Notice2024-07293
Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 5, 2024
Effective
May 6, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentWestern Area Power Administration
Abstract
Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) Management Center (MC), a federal Power Marketing Administration of the Department of Energy (DOE), announces its Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power. WAPA's Final 2025 Provo River Project Marketing Plan and Call for 2025 Resource Pool Applications (Marketing Plan) was published in the Federal Register on March 17, 2023. Applications for an allocation of Provo River Project power were due June 15, 2023. WAPA reviewed and considered the single application received and published the 2025 Provo River Project Resource Pool Proposed Power Allocation in the Federal Register on October 31, 2023. The 60-day comment period for the proposed allocations closed on January 2, 2024. WAPA received and considered two formal comments. This Federal Register notice establishes the Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23993-23995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07293]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.
[[Page 23994]]
ACTION: Notice of the final allocation of Provo River Project power.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Colorado River
Storage Project (CRSP) Management Center (MC), a federal Power
Marketing Administration of the Department of Energy (DOE), announces
its Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power. WAPA's Final 2025
Provo River Project Marketing Plan and Call for 2025 Resource Pool
Applications (Marketing Plan) was published in the Federal Register on
March 17, 2023. Applications for an allocation of Provo River Project
power were due June 15, 2023. WAPA reviewed and considered the single
application received and published the 2025 Provo River Project
Resource Pool Proposed Power Allocation in the Federal Register on
October 31, 2023. The 60-day comment period for the proposed
allocations closed on January 2, 2024. WAPA received and considered two
formal comments. This Federal Register notice establishes the Final
Allocation of Provo River Project Power.
DATES: The final allocations will be effective on May 6, 2024.
ADDRESSES: All documentation retained by WAPA for the purpose of
developing the final power allocation, including comments, letters, and
other supporting documents, is available for public inspection and
copying at the CRSP Management Center, Western Area Power
Administration, 1800 South Rio Grande Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401.
Public comments and related information may be accessed from the CRSP
website at: <a href="http://www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/crsp/power-marketing/2025-provo-power-marketing-plan/">www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/crsp/power-marketing/2025-provo-power-marketing-plan/</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brent Osiek, Vice President of
Power Marketing for CRSP, 801-244-9519 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1eed2c8c4cae1d6c0d1c08fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="632c100a060823140213024d040c15">[email protected]</span></a>; or Mr.
Randolph Manion, CRSP Contracts and Energy Services Manager,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#df92beb1b6b0b19fa8beafbef1b8b0a9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d79ab6b9beb8b997a0b6a7b6f9b0b8a1">[email protected]</span></a>, 720-201-3285. Written requests for information should
be sent to CRSP Management Center, Western Area Power Administration,
1800 South Rio Grande Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401; faxed to 970-240-
6282; or emailed to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2070524f564f0d6d41524b4554494e4760574150410e474f56"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d5d7f627b6220406c7f66687964636a4d7a6c7d6c236a627b">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WAPA is responsible for marketing power from
the Provo River Project, which is done independently from the other
projects marketed by WAPA's CRSP MC, including the Salt Lake City Area
Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP), Olmsted Project, and the Falcon-Amistad
Projects. In addition to marketing power from these federal
hydroelectric projects, WAPA's CRSP MC is responsible for approximately
2,316 miles of transmission lines and associated infrastructure across
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
The Provo River Project is a small water development project, with
a powerplant located in northern Utah. It was authorized by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, in part, as a response to the Great Depression
and a severe drought that devastated Utah's agriculture and threatened
municipal water supplies in the 1930s. The Provo River Project's
primary function is to provide irrigation, municipal, and industrial
water to users in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, Utah. The Department of
the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), finished
construction of the Deer Creek Dam in 1938 and the Deer Creek
Powerplant in 1958, which included two 2.475-megawatt generators. On
June 27, 1936, Reclamation signed contract number Ilr-874 making the
Provo River Water Users' Association (PRWUA) the operator of the dam
and responsible for repayment of the Provo River Project. The initial
investment in the power facilities was repaid in 1984 but there are
ongoing costs associated with operation, maintenance, and replacement
of equipment. Surplus power revenues may be used to aid the repayment
of the Provo River Project irrigation investment.
Between October 15 and April 15, water may be diverted from the
adjacent Weber River Basin into the Provo River Basin and stored in
Deer Creek Reservoir for irrigation, municipal, and industrial purposes
pursuant to the terms of the 1938 contract number Ilr-1082 between the
PRWUA, PacifiCorp (formerly Utah Power and Light Company), and
Reclamation, among others. The diversion creates a loss of power
generation at the Weber Powerplant on the Weber River, downstream from
the diversion. As a result, PacifiCorp, the owner of the Weber
Powerplant, is reimbursed for its winter energy losses with Provo River
Project power (Weber/Provo Water Exchange). During this winter period,
Provo River Project generation above the power reimbursement amount
owed to PacifiCorp is sold to Provo River Project customers as non-firm
surplus energy; during the summer period, Provo River Project
generation is sold to customers as non-firm energy, both without
capacity. It is expected that the annual energy production from the
Provo River Project will average around 17,243,527 kilowatt-hours per
year.
