20030191 Ver 1_Staff Review Memo_20040323

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Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Alan W. Klimek, P. E. Director
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins, Deputy Director
Division of Water Quality
March 23, 2004
MEMO
TO: Steve Reed, DW R
FROM: John Dorne
RE: Tapoco Re ' nsing
DWQ # 03-0191
Graham and Swain Counties
As you know, the Division of Water Quality issued a Certification for this project on
December 17, 2003. 1 recently received a petition for a Contested Hearing with the NC Office of
Administrative Hearings from David R. Poe (attorney for Alcoa Power Generation). The main
technical issue seems to be changes in the number of high flow releases from Santeetlah dam
to the Cheoah River that have been agreed to after the 401 was issued. I do not believe that
DWQ would have a problem modifying the 401 Certification accordingly but wanted to be sure
that DW R staff were aware of the issue and see if you have any ideas in this regard. There are
also apparently several unspecified "inconsistencies" that will need to be addressed as well. I
believe that Mr. Poe filed the OAH appeal to keep Alcoa's appeal option viable (which is certainly
understandable). Please call me at 733-9646 to discuss. Thankx
Cc: File copy
Kevin Barnett, DWQ Asheville Regional Office
N. C. Division of Water Quality 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617 [phone]
Customer Service
1-877-623-6748
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Mr. Randall M. Overbey, President
Alcoa Power Generating Inc.
Tapoco Division
300 North Hall Road
Alcoa, TN 37701-2516
Dear Mr. Overbey:
December 17, 2003
Re: Certification Pursuant to Section 401 of the Federal Clean Water Act for the Tapoco
Hydroelectric FERC Relicensing Project
WQC Project #03-0191
FERC Number 2169
Graham and Swain Counties
Attached hereto is a copy of Certification No. 3447 issued to Alcoa Power Generating, Inc -
Tapoco Division dated December 17, 2003. If we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to
contact us.
Sincerely,
Attachments
FE., Di c or
Cc: Norman Pierson; Property and R'dlicensing Manager; Alcoa Power Generating Inc., Tapoco
Division, 300 North Hall Road, Alcoa, TN 37701-2516
Larry Frost, Asheville DWQ Regional Offices
File Copy
Central Files
Darlene Kucken; DWQ Basinwide Planning Program Unit
Steve Reed, NC Division of Water Resources
Marc Bernstein, NC Attorney General's Office
D. Randall Benn; LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene and MacRae; 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW; Suite
1200; .Washington, DC 20009-5728
Chris Goudreau NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Mark Cantrell, US Fish and Wildlife Service - Asheville
John Boaze; Fish and Wildlife Associates (rep. for EBCI)
N. C. Division of Water Quality, 401 Wetlands Certification Unit,
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1650 (Mailing Address)
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604-2260 (Location)
Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Alan W. Klimek, P.E., Director
Division of Water Quality

NORTH CAROLINA 401 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION
THIS CERTIFICATION is issued in conformity with the requirements of Section 401 Public Laws 92-
500 and 95-217 of the United States and subject to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality ("DWQ")
Regulations-in 15 NCAC 2H, Section .0500. It is issued to to Alcoa Power Generating, Inc - Tapoco
Division ("the applicant") in Graham and Swain Counties pursuant to a revised application filed on the
19th day of February, 2003 with a revision dated March 18, 2003 (extension to October 20, 2003) to,
among other things, retain the Santeetlah and Cheoah Dams on the Cheoah and Little Tennessee
Rivers.
The application provides adequate assurance that the retention of fill material into the waters of the
Cheoah and Little Tennessee Rivers in conjunction with retention and operation of these dams and other
project activities will not result in a violation of applicable Water Quality Standards, discharge guidelines
and other applicable State laws. Therefore, the State of North Carolina certifies that this activity will not
violate the applicable portions of Sections 301, 302, 303, 306, 307 of PL 92-500 and PL 95-217 if
conducted in accordance with the application and conditions hereinafter set forth.
This approval is only valid for the purpose and design that you submitted in your application, as
described in the revised application. If you change your project, you must notify us and may be required
to send us a new application for a new Certification. If the property is sold, the new owner must be given
a copy of the Certification and approval letter and is thereby responsible for complying with all conditions.
For this approval to be valid, you must follow the conditions listed below. The issuance of this
Certification shall not exempt the applicant from complying with any and all statutes, rules, regulations, or
ordinances that may be imposed by other government agencies (local, state and federal) which have
jurisdiction, including but not limited to applicable river buffer rules in 15A NCAC 2B .0200, erosion and
sedimentation control requirements in 15A NCAC Chapter 4 and under the Division's General Permit
NCG010000, and any requirements pertaining to wetlands under 15A NCAC 2B .0200, 15A NCAC 2H
.0500 and 15A NCAC 2H .1300.
