TERRESTRIAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2016 ANNUAL REPORT

Transcription

1 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ARTICLE 501 TERRESTRIAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN ANNUAL REPORT REPORTING PERIOD JANUARY 1 DECEMBER 31, BAKER RIVER HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FERC No September 2017 BAK SA 501 Annual Report.Docx Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project PUGET SOUND ENERGY 22 September 2017

2 CONTENTS CONTENTS 1.0 Executive Summary General Report Background Reporting Period Terrestrial Resources Implementation Group Annual Review of the TRMP Financial Report Funding and Expenditures Prescribed by SA Additional Expenditures for 500 Series Articles Total Funding Expenditures for SA Adjustments Activity Report Summaries for 500-Series Articles... 5 SA 501 Terrestrial Resources Management Plan... 5 SA 502 Deciduous Forest Habitat... 5 SA 503 Elk Foraging Habitat... 5 SA 504 Wetland Habitat... 5 SA 505 Aquatic Riparian Habitat... 5 SA 506 Osprey Nest Structures... 6 SA 507 Loon Floating Nest Platforms... 6 SA 508 Noxious Weeds... 6 SA 509 Plants of Special Status... 6 SA 510 Carex flava... 6 SA 511 Decaying and Legacy Wood... 7 SA 512 Bald Eagle Night Roost Surveys... 7 SA 513 Bald Eagle Management... 7 SA 514 Effectiveness Monitoring... 7 SA 515 Late Seral Forest Growth... 7 SA 516 Mountain Goats... 7 SA 517 Grizzly Bear Road Management Supporting Documents... 8 List of Tables Table 1. Prescribed capital funding summary for all 500-series articles with capital budgets Table 2. Prescribed operations and maintenance funding summary for all 500-series articles Table 3. Delivered operations and maintenance funding summary for all 500-series articles Table 4. Terrestrial Resource Management Plan Annual Report reviewers List of Figures Figure 1. message from PSE accompanying the draft report PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page ii

3 1.0 Executive Summary This Terrestrial Resource Management Plan Annual Report reviews the actions taken in to implement the 500-series articles in the comprehensive settlement agreement for the Baker River Hydroelectric Project. These activities, conducted in accordance with SA 501 Terrestrial Resource Management Plan, included: Terrestrial Resources Implementation Group (TRIG) meetings. During the reporting period, the TRIG held four regular meetings. Implementation of settlement agreement articles , , and 516. See the attached implementation reports for details. Expenditures of prescribed and delivered funds associated with all terrestrial articles of the settlement agreement (that is, SA ). PSE spent a total of $700,970 on capital and $421,730 on operations and maintenance during the reporting period. Funding expenditures in for SA 501 pertain to the activity listed above, and are outlined in section 3 of this report. 2.0 General Report 2.1 Background This Terrestrial Resource Management Plan Annual Report has been prepared for the Baker River Hydroelectric Project (or Baker River Project), pursuant to the Order on Offer of Settlement, Issuing New License and Dismissing Amendment Application as Moot dated October 17, 2008 (the license). In appendix A of the license, license settlement agreement article (SA) 501, Terrestrial Resource Management Plan, sets forth the applicable requirements for the Terrestrial Resource Management Plan (TRMP), which in turn sets forth the requirements of this annual report. The FERC order amending SA 501 annual reporting (issued January 16, 2015) set forth the current timing of the 500-series annual report submittals. This annual report summarizes the activities conducted under SA 501 in, including management activities, monitoring, design and planning, acquisition-related activities, consultation, documents prepared, modifications to or deviations from the TRMP, issues and resolution, accounting, and proposed changes to the TRMP. This report was prepared by Puget Sound Energy and reviewed by the Terrestrial Resource Implementation Group (TRIG), which is composed of representatives of the signatories to the settlement agreement and other interested parties. The TRMP is the umbrella plan to which all of the other 500-series settlement agreement articles (except for SA 505) are appended. This report provides a summary of the annual reports for these articles, a financial report for all 500-series articles, and copies of the individual annual reports. This SA 501 TRMP annual report contains the service list for the TRIG review of all of the 500-series documents, along with a table of reviewer comments and PSE replies/revisions. PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 1