Response to Comments on the Provo River Project 2025 Resource Pool
Proposed Power Allocation
WAPA's Final 2025 Provo River Project Marketing Plan and Call for
2025 Resource Pool Applications (Marketing Plan) was published in the
Federal Register on March 17, 2023 (88 FR 16433). WAPA reviewed and
considered the single application received and published the 2025 Provo
River Project Resource Pool Proposed Power Allocation and initiated a
public comment period in the Federal Register on October 31, 2023 (88
FR 74488). During the public comment period, WAPA received one written
comment and one verbal comment on the proposal. In preparing the Final
Allocation of Provo River Project Power, WAPA reviewed and considered
both comments received. This section summarizes and responds to those
comments.
Comment(s): Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS)
submitted one oral and one written comment, both in support of WAPA's
proposal not to alter existing power allocations under the 2025
Resource Pool. UAMPS submitted an application for a portion of the 2025
Resource Pool on behalf of three of its members currently receiving
Provo River Project power (Payson, Utah; Springville City, Utah; and
South Utah Valley Electric Service District) to pursue a share of the
2025 Resource Pool in the event of reallocation to new applicants.
However, UAMPS stated its preference was to not reallocate power under
the Resource Pool.
Response: WAPA appreciates UAMPS comments in support of the
proposal.
Resource Pool Power Allocation
WAPA did not receive applications for Provo River Project power
from new, eligible preference entities. As noted, UAMPS submitted an
application on behalf of three of its members, all existing Provo River
Project contractors. After analyzing the application and taking into
consideration all existing federal hydropower allocations to all Provo
River Project contractors, WAPA determined no significant benefit of
additional widespread use would occur by continuing forward with the
2025 Resource Pool. Therefore, WAPA will not reduce Provo River Project
contractor allocations by 3 percent and will not reallocate power under
the 2025 Resource Pool. All current Provo River Project allocations
will remain unchanged, as defined in the Final Allocation of Provo
River Project Power table below:
[[Page 23995]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub-
Percentage percentage
Allotee entitlement On behalf of, if applicable entitlement,
if applicable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heber Light and Power......................... 6.0 Not applicable..................
UAMPS (In Total).............................. 24.0
Lehi............................ 2.7
Springville..................... 12.9
Payson.......................... 4.8
South Utah Valley ESD........... 3.6
Utah Municipal Power Agency (In Total)........ 70.0
Provo........................... 60.9
Salem........................... 1.4
Spanish Fork.................... 7.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contracting Process
After the effective date of this notice, WAPA will begin the
contracting process pursuant to the Marketing Plan. That process
requires each individual allottee identified in the table above to
execute and return without modification WAPA's electric service
contract to purchase Provo River Project energy within 6 months of the
contract offer, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by WAPA. WAPA
reserves the right to withdraw and reallocate any allocation if an
allottee does not execute the new electric service contract by close of
business September 30, 2024. The date of initial service under these
contracts will be October 1, 2024, and these contracts will remain in
effect through September 30, 2054.
If there is any unallocated power after this process, WAPA reserves
the right to reallocate such power according to the eligibility and
allocation criteria set forth in the Marketing Plan. Entities who have
submitted an application pursuant to this process need not re-submit an
application if they wish to be considered. WAPA will contact such
eligible entities.
Legal Authority
The Marketing Plan, published in the Federal Register (88 FR 16433)
on March 17, 2023, was established under the following authorities: the
Provo River Project was initially authorized under a feasibility
finding of the Secretary of the Interior, which was approved by the
President, on November 16, 1935, pursuant to Sec. 4 of the Act of June
25, 1910 (36 Stat. 836), and subsection B of Sec. 4 of the Act of
December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702) (see also Act of March 29, 1948, ch.
159, 62 Stat. 92); Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (Pub. L. 57-161)
(32 Stat. 388); Reclamation Project Act of August 4, 1939 (Pub. L. 76-
260) (53 Stat. 1187); Department of Energy Organization Act of August
4, 1977 (Pub. L. 95-91) (91 Stat. 565); and Reclamation Projects
Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-575) (106 Stat.
4600, 4605), as such acts may be supplemented or amended. Allocating
power from the resource pool falls within the Marketing Plan and is
covered by this authority.
Regulatory Procedure Requirements
A. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
WAPA has determined that this proposed action fits within the
categorical exclusion listed in Appendix B to subpart D of 10 CFR part
1021 (B4.1 contracts, policies, and marketing and allocation plans for
electric power). Categorically excluded projects and activities do not
require preparation of either an environmental impact statement or an
environmental assessment. A copy of the categorical exclusion
determination is available on the CRSP website at: <a href="http://wapa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cx-02-14-22-prp-marketing-plan.pdf">wapa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cx-02-14-22-prp-marketing-plan.pdf</a>.
B. Determination Under Executive Order 12866
WAPA has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under
Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, no clearance of this notice by the
Office of Management and Budget is required.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 1,
2024, by Tracey A. LeBeau, Administrator, Western Area Power
Administration pursuant to the above identified legal authority. For
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit this
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document
of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-07293 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 5, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.