20080915 Ver 3_ SCDNR support letter_20160331

Soat Card;na Department of
Natural Resources
1000 Assembly Street Suite 336
PO Box 1'n
Columbia, SC 29202
all.j. iszF..s /rift Orrice
803.734.9809 Fax
yerryl5cuanr.sc.gov
January 15, 2016
Hanciable Kimberly D. Bose_ Secretary
FcUcral t,.e, gy Regulatory C:unlnlissiou
883 F;rat Strcct, NP,
Washington; liC 20426
�dr HAVAG
rtivin n. i aylor
Director
Robert D. Perry
Director, Office of
Environmental Programs
LETTER OF SUPPORT: Duke Energy's Request for Rehearing of Order Issui"r, Ncvy
License_ Catawba-Wateree Hydraclectric Project FERC Project
No. 2232-522
Dear Secretary Bose;
u.. Dccumber 21, 2015, Duke Energy submitlea a request for rehearing of the order issuing the
new licen3c mr Mc Latawon-Waturee HyaleelCCt<ic Project lo%�atea in No,th Una South Carolina.
The South Carolina Department ur Nertu.al Resp,... -,v3 (SCDNR) respeuttully subllllta this letter
of support of the Duke Energy request for rehearing.
SL:DNR has startutary lasponsibility for the fish arta wildlife management in the state as provided
by South kCc —Vl;na Code ur Loris, Title 50. SCDNR as the steward of the ,tate natural MbDU CN
and is responsible for the t.ruteut;un w.d manage...cnt of these te3ources frit the use and
enjoyment of the public. Natural resources within SCDNR'3 p......,.,, incluac3 tnc full range of
land, wake, mineral and biological resources.
U,.on review, SCDNR is plZrOCU to see the UUL13e adopted lllany of the ,Measures proposed in
the Comprehensive Relicensins Av'-.c n-,nt (CRA) uc,,cfuped thruugn an e..haustive staTcchuldur
prucess giving consideration to a wide range of interests and vµt..z3 m3u%.iatea "An the Catawba-
Wateree Riva system_ iucluaing fish and wildlife resuurces; recreation, water quality m.a riot-,.
Supply, cultural 1G3uLuzc5, energy ptvauction and cuun5ervadun. The CRA represents the
stakeholder -3 attL...pt to DalztnZ , and uptim;4c tnu3e interests ana values_ and this is a significant
testament to the relicensinr, 1,rucum c...ptuycd Dy Dura Energy, the zommAments of all
5tdkeholaer participants and the evaluation conducted by FERC 3to . Su—DNR uph.es tnat alt
involved = to be ComltlC11W.
In their reque3t rue -c i4c—Ulng, Dux-, Energy nos lzd3ud a numMiL at ;55ues. The most important
fmrn a SCDNR perspective, is the term urmc ncri licen3c. fnc .,cw licen3Z pluvide5 s;gltittcant
enhartcellle11t5 to fish and wildlife habitat through mandatory conaitiun;ng oy Stat-, arra Federal
agenc;-,5. Examples include measures regarding insrrearn flow; water quality and fish r3agu.