4 Financial Report 2.2 Reporting Period The reporting period for the Terrestrial Resources Annual Report is the calendar year. 2.3 Terrestrial Resources Implementation Group The TRMP was prepared collaboratively by the Baker River Project Terrestrial Resource Implementation Group (TRIG), which consists of representatives of the signatories to the settlement agreement and other parties with interest in the terrestrial resources of the Baker River basin. The purpose of the TRIG is to collaboratively implement the terrestrial articles of the license. Puget Sound Energy is implementing the TRMP with TRIG oversight. The TRMP identifies the programs and actions Puget Sound Energy will undertake to comply with the terrestrial resource articles of the settlement agreement. In addition, Puget Sound Energy, in consultation with the TRIG, will continue to develop various site-specific and resource-specific procedures to implement plans successfully. Puget Sound Energy and the other TRIG members continue to collaborate on site-specific and resource-specific procedures, and implement them according to the TRMP. Puget Sound Energy will report on TRMP implementation to the TRIG and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) through annual reports. If Puget Sound Energy and other TRIG members find it necessary to modify the TRMP, they will collaboratively propose amendments for submittal to the FERC. Over the term of the license, the TRIG will convene at least annually in person, or by conference call or other medium, to review TRMP implementation since the previous meeting and discuss implementation planned for the upcoming period. The TRIG held four regular meetings during. 2.4 Annual Review of the TRMP Settlement agreement article 501 states that Puget Sound Energy shall review the TRMP annually thereafter during the first ten years of the license, and every fifth year for the remaining term of the license. During the December 1, TRIG meeting, PSE, together with the rest of the TRIG, reviewed the TRMP documents to determine whether any changes to the plans were warranted. The group once again identified SA 507 ( Loon Floating Nest Platforms ) as a section of the TRMP that they would like to specifically review. The group reviewed the section and determined that no changes were needed at that time; however, we anticipate proposing some change to the SA 507 plan (specific to timing and location of the loon implementation program) in the next couple years. 3.0 Financial Report Puget Sound Energy, pursuant to settlement agreement articles 102, 201, 301, 501, and 602, is required to provide an annual summary of expenditures made during the preceding year, as well as an accounting of funding expenditures, any interest earned, disbursements made as required by any article, and adjustments for inflation. This section provides an accounting of all expenditures made between January 1 and PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 2

5 Financial Report December 31, for all of the 500-series settlement agreement articles (tables 1, 2 and 3). All disbursement adjustments and relevant calculations were determined using the guidelines provided in settlement agreement article 602. The SA 602 annual report, which is filed with the FERC by December 31st of each year, summarizes annual expenditures of adaptive management funds under SA 602. The Terrestrial Enhancement and Research Fund specified by SA 602 for the adaptive management of terrestrial resources will be funded beginning in Funding and Expenditures Prescribed by SA 501 Tables 1 and 2 below show the funding prescribed by the license, which is sometimes referred to as capped funding. PSE funding for SA 501, SA 506, and SA 507, a portion of SA 508, SA 509, SA 510, SA 512, and SA 513 are delivered funding. Delivered funding refers to PSE s obligation to perform (or deliver ) an article activity for which no funding amount has been prescribed in the license or in any related implementation plan document. Amounts in the tables below are rounded to the nearest dollar. Settlement Agreement Article Table 1. Prescribed capital funding summary for all 500-series articles with capital budgets. Balance at end of 2015 Disbursements Interest Escalation Expenditures Balance Remaining 502 Forest 163, N/A 0 164, Elk 2,120, ,185 N/A 7,356 2,120, Wetland 68, N/A 0 68, Riparian 1,255,744 2,000,000 11, , ,614 2,884,118 Totals 3,608,031 2,000,000 19, , ,970 5,237,021 Settlement Agreement Article Table 2. Prescribed operations and maintenance funding summary for all 500-series articles. Balance at end of 2015 Disbursements Interest Escalation Expenditures Balance Remaining 501 TRMP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 502 Forest 16, , Elk 230,230 50, , , Wetland 204, , , Riparian 322, , , , Osprey N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 507 Loons N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 508 Weeds b 102,879 15, ,328 65,421 55, PSS N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A C. flava N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 3

6 Financial Report Settlement Agreement Article Balance at end of 2015 Disbursements Interest Escalation Expenditures Balance Remaining 511 Legacy 76,707 10, ,552 1,623 86, BE survey N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A BE plans N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 514 HEP 94, , Late Seral Mt. goat 74, , Grizzly Totals 1,122,894 75,000 3,491 11, ,037 1,020,988 a 2015 disbursements included $50,000 from annual funding and $85,285 from the sale of logs harv ested from Burpee Hill in late b Funding for SA 508 is for reed canary grass control in sev en U.S. Forest Serv ice w etlands. 3.2 Additional Expenditures for 500 Series Articles In addition to prescribed funds spent on the terrestrial (series 500) articles, PSE provided delivered funding for articles, specifically for activities (labor, outside services, materials, meetings, etc.) for which no dollar amounts were prescribed within the associated settlement agreement article. PSE spent the following delivered funds (approximate dollar amounts) during : Table 3. Delivered operations and maintenance funding summary for all 500-series articles. Settlement Agreement Article PSE Expenditure in SA 501 TRMP $42,234 SA 502 Forest $1,464 SA 503 Elk $35,731 SA 504 Wetland $3,492 SA 505 Riparian $51,074 SA 506 Osprey $16,491 SA 507 Loon Platforms $14,658 SA 508 Noxious Weeds $39,650 SA 509 PSS $17,590 SA 510 C. flava $5,283 SA 511 Legacy Wood $TBD SA 512, 513 Bald Eagles $1,286 SA 514 HEP $740 Total Delivered Funding $229, Total Funding Expenditures for SA 501 PSE spent a total of $700,970 on capital and a total of $421,730 on operations and maintenance (or O&M, comprising $192,037 in capped expenditures and $229,693 in delivered expenditures), for all 500-series articles during the reporting period. PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 4

