Committee backs FERC-license amendment for Boundary project, cites $100 million in long-term savings

The Parks & City Light Committee on Aug. 5 recommended passage of Council Bill 121269, the ordinance authorizing Seattle City Light's general manager and CEO to execute a negotiated amendment to the FERC license for the Boundary Hydroelectric Project.

Deputy General Manager Dennis McLaren and Boundary License Manager Boyd Dixon told the committee the amendment is the product of years of negotiations with tribal, federal and state partners, including the Kalispel Indian Tribe and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Dixon said the amendment refocuses measures toward actions that deliver stronger ecological outcomes and better stewardship. "This amendment will save over $100,000,000 across the license term," he told the committee, and staff described removing several measures that were costly and unlikely to provide effective fisheries benefit.

The presenters explained that the Boundary Project's 42-year federal license (issued in 2013) included expensive entrainment-reduction measures that are difficult to implement in the Pend Oreille River context. By reallocating resources, staff said they can broaden hatchery and restoration benefits, construct a small new building at the existing hatchery to manage biological programming, and establish a $4,000,000 fund to support native-fish restoration efforts outside the watershed.

Council members praised the tribal consultation process and asked technical and historical questions about relicensing timelines and ecological trade-offs. Chair Juarez and members noted the proposal's potential to increase tribal harvest opportunities while avoiding expenditures on measures staff deem ineffective. The committee voted 4-0 to recommend passage; the bill will be forwarded to the Aug. 11 full Council meeting for consideration.