Notice2026-03388
Collections From Central Valley Project Power Contractors To Carry Out the Restoration, Improvement and Acquisition of Environmental Habitat Provisions of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992
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
February 20, 2026
Effective
April 1, 2026
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentWestern Area Power Administration
Abstract
The collection procedures for the Sierra Nevada (SN) region have been confirmed, approved, and placed into effect. These collection procedures supersede those previously published in the Federal Register on April 16, 2003. The collection procedures remain unchanged but are being republished, for administrative purposes, to remove references to a specific Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) SN Power Marketing Plan (PMP).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 34 (Friday, February 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8230-8232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03388]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Collections From Central Valley Project Power Contractors To
Carry Out the Restoration, Improvement and Acquisition of Environmental
Habitat Provisions of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of
1992
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of order concerning collection procedures.
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SUMMARY: The collection procedures for the Sierra Nevada (SN) region
have been confirmed, approved, and placed into effect. These collection
procedures supersede those previously published in the Federal Register
on April 16, 2003. The collection procedures remain unchanged but are
being republished, for administrative purposes, to remove references to
a specific Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) SN Power Marketing
Plan (PMP).
DATES: The collection procedures are effective on the first day of the
first full billing period, beginning on or after April 1, 2026, and
will remain in effect until superseded.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle R. Williams, Regional
Manager, Sierra Nevada Region, Western Area Power Administration, 114
Parkshore Drive, Folsom, CA 95630, or Autumn Wolfe, Rates Manager,
Sierra Nevada Region, Western Area Power Administration, (916) 353-
4686, or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2e7d607c037c4f5a4b6d4f5d4b6e594f5e4f00494158"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="42110c106f102336270123312702352332236c252d34">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3407 of the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act (CVPIA) (Pub. L. 102-575, 106 Stat. 4706, 4726)
establishes in the Treasury of the United States the CVP Restoration
Fund to carry out the habitat restoration, improvement, and acquisition
provisions of the CVPIA. The CVPIA further requires the Secretary of
the Interior to assess and collect annual mitigation and restoration
payments from CVP Water and Power Contractors (Restoration Payments).
The Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation), is responsible for determining and collecting CVP Water
and Power Contractors' share of the annual Total Restoration Fund
Payment Obligation.
Because WAPA-SN markets and transmits CVP power and maintains all
CVP power contracts, WAPA-SN agreed to collect the Restoration Payments
from CVP Power Contractors. WAPA-SN executed a letter of agreement with
Reclamation to establish procedures for depositing collections from CVP
Power Contractors into the Restoration Fund.
WAPA-SN published a Federal Register notice (Proposed FRN) on
August 12, 2025 (90 FR 38781), proposing collection procedures that
remain unchanged but are being republished, for administrative
purposes, to remove references to a specific WAPA-SN PMP. The Proposed
FRN also initiated a 30-day public consultation and comment period.
Acronyms, Terms, and Definitions
As used in this action, the following acronyms, terms, and
definitions apply:
Base Resource (BR): Base Resource, as defined in Central Valley
Project's 2025 Marketing Plan is the Central Valley and Washoe Project
power (capacity and energy) output determined by WAPA-SN to be
available for marketing, including the environmental attributes, after
meeting the requirements of project use and first preference customers,
and any adjustments for maintenance, reserves, system losses, and
certain ancillary services.
Central Valley Project (CVP): As defined in Central Valley
Project's 2025 Marketing Plan, is Central Valley Project. The
multipurpose Federal water development project extending from the
Cascade Range in northern California to the plains along the Kern River
south of the city of Bakersfield, California.
Customer: As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025 Marketing
Plan, is an entity with a contract and receiving electric service from
WAPA's Sierra Nevada Region.
Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA): Title 34 of Public
Law 102-575, 106 Stat. 4706 et seq. A legislative act, enacted on
October 30, 1992, that defines provisions for habitat restoration,
improvement and acquisition, and other fish and wildlife restoration
activities in the Central Valley Project area of California.
Energy: As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025 Marketing Plan,
it is measured in terms of the work it is capable of doing over a
period of time; electric energy is usually measured in kilowatt hours
or megawatt hours.
First Preference Customer (FP): As defined in Central Valley
Project's 2025 Marketing Plan, is a preference customer and/or a
preference entity (an entity qualified to use, but not using,
preference power) within a country or origin (Trinity, Calaveras, and
Tuolumne) as specified under the Trinity River Division Act (69 Sta.
719) and the New Melones Project provisions of the Flood Control Act of
1962 (76 Stat. 1173, 1191-1192).
Fiscal Year (FY): WAPA's fiscal year, October 1 to September 30.
Kilowatt (kW): As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025
Marketing Plan, is a unit measuring the rate of production of
electricity; one kilowatt equals one thousand watts.
