Big Creek No. 4 Hydroelectric Project Environmental Impact Statement for Project Re-licensing
San Joaquin River , California

The Louis Berger Group, Inc. prepared a final scoping document, additional information requests, and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Big Creek No. 4 Hydroelectric Project under an engineering environmental services contract with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Berger also prepared a programmatic agreement for the protection of cultural resources, and draft license articles consistent with the recommendations of the EIS. The Big Creek No. 4 Project is the most downstream project in Southern California Edison Company’s (Edison) Big Creek System, which includes a total of seven hydroelectric projects with nine major powerhouses. Downstream of the Big Creek No. 4 Project are additional hydroelectric projects operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and a storage reservoir operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. Nearly all the project land is within the Sierra National Forest.

The 250-foot-high project dam creates Redinger Reservoir, which is also used for recreational purposes (primarily boating). A 2-mile-long penstock and tunnel connects the reservoir to the powerhouse, which has an installed capacity of 98.8 megawatts. About 6 miles of the San Joaquin River is bypassed by water passing through the powerhouse. The project boundary also encompasses 87 miles of 220-kilovolt transmission lines, about half of which Edison proposes to delete from the project boundary.

Key issues associated with this project included addressing the cumulative water resources impacts related to upstream and downstream hydroelectric and storage projects. The U.S. Forest Service and other resource agencies manage habitat in the bypassed reach for native warm water fish species. Some angling organizations believed that the bypassed reach should be managed more for trout. Whitewater boating organizations strongly believed that recreational boating releases should be provided to enhance boating opportunities in the bypassed reach during low flow periods of the year. Such releases may be inconsistent with the resource agency management objectives for the bypassed reach. Potential project effects on sensitive plant and wildlife species were also addressed in the EIS. The Forest Service and existing recreational users of Redinger Reservoir did not consider it appropriate to increase the level of recreational use in the project area, a position which was at odds with some recreational organizations. Measures to appropriately control recreation access were considered in the EIS.