Hvnimble Kiu,bC,1y D. Buse
Duku Energy --3 Rcque3t tu, Rehearing of Oder Issuing New License, Catawba-WaEeree
Hydroelectri-V P zjcct FERC. P.ujuct No. 2232-522
January 15, 2016
Provisions in the CRA will provide permanent protection T% -,r pland hat);tat and riparia, meas,
continued support to, fish and wildlife habitat enhancement and establishment of a nory fah and
w;tatife racm-un rund, ,,,easu,es not typically associated with a FERC license. These measures
are critical to St -;DNR and its ,,,s3v.. and I�u„t;,,ue to be p,incipal in our support of the
settlement process. Additional measures tnat woulduurrtn,. protect upland habitat and „pariah
cunidors are provided in the CRA contingent on Duke receivin., a 50 -your licen3c. mese i„4lude
the pe„namunt protection of an additional 10.2 miles (124 acres) of riparian habitat un the
Lata,,ba Rive and Lake Wate,ee (the su,,, ut land areas protected under Sections 14.6.2.1 and
14.6.2./- of the CRA), ..d. add;t;u.,al $1.5 ,,,illi„ dollars designated fu, habitat acquisition
(Section 14.6.2.3 of the CRA). SCDNR-s pv3itiun support;,.g a longe, 1;ce„se term is justified
based on the adequacy of the measures provided in the license, m:, p.Z=33 in wn;cn the license
was developed, the adaptive measures included to address future changes; the cal itui cu3ts
u5suc;atcd with add.z;33ing land p.utectior,, ,ec,eational and water quality improvements and the
additional land protecti%n mcioures p,u,,;dcd in the CRA.
Also of signiticant concern to the SCDNR is the risk to the pr:,t=t;un, m;t;gat.un and
z;nhancen,u„t measures ;dentifred ill the CRA if the CRA is "rebalanced,” as explained in t:RA
sect;u„ 20.2.5. A3 w—. c,.ample, tun or partial tund;,,g for a atuuber of measures negotiated in the
CRA such as land j roteut;un, the fi3n and wildlife n,itigatiun Lund described in CRA section
4.6.2 and the habitat enhancement program desu.=75 ;n t.:RA 3CCt;un 14.2 Could be at ,;5k. For
t$c5e ,easons_ SCDNR suppnns Duke Energy's request for a 50 -year 1;4cn3c term.
In m,.,r rcque3t ru. ,uncaring, DuKe Energy identified several other issues in need of clarification.
Our comments focus on tn-muc ;33ucs relat--d to St;DNR, a3 tulluws:
I. SCDNR concurs with Duke Energy's request to modify Articiu 407 addre33;ng the tern,
ut the RMP („u,ube, III in the rehearing request) and note that the requirement in m% n%-Iw
liwnse to zq.;re a reC,enfimial use and needs study every 10 years diffbrs significantly
from the recom.z:ndat;ons pf,-;dud in the t,,,51 EIS. SuDNR is cuntiderit that the
recreational improvements identified and tris i,nplcme,.tat;un 3che3ulu developed tu, the
nCxt twenty years_ in aadidun to bi-annual reporting to FERC; ta-0 the re-c,M.zrtion of
rectuat;onal needs ,squired ill year 20 and every 10 years thereafter will adequutm.,
Zddrrs3 tnc .cc.cntional aspects of the Pruject.
2. SCDNR concurs with Duke Enemy that me Wutzree tim;apiain ;nu„dation ptocedu,C
described in the CRA was not intended as a license article (n,...&C, V of Enc ,chearing
request). The CRA p,ovides SCDNR and other interested pasties an opport..,,iry tv
uvaivate v7ulu„tary ope,at;unal changes intended to gradually reduce floodplain
inundation on the River. i n;s ,;Il be i,nple,nented fur a 10 -year period to give
SCDNR and other interested stakeholders �.. uppurtunity to zyaluate any beuctrtb u,
consequences associated with those events and to consider needs fur ....y future Kcunsu
ainend,,,cut3.
2

HunurabIC Kl...bcrly D. Bo3c
Duke Enemy :3 Req.c3t rur Ren�ari..g of Orde. I33uing New License, Catawba-Wateree
Hydroelectric Project FERC Project Nu. 2232-522
Ji-.-...ary 15, 2016
3. SUDNR concurs with Duke Energy that there should be some flexibility in tnc 3;Lv uf tn;,-
signs u3ed to aC Ic3s the "Stip the Aquatic Hitchhikers" program established under
license ArtivI� 405 for tnc .uzmu,,3 me..t;uncCI (numbe, IX in the rehearing request).
I„ closing_ SCDNR is pleased with the Other terms and conditiun3 ;.. the i33utu.va: uf the ..ew
license tu-r the Uatawba-WaLelce PrujeUL. Issuance of the new license represents the cuiminat.un
ur m..;.y y�ar3 ur erturt by a „umber of SUDNR staff_ and this agency is confident it adequately
addresses protectiu.., m;t;gut;on anu cnnn..cement a cmwes needed to protect uatu al resources.
Fo, the compelling reasons outlined, SCDNR supports Duke Ener,,y'3 rcqucst fur .mcaring, ana
advocates that their ,uquest for 50 -year license term is warranted. Thank you in advance rut tnc
FERC'3 favuramr. cu..ideratiun ut these sc;c„cc-based pu,itia,ts of the natural resources agency
Of the State of South l;z.uI...a.
$n,cc,ely.
T
Bub Perry
Di,cctu,, Office Of Envirotuttental Programs
c: Tu... Mct uy USFWS
Mark Oakley Duxc E..crgy
Alvin A. Taylor
Ken Renticrs
E..,ily Cupe
B.cck C;a.m,.;cnacl
Bill Marshall
Dick Christie