7 Activity Report Summaries for 500-Series Articles 3.4 Adjustments There are no funding requirements for SA Activity Report Summaries for 500-Series Articles SA 501 Terrestrial Resources Management Plan Activities accomplished in implementation of the 500-series settlement agreement articles during the reporting year are listed below by their respective settlement agreement (SA) article number. SA 502 Deciduous Forest Habitat The activities conducted in in accordance with SA 502 included: Monitoring and management of knotweed at Burpee Hill treatment sites. Planning for legacy wood management at Alder Creek. Forest management activities at Burpee Hill. Development and review of the SA 502 annual report for Section 4 of this report outlines 2014 funding expenditures for SA 502. SA 503 Elk Foraging Habitat In, the TRIG directed PSE to: Develop elk enhancement projects at both the Alder Creek and Burpee Hill North properties. Conduct soil tests in the forage enhancement areas Seed the enhancement areas at both properties with forage seed mixes. Review at least three different properties for potential acquisition. Update the Burpee Hill Management Program document. Develop DNR permits for the Burpee Hill South property. Create work plans for the Alder Creek and Burpee Hill properties. SA 504 Wetland Habitat Activities for implementation of SA 504 during included: Continuation of a wetland enhancement project in management unit 14.0 at the Alder Creek property Surveying wetlands at the Burpee Hill South property for amphibian presence. SA 505 Aquatic Riparian Habitat In, efforts under SA 505 included: The solicitation and review process for Aquatic Riparian Habitat Protection, Restoration, and Enhancement Plan (ARP) implementation projects. Selection of five restoration proposals for ARP implementation, and initiation of these projects. PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 5

8 Activity Report Summaries for 500-Series Articles Ongoing implementation of previously approved projects. One process improvement meeting. SA 506 Osprey Nest Structures Major tasks completed during included: Maintaining a minimum of 10 artificial osprey nest structures in a manner conducive to osprey nesting. Monitoring osprey nesting and productivity between April 1 and August 31 at both Lake Shannon and Baker Lake. Submitting the final Osprey Nest Structures 2015 Annual Report to the FERC in September. Submitting the draft Osprey Nest Structures Nest Inspection & Monitoring Report 2015 to the TRIG in December. Submitting the review draft Osprey Nest Structures 2015 Annual Report to the TRIG in April. SA 507 Loon Floating Nest Platforms Activities conducted in in accordance with SA 507 included: Twice-monthly monitoring of loon activity on both Project reservoirs during the nesting season (April 1 July 31). No loon nesting attempts were observed during the reporting period. Twice-monthly monitoring of access restriction devices during the loon surveys. Maintenance of the three loon platforms. Development and TRIG review of the SA 507 annual report for Development and TRIG review of the SA 507 monitoring report for. SA 508 Noxious Weeds Activities conducted in in accordance with SA 508 included: Noxious weed management planning. Noxious weed treatment and monitoring. SA 509 Plants of Special Status Activities conducted in in accordance with SA 509 included: Monitoring of the special-status plant sites listed in the Plants of Special Status Habitat Management Plan. SA 510 Carex flava Activities conducted in in accordance with SA 510 included two visits to inspect the Carex flava site. PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 6