Letter of Agreement (LOA): Letter of Agreement No. 93-SAO-10156, is
a written agreement between Reclamation and WAPA that establishes
procedures to deposit the Restoration Payments collected from Central
Valley Project Power Contractors into the Restoration Fund.
Megawatt (MW): As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025
Marketing Plan, is
[[Page 8231]]
a unit measuring the rate of production of electricity; one megawatt
equals one million watts.
Power: As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025 Marketing Plan,
is capacity and energy.
Power Restoration Payment Obligation (PRPO): The portion of the
Total Restoration Payment Obligation calculated and assigned annually
to Central Valley Project Power Contractors by Reclamation.
Project Use: As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025 Marketing
Plan, is power as defined by Reclamation Law and/or used to operate CVP
and Washoe Project facilities.
Reclamation: United States Department of Interior, Bureau of
Reclamation.
Restoration Fund: The Central Valley Project Restoration Fund,
established by Section 3407 of the Central Valley Project Improvement
Act, into which revenues provided by the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act are deposited and from which funds are appropriated by
the Secretary to carry out the habitat restoration, improvement, and
acquisition provisions of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act.
Restoration Payments: The amount(s) recorded as payable on Central
Valley Project Power Contractors' Restoration Fund Bills.
Sierra Nevada (SN) Region: As defined in Central Valley Project's
2025 Marketing Plan, is the Sierra Nevada Region of the Western Area
Power Administration.
Total Restoration Fund Payment Obligation: The total amount of
payments collected from the Central Valley Project Water and Power
Contractors calculated annually by Reclamation.
WAPA: Western Area Power Administration, as defined in Central
Valley Project's 2025 Marketing Plan, is the United States Department
of Energy, a Federal power marketing administration responsible for
marketing and transmitting Federal power pursuant to Reclamation Law
and the DOE Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101, et seq.).
Washoe Project: As defined in Central Valley Project's 2025
Marketing Plan, is a Federal water project located in the Lahontan
Basin in west-central Nevada and east-central California.
Effective Date
The collection procedures will take effect on the first day of the
first full billing period beginning on or after April 1, 2026, and will
remain in effect until superseded.
Public Notice and Comment
WAPA-SN took the following steps to involve interested parties in
the process:
1. On August 12, 2025, a Federal Register notice (90 FR 38781)
(Proposed FRN) announced the proposed collection procedures and
launched a 30-day public consultation and comment period.
2. On August 12, 2025, WAPA-SN notified Preference Customers and
interested parties of the proposed collection procedures and provided a
copy of the published Proposed FRN.
3. WAPA-SN established a public website to post information about
the process. The website is located at <a href="http://www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/sn/sn-rates/restoration-fund/">www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/sn/sn-rates/restoration-fund/</a>.
4. During the 30-day consultation and comment period, which ended
on September 11, 2025, WAPA-SN received no oral comment submissions and
no written comment letters.
Collection Procedures
The procedures for the collection of the Restoration Payments are
detailed below. These collection procedures remain unchanged but are
being republished, for administrative purposes, to remove references to
a specific WAPA-SN PMP.
Determination of the Power Restoration Payment Obligation (PRPO)
Reclamation is responsible for assigning the PRPO for CVP Power
Contractors. On or about July 1 of each year, Reclamation will provide
a letter to WAPA-SN with the determined PRPO amount and a detailed
explanation of the computation for the upcoming fiscal year (FY). Upon
receiving the letter from Reclamation, WAPA-SN will notify CVP Power
Contractors of the annual PRPO and the monthly amount to be collected.
Allocating the PRPO
WAPA-SN will allocate the PRPO among the CVP Power Contractors each
FY. After notification by Reclamation, WAPA-SN will calculate the
annual obligation for each CVP Power Contractor based on their assigned
Base Resource percentage as specified in their power contracts. Each
CVP Power Contractor's annual obligation will be divided by twelve (12)
months and billed equally over the FY.
Collection of CVP Power Contractors' Restoration Payments
Each CVP Power Contractor will receive a Restoration Fund bill
monthly on or about the twenty-fifth (25th) but no later than the last
day of the month. The Restoration Fund billing cycle for each FY will
begin within thirty (30) days following August 1 or the date written
notification of the annual PRPO is received from Reclamation, whichever
occurs later.
Payment Due Date
All CVP Power Contractors' Restoration Payments are due and payable
before the close of business twenty (20) calendar days after each
Restoration Fund bill is issued, or the next business day thereafter,
if said day is a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday.
Late Payment Charges Assessed to Delinquent Restoration Payments
WAPA-SN will add a late payment charge of five hundredths percent
(0.05%) of the principal amount unpaid for each day the Restoration
Payment is delinquent. Payments received will be first applied to the
charges for the late payment assessed on the principal and then to the
payment of the principal.
