Public Works Director Marlene Fice told the PIES Committee on Oct. 20 that the city is starting a roughly five-year process to relicence its upriver hydroelectric dam and aims to secure a 40-year license through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's integrated licensing process.
Fice said the integrated licensing process will allow more interaction with FERC and more flexibility in project planning. "Our goal here is to obtain a 40 year license for the dam using what's called the integrated licensing process," she said. She described the city's immediate next step as a pre-application filing targeted for April (administratively required by May), followed by a set of studies and then a draft and final license application.
The relicensing effort will involve multiple city departments, she said, and outreach both inside and outside city government. "All of you as elected officials and owners of the dam will help us with this process," Fice said. She listed internal partners (planning and parks) and outside stakeholders including state and federal agencies, Avista, Phelps Field (adjacent to the dam), Riverkeeper, River Forum and tribal neighbors.
Fice described the dam in general terms and the kinds of studies the city expects to carry out: recreational uses, water quality, fishing, land use, cultural and tribal issues, historic-site assessments, recreation management and structural integrity of the dam. She identified the dam as a concrete gravity structure about "208 foot long" with a four-bay spillway and said the city's primary use of the electricity is to power water-system pumps, with any excess sold to Avista.
Fice said the existing license was acquired in 1981 and noted the city's license expires in May 2031. She described a loan secured through a federal agency to support interim dam upgrades, crediting "Mark Papich and his team at ICM" for arranging that financing. She also said the relicensing process may identify additional upgrades that will be required.
Transcript statements include inconsistent construction dates for the dam: at different moments Fice said the dam was "built in 1894" and also said it was "originally built in 1936." The transcript does not resolve that discrepancy; the city did not provide a corrected date during the meeting.
Fice said the city will begin pre-process engagement with one-hour interviews of key stakeholders, followed by broader public involvement after the pre-application. The schedule described aims for the city to complete studies and submit final licensing materials in advance of the May 2031 license expiration.
Committee members asked for timing clarification; Fice reiterated the roughly five-year timeline and the May 2031 license deadline. No formal council action or vote on relicensing was recorded in the meeting minutes provided.
The city presented the relicensing work as tied to maintaining the dam as an asset for water-service operations and keeping water rates lower by retaining the facility's generation and pump-power benefits. Fice said staff will return with updates as pre-application work and stakeholder engagement proceed.