Condition(s) of Certification:
1. The Applicant shall release aquatic base flows from Santeetlah Dam in the magnitude and for the
duration described in Table 1. The Applicant shall determine the aquatic base flow for each month by
calculating the average daily inflow (ADI) value for the preceding three months. The Applicant shall
calculate the ADI using its recorded measures of daily change in reservoir elevation and total discharge
(generation flows plus instream flow releases, high flow event releases and flood discharge flows). f the
ADI is greater than the historic 25th percentile average flow for that month (Table 2), the Applicant shall
release flows according to Tier A. If the ADI is less than or equal to the historic 25th percentile average
flow for that month, the Applicant shall release flows according to Tier B.
Each Friday, the Applicant shall project inflow for the next ten days, which is the "planning period." The
water requirement for the planning period is the volumetric sum of base flows; high flow event releases, if
any; flood discharge flows, if any; Santeetlah Reservoir Operating Curve increase, if any; and generation.
The water available for the planning period is the volumetric sum of storage above the Santeetlah
Reservoir Operating Curve and the planning period projected inflow. During normal operations, generation
will be adjusted to maintain Santeetlah reservoir elevations at or above the Santeetlah Reservoir Operation
Curve. Except as necessary to meet other requirements of this Certification, such as aquatic base flows
and the Santeetlah Reservoir Operating Curve, generation is not restricted for normal operations.
9
Table 1. Aquatic base flow releases from Santeetlah dam into the Cheoah River.
Flow Rate cfs
Month Tier A Tier B
January 50 50
February 100 90
March 100 90
Aril 100 90
May 90 80
June 60 60
Jul 60 50
August 50 40
September 50 40
October 50 40
November 50 40
December 60 50
Table 2. Historic 25th percentile average flow for Cheoah River.
Month Threshold Flow cfs
January 256
February 446
March 484
April 615
May 617
June 526
Jul 403
August 289
September 208
October 141
November 116
December 148
2. The Applicant shall provide high flow events, which follow a repeating five-year schedule for the term of the
License according to Table 3.
Table 3. High flow releases for the Cheoah River.
High Flows Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Yea r 4 Yea r 5 Ma nitude cfs
Event
s Days Event
s Days Event
s Days Event
s Days Event
s Days Day
1 Day
2 Day
3
January
February 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1000 Var
March 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1000 600 300
April 2 5 3 6 2 5 2 5 3 6 1000 850 300
May 2 4 2 4 3 6 3 6 3 6 1000 850
June 1 2 1 2 1 2 1000 850
Jul 1 2 1000 850
August 1 1 1000
September 1 1 1 1 1000,
October 1 1 1 1 1 1 1000
November 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1000
December
Total: 10 19 10 19 10 20 10 19 10 20
600 cfs from hour 15 to hour 19, 400 cfs from hour 20 to hour 34; 200 cfs from hour 35 to hour 47; 100 cfs for
hour 48
2 600 cfs from hour 16 to hour 36; 300 cfs from hour 37 to hour 48
a. The Applicant shall release high flows via the Tainter gates at Santeetlah Dam. The Applicant shall use
the headwater elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir to determine the gate opening necessary to make the
required high flow release from Santeetlah Dam. The Applicant shall use the downstream gage at
Bearpen Gap during the initial system set up to confirm the required gate positions to make the high
flow releases;
b. The Applicant shall schedule high flow events on weekend days (Saturday and Sunday); schedule
three day events on Saturday, Sunday and Monday;
c. The Applicant shall schedule the March event for the third weekend in March and the November event
for the first weekend in November;
d. The Applicant shall schedule one 3-day high flow event in April in years 1, 3, and 4 of the repeating
sequence;
e. The Applicant shall ramp high flow events at 2-inches per hour for flows between the aquatic base flow
and 100 cfs. The Applicant shall use the downstream gage at Bearpen Gap during the initial system
set up to confirm the required gate positions and gate frequencies in order to ramp the high flow events;
f. For 2-day events in February, the release duration is 4 hours for day 1; releases are targeted to begin
at hour 11;
g. For 1-, 2-, and 3-day events in March through November, the release duration is 8 hours for the day 1
high flow releases; releases on day 1 are targeted to begin at hour 8 in March, April, October, and
November, and at hour 9 in May through September;
h. For 2-day events in April through July, the release duration is also 8 hours for the day 2 high flow
releases; releases on day 2 are scheduled to begin at hour 8 in April and at hour 9 in May, June, and
July;
i. For 2-day events in April through July, after the end of the 8 hours of high flow on day 1, the flow will be
reduced to 500 cfs until the beginning hour of high flow on day 2;
j. The Applicant shall schedule single day high flow events between September and November with a
minimum of 10 days between events.
