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Clear Creek County signs joint comment letter on FERC environmental assessment for Forbey Dam bypass
Summary
County staff presented and the board approved a joint comment letter on FERC’s environmental assessment for Xcel Energy’s proposal to bypass flows at Forbey Dam as part of a decommissioning project. The letter highlights sediment concerns and potential impacts to Georgetown’s water supply.
The Board of County Commissioners voted Dec. 9 to approve a joint comment letter on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) environmental assessment of the Forbey Dam (Georgetown Hydroelectric Project) bypass proposal.
Planner Lisa Leiben summarized the bypass element of Xcel Energy’s larger decommissioning plan — installing two large-diameter pipes to bypass reservoir flows and discharge below the dam while FERC determines final disposition. Leiben explained the county is both a permitting authority and a landowner in the project area and that county-owned riprap and diversion infrastructure lie at the bottom of the reservoir. She flagged concerns about reservoir sediment — "100 years of mining sediment" — and said the bypass pipes would move significant high flows ("approximately 200 cubic feet a second during high flow").
Staff recommended a coordinated, joint comment with the Town of Georgetown, Historic Georgetown Incorporated and other local partners to ensure concerns about sediment management, water-treatment impacts downstream and necessary easements are captured. The board approved staff participating in and signing the joint letter.
Leiben noted the county’s earlier memorandum of agreement under the Section 106 historic-preservation review is part of the project’s review history. The letter will be submitted to FERC as part of the EA comment period; staff said they would forward the final letter to commissioners and partners after submission.
