2011-30124. Yuba County Water Agency; Notice of Panel Meeting and Technical Conference Details

On October 20, 2011, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), filed a Notice to initiate a formal study dispute resolution process, pursuant to 18 CFR 5.14, in the relicensing proceeding for the Yuba County Water Agency's (YCWA) Yuba River Hydroelectric Project No. 2246. NMFS disputed the treatment of several of its study requests, filed on March 7, 2011, in the Commission's study plan determination, issued on September 30, 2011. NMFS specifically identified study requests one through six and study request eight as the disputed components of its, March 7, 2011 filing. In its study requests one through six NMFS requested studies of the effects of project and related activities on: (1) Fish passage for anadromous fish; (2) hydrology for anadromous fish; (3) water temperatures for anadromous fish migration, holding, spawning, and rearing needs; (4) coarse substrate for anadromous fish: Sediment supply, transport, and storage; (5) large wood and riparian habitat for anadromous fish; and (6) loss of marine-derived nutrients in the Yuba River, respectively. In study request eight, NMFS requested a study of, “anadromous fish ecosystem effects analysis: Synthesis of direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the project and related facilities on anadromous fish. On November 7, 2011, the dispute resolution panel convened. On November 9, 2011, the Commission issued a Notice of Dispute Resolution Process Schedule, Panel Meeting, and Technical Conference. The technical conference date is repeated below with additional logistical details.

The purpose of the technical conference is for the disputing agency, the applicant, and the Commission to provide the panel with additional information necessary to evaluate the disputed studies. All local, state, and federal agencies, Indian tribes, and other interested parties are invited to attend the meeting as observers. The panel may also request information or clarification on written submissions as necessary to understand the matters in dispute. The panel will limit all input that it receives to the specific studies or information in dispute and will focus on the applicability of such studies or information to the study criteria stipulated in 18 CFR 5.9(b). If the number of participants wishing to speak creates time constraints, the panel may, at its discretion, limit the speaking time for each participant.

Technical Conference

Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2011.

Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Place: Holiday Inn, Sacramento—Capitol Plaza, 300 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, [phone].

For more information, please contact Stephen Bowler, the dispute panel chair, at [e-mail] or [phone].

Dated: November 16, 2011.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.