9 Activity Report Summaries for 500-Series Articles SA 511 Decaying and Legacy Wood The activities conducted in in accordance with SA 511 included: Legacy wood management in elk forage habitat management units at Burpee Hill. Legacy wood management in the forest habitat management unit at Burpee Hill. Evaluation of forest habitat and elk habitat for future legacy wood management sites at Alder Creek and Burpee Hill. Development and TRIG review of the SA 511 annual report for FERC submittal of the legacy wood annual report for SA 512 Bald Eagle Night Roost Surveys The first round of surveys directed by SA 512 concluded in 2011, and was summarized in the SA 512 annual report for that year. SA 512 prescribes no further activity until year 15 of the license. PSE will next report on SA 512 at that time. SA 513 Bald Eagle Management Activities conducted in in accordance with SA 513 included: Completion of the aerial nest survey. Documentation of incidental bald eagle observations during the nesting season. Coordination with construction projects, Project operations, and the Recreation Resources Group (RRG) to minimize any potential disturbance of nesting or roosting bald eagles or their habitat by Project-related activities. Development and TRIG review of the SA 513 annual report for SA 514 Effectiveness Monitoring Activities conducted in in accordance with SA 514 included: First monitoring visits (post construction monitoring visits) at Alder Creek management unit AC-U-5.0 in conjunction with SA 503, Elk Habitat. Photo monitoring in Burpee Hill Management Unit 6.0 in conjunction with SA 503 forage enhancement work. SA 515 Late Seral Forest Growth Activities related to the implementation of SA 515 concluded in There will be no additional activities or annual reporting for SA 515. SA 516 Mountain Goats PSE provided the USDA Forest Service with funding ($74,635) for their ongoing SA 516 implementation activities in No funds were dispersed during the reporting period. The USDA Forest Service took no actions to implement SA 516 during the reporting period. PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 7

10 Supporting Documents SA 517 Grizzly Bear Road Management Activities related to the implementation of SA 517 concluded in There will be no additional activities or annual reporting for SA Supporting Documents This report includes as attachments the annual reports for SA , SA 513, SA 514, and SA Agency Comments 6.1 Distribution List Table 4. Terrestrial Resource Management Plan Annual Report reviewers. Name Organization address Brock Applegate Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Cathy Baker The Nature Conservancy Laurel Baldwin Whatcom County Noxious Weed Control Board Len Barson The Nature Conservancy Mignonne Bivin National Park Service Mark Celedonia US Fish and Wildlife Service Roger Christophersen National Park Service Doug Couvelier Upper Skagit Indian Tribe Rourke McDermott USDA Forest Service Shauna Hee USDA Forest Service Chris Madson NW Indian Fisheries Commission Phyllis Reed USDA Forest Service Brandon Nickerson Swinomish Indian Tribe Jeff McGowan Skagit County Bob Nelson Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Jack Oelfke National Park Service Jason Ransom National Park Service Bill Richardson Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation William Rogers Skagit County Noxious Weed Control Board Scott Schuyler Upper Skagit Indian Tribe Jon-Paul Shannahan Upper Skagit Indian Tribe Kara Symonds Skagit County Tino Villaluz Swinomish Indian Tribe Stan Walsh Swinomish Indian Tribe Emily Wirtz Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Michael Wolten Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Fenner Yarborough Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 8

11 Agency Comments 6.2 Cover Message From: Fuchs, Tony Sent: Friday, April 28, :19 PM To: Bill Richardson; Brock Applegate; Bob Nelson; Brandon Nickerson; Cathy Baker; Chris Madsen; Doug Couvelier; Emily Wirtz; Fenner Yarborough; Jack Oelfke; Jason Ransom; Jeff McGowan; Jon-Paul Shannahan; Kara Symonds; Laurel Baldwin; Len Barson; Mark Celedonia; Michael Wolten; Mignonne Bivin; Phyllis Reed; Roger Christophersen; Rourke McDermott; Scott Schuyler; Shauna Hee; Stan Walsh; Tino Villaluz; William Rogers Cc: Edwards, Haley; Heller, Scott; Walters, Mel; Hunting, Andy; OpenText ECM --mail--; Blood, Ryan Subject: Baker River - draft annual report for SA 501 TRMP for TRIG "60-day" review Attachments: BAK SA 501 Annual Report - RevDraft.pdf TRIG members, PSE is forwarding the draft annual report for Settlement Agreement Article Terrestrial Resource Management Plan, to the Terrestrial Resources Implementation Group representatives for the "60-Day" review prior to submitting the report to FERC, according to the reporting schedule in SA 501 and recently modified by the January 16, 2015 FERC order. This report includes all of the SA 500 series of annual reports, which individually are found on PSE's Dropbox site at: Please let me know if you have any difficulty downloading from this site. If you do, I can arrange a different way for you to get the documents. We are asking that comments on any of these reports be sent to Tony Fuchs via mail or by June 30th,. This review is part of the TRIG review cycle established per Settlement Article 501-Terrestrial Resource Management Plan and subsequent FERC order. Thanks! Tony Anthony D. Fuchs Consulting Natural Resource Scientist Hydro Program Services Puget Sound Energy P.O. Box PSE-09S Bellevue, WA (w) (f) Figure 1. message from PSE accompanying the draft report. 6.3 Summary of Reviewer Comments and PSE Replies No reviewers of the draft annual report replied with comments. PUGET SOUND ENERGY Baker Riv er Hy droelectric Project Page 9