3. The Applicant shall convene an annual planning meeting in early October of each year which shall include
the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), the North Carolina Wildlife
Resources Commission (NCWRC), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). If the NCDENR, NCWRC, USFS, USFWS,
and EBCI notify the Applicant prior to the annual meeting that they have determined by consensus that
unanticipated circumstances have arisen that indicate that additional aquatic habitat enhancement. would
result from the reallocation of water previously committed to the aquatic base flows and/or high flow event
schedule as required in Conditions 1 and 2, then the Applicant shall discuss with these entities the
reallocation of water for aquatic habitat enhancement purposes within the aquatic base flow regime and/or
the high flow event schedule for any year. The Applicant shall cooperate with the NCDENR, NCWRC,
USFS, USFWS, and EBCI in implementing any requested water reallocation, with due consideration given
to the following factors:
a. Any reallocation requests shall be based on periodic (i.e. every several years) re-evaluations of aquatic
conditions in the Cheoah River by the above-listed entities;
b. Any requested reallocation shall be designed to minimize any additional lost generation (either in lost
megawatts and/or lost value) and operating costs;
c. Under no circumstances shall water allocated as part of the aquatic base flow regime be utilized for
high flow events and vice versa; nor shall water from one year be reallocated to any other calendar
year;
d. Any requested reallocation of water must be able to be accommodated with the gate structures in
existence at that time;
If agreement is reached on reallocation, the Applicant shall take all reasonable and necessary actions to
implement the agreement on reallocation.
4. The Applicant shall continue funding the existing U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bearpen Gap gage
(Station No. 0351706800) on the Cheoah River below Santeetlah Dam. Additionally, the Applicant shall
install and maintain a calibrated staff gage, or the equivalent, at the Joyce Kilmer Bridge to allow for visual
confirmation of Cheoah River flows. The Applicant shall also make available the calculated release to the
Cheoah River at the Santeetlah dam on an hourly basis via the Internet.
5. The Applicant shall operate Santeetlah Reservoir according to the following operating rules except when
operating under the Low Inflow Protocol (Condition 7):
a. From January 1 to March 1, the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below elevation 1931
ft.
b. From March 1 to April 1 the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below the line between
elevation 1931 ft. on March 1 and elevation 1936 ft on April 1.
c. From April 1 to June 23, the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below elevation 1936 ft.
d. From June 23 to July 1 the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below the line between
elevation 1936 ft. on June 23 and elevation 1937 ft. on July 1.
e. From July 1 to September 8, the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below elevation 1937
ft.
f. From September 8 to September 16 the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below the line
between elevation 1937 ft. on September 8 and 1936 ft. on September 16.
g. From September 16 to November 1, the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below
elevation 1936 ft.
h. From November 1 to December 1 the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir shall not drop below the line
between elevation 1936 ft. on November 1 and elevation 1931 ft. on December 1.
i. From December 1 through December 31, the reservoir elevation shall not drop below elevation 1931-ft.
6. The Applicant shall monitor the elevation of Santeetlah Reservoir on an hourly basis using a water level
sensor located upstream of the gatehouse, on the upstream face of the intake. The Applicant shall
electronically transmit the water level data recorded by the sensor to the dispatcher's office in Alcoa,
Tennessee. The Applicant shall make available Santeetlah Reservoir elevation data on an hourly basis via
the Internet.
Based on actual experience, the Applicant may consult with interested parties on the actual water level
results at Santeetlah from the management practices implemented. The Applicant may implement only
minor adjustments of the Santeetlah Reservoir Operating Curve, and only after such consultation and
approval by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ).

7. The Applicant shall work with the Parties to the Agreement in Principle Regarding Project Operations, Land
Protection and Funding of Resource Measures in North Carolina Related to a New FERC License for the
Tapoco Project (AIP), dated 8 September 2003, to develop a Low Inflow Protocol (LIP) for approval by
DWQ within 6 months of acceptance by the Applicant of the License. If the water available for any
planning period (see Condition 1) is less than the water requirement with no generation for the planning
period, then the Applicant shall implement measures according to the LIP. Based on experience in
implementing the LIP, the Applicant may consult with state and federal agencies to propose modifications
to the LIP. No modification shall become effective without written approval by DWQ.
