Third Party Agreements

The EA prepared for the Belleville Project license amendment by Berger's Energy Services Group represented the first use of a Third Party contractor by FERC's Division of Project Compliance and Administration, Office of Hydropower Licensing. With Third Party contracting, FERC selects and supervises the consultant preparing an LA or EIS, and the applicant pays for the necessary studies. The Third Parry approach is generally reserved for complex, controversial or extremely rime-sensitive projects. The City of Jackson and 42 other Ohio municipalities that own and operate their own electric utility systems formed a joint venture, Ohio Municipal Electric Generation Agency Joint Venture 5 (OMEGA-JV5) that filed an Application for Non-Capacity Amendment to the 42 megawatt Belleville Hydroelectric Project. OMEGA JV5 requested a realignment of the previously approved 138-kilovolt transmission line. The Berger Group conducted public scoping and assessed the five proposed alignments in Ohio and West Virginia. Working independently, Berger conducted a field review of nearly 80 miles of alternative alignments, considered agency and public comments, reviewed the applicant's analyses and conclusions, assessed potential impacts and prepared recommendations regarding mitigation in support of the new line.

The selected alignment runs approximately 26 miles from the Belleville Hydroelectric Project in Wood County, West Virginia, to the Rudand Substation in Meigs County, Ohio. The alignment minimized many of the adverse environmental impacts associated with a new transmission line and significantly reduced the number of residences affected by running the line parallel to an existing railroad track. Familiarity with the FERC licensing process, as well as an understanding of the technical aspects of transmission line siting and construction, enabled Berger to complete a draft EA in less than four months, meeting both the critical evaluation requirements of FERC and the schedule requirements of the applicant. Additionally, the selected line minimized adverse impacts on wetlands and was approved by all regulatory agencies involved.