Deposit of CVP Power Contractors' Restoration Payments Into the
Restoration Fund
On or about the twenty-seventh (27th) calendar day of the month
following each billing month, WAPA-SN will transfer all Restoration
Payments received, including late payment charges, to Reclamation for
deposit into the Restoration Fund. The thirtieth (30th) of September of
each FY is the last day WAPA-SN will transfer Restoration Payments,
including late payment charges, to Reclamation for that FY.
Exchange Program and Year-End Reconciliation Process
The Exchange Program may result in some CVP Power Contractors
receiving small amounts of energy in excess of their contractual Base
Resource percentage in some months. Although recipients of this
exchange energy will pay for this power, Restoration Fund obligations
are based on each CVP Power Contractor's percentage of the contractual
Base Resource excluding exchange energy. Alternatively, some CVP Power
Contractors that are not able to use all their contractual Base
Resource and return it as exchange energy could be overpaying their
Restoration Fund obligations, since their actual power usage might be
less than their contractual Base Resource percentage in a given month.
To rectify underpayments made by recipients of the exchange energy
and overpayments by other CVP Power Contractors, WAPA-SN will conduct a
reconciliation process, otherwise known
[[Page 8232]]
as an annual true-up, before preparing August Restoration Fund bills.
This reconciliation will require WAPA-SN to identify energy amounts
exchanged among individual CVP Power Contractors monthly. The
applicable billing periods will track exchange energy associated with
power deliveries from July to June service months. This information
will provide the basis for determining the amount of energy exchanged
during the billing year.
WAPA-SN will add an additional charge, or a balloon payment, to the
August Restoration Fund bills for each CVP Power Contractor who
received exchange energy during the past year that exceeded their
contractual Base Resource percentage. Conversely, WAPA-SN will also
post an offsetting credit on their August bills for those CVP Power
Contractors that provide exchange energy, thus decreasing the amount of
contractual Base Resource energy received.
Exclusion of First Preference Contractors From the Power Restoration
Payment Obligation
WAPA-SN reviewed the contributions the Trinity River Division (TRD)
and New Melones projects provide, either directly or indirectly, to
environmental mitigation in support of CVPIA and/or projects supported
by the CVPIA Restoration Fund. The TRD and New Melones projects deliver
significant environmental benefits toward the CVPIA Restoration Fund
programs.
Since CVPIA was enacted, these facilities have been reoperated, so
CVP meets the standards and guidelines set forth by CVPIA. With the
reoperation of these facilities and the fact that the First Preference
(FP) customers' energy entitlements are based on the generation output
of these facilities, their reoperation ultimately affects these
customers. These circumstances provide a basis by which to exclude
Restoration Fund collections from any FP customers within the affected
areas.
Review Process
WAPA-SN will review the procedures for the assessing and collecting
of Restoration Payments from the CVP Power Contractors every five (5)
years or if one of the following occurs: (1) if there is a significant
change to or suspension of the legislation, (2) if a material issue
arises, (3) if an apparent inequity in the procedures is discovered, or
(4) if any significant change occurs that affects the procedures.
Comments
WAPA-SN received no separate oral and/or written comments during
the public consultation and comment period.
Availability of Information
Information used by WAPA-SN to develop the collection procedure are
available for inspection and copying at the Sierra Nevada Regional
Office, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, California. Many of these
documents are also available on WAPA-SN's website at: <a href="http://www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/sn/sn-rates/restoration-fund/">www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/sn/sn-rates/restoration-fund/</a>.
Procedure Requirements
Environmental Compliance
WAPA-SN determined that this action fits within the following
categorical exclusion listed in appendix B to CFR part 1021 and
Appendix B of DOE's NEPA implementing procedures published on June 30,
2025: B4.3, Electric power marketing rate changes.\1\ Under 10 CFR
1021.102, 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 WAPA's website at <a href="http://www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/sn/sn-rates/restoration-fund/">www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/sn/sn-rates/restoration-fund/</a>.
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\1\ The determination was done in compliance with NEPA (42
U.S.C. 4321-4347) and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, including 10
CFR part 1021.
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Determination Under Executive Order 12866
WAPA has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under
Executive Order 12866 as amended by Executive Order 14215; accordingly,
no clearance of this notice by the Office of Management and Budget is
required.
Order
In view of the above, and under the authority delegated to me, I
hereby confirm, approve, and place into effect the Collections from
Central Valley Project Power Contractors to Carry Out the Restoration,
Improvement and Acquisition of Environmental Habitat Provisions of the
Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992. The collection
procedures will remain in effect until superseded.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on February
17, 2026, by Tracey A. Lebeau, Administrator, Western Area Power
Administration, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of
Energy. That document, with the original signature and date, is
maintained by DOE. 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 the 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 February 18, 2026.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2026-03388 Filed 2-19-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 20, 2026.
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