8. During emergencies and for planned project maintenance or inspection activities, the Applicant
may vary from the reservoir operating curve, vary flows below the required aquatic base flows or lake
levels, or vary from the high flow release schedule. Under such conditions, the Applicant shall notify
the NCDENR, NCWRC, USFS and USFWS in writing and via telephone according to the following
schedule. For planned project maintenance or inspection activities, the Applicant shall notify said
agencies no less than 15 days prior to the variance. For unforeseen circumstances required by an
operating emergency, the Applicant shall notify the same agencies in writing as soon as practical, but
not more than 7 days after the beginning of the event. If requested by DWQ, the Applicant shall
expeditiously consult with any concerned agency to discuss the Applicant's emergency, maintenance
and inspection activities, and the Applicant shall give due regard to any agency's recommendations. In
lieu of the aforesaid requirements in this paragraph, the Applicant may develop and implement a
protocol to manage reservoir levels and flows during emergency, maintenance and inspection activities.
If DWQ determines that any recurring variances may have an adverse effect on water quality, DWQ
may require the Applicant to develop and implement a protocol to minimize the impacts of the
Applicant's emergency, maintenance and inspection activities on water quality. No protocol will
become effective without approval by DWQ. The Applicant shall take all reasonable and necessary
actions to implement any such protocol.
9. The Applicant shall identify and report in writing existing and proposed consumptive uses to DWQ and
the N.C. Division of Water Resources (DWR). The Applicant shall report the existing or projected (as
appropriate) average consumptive withdrawal and maximum capacity for each withdrawal. The
applicant shall report existing consumptive uses to DWQ and DWR within 60 days of the acceptance of
the License and shall report proposed new or expanded consumptive uses to DWQ and DWR within 30
days of receiving a request for the proposed new or expanded withdrawal and before submitting any
requests to FERC.
10. The Applicant shall conduct its activities in a manner consistent with State water quality standards
(including any requirements resulting from compliance with section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, 33
U.S.C. § 1313(d)) and any other appropriate requirements of State law and federal law. If DWQ
determines that such standards or laws are not being met (including the failure to sustain a designated or
achieved use or to comply with any new or amended water quality standards or other appropriate
requirements of State or federal law) or that State or federal law is being violated, or that further conditions
are necessary to assure compliance, DWQ may reevaluate and modify this Certification to include
conditions appropriate to assure compliance with such standards and requirements in accordance with 15A
NCAC 21-1.0507(d). Before modifying the Certification, DWQ will notify the Applicant and FERC, provide
public notice in accordance with 15A NCAC 21-1.0503 and provide opportunity for public hearing in
accordance with 15A NCAC 21-11.0504. Any new or revised conditions will be provided to the Applicant in
writing, will be provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for reference in any permit issued pursuant to
Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1344, for the project, and shall also
become conditions of the License. The conditions of this Certification are not modified or superseded by
any condition or article of the License.
11. This Certification does not grant or affirm any property right, license or privilege in any waters or any right
of use in any waters. This Certification does not authorize any person to interfere with the riparian rights,
littoral rights or water use rights of any other person, and this Certification does not create any prescriptive
right or any right of priority regarding any usage of water. No person shall interpose this Certification as a
defense in any action respecting the determination of riparian or littoral rights or other water use rights. No
C
consumptive user is deemed by virtue of this Certification to possess any prescriptive or other right of
priority with respect to any other consumptive user regardless of the quantity of the withdrawal or the date
on which the withdrawal was initiated or expanded. This Certification issues on the express understanding
of DENR that, pursuant to Federal Power Act section 27, 16 U.S.C. § 821, the License does not establish
or determine a proprietary right to any use of water. It establishes the nature of the use to which a
proprietary right may be put under the Federal Power Act.
Violations of any condition herein set forth may result in revocation of this Certification and may result in
criminal and/or civil penalties or other enforcement action. This Certification shall become null and void
unless the above conditions are made conditions of the FERC Permit. This Certification shall expire upon
expiration of the FERC permit.
If this Certification is unacceptable to you, you have the right to an adjudicatory hearing upon written
request within sixty (60) days following receipt of this Certification. This request must be in the form of a
written petition conforming to Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes and filed with the Office
of Administrative Hearings, P.O. Box 27447, Raleigh, N.C. 27611-7447. If modifications are made to an
original Certification, you have the right to an adjudicatory hearing on the modifications upon written
request within sixty (60) days following receipt of the Certification. Unless such demands are made, this
Certification shall be final and binding.
This the 17`h day of December 2003
DIVISIOW OF WATER QUALITY
Certification Number 3447