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The Placer County Water Agency is mid-way through the complicated process of getting its Middle Fork American River hydroelectric project relicensed and plans to spend $5.7 million on the effort this year. Agency directors recently approved task orders to continue the work of six environmental consulting firms in 2008. The task orders total $5.7 million; the overall eight-year process will cost $30 million. PCWA built the multi-purpose project under a 50-year federal license granted in 1963. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must renew the license by 2013. The PCWA and County of Placer formed the Middle Fork Project Finance Authority two years ago to fund the expensive relicensing process, prospective improvements and any other conditions that FERC might impose. In another matter, the directors were informed that Friends of the River and the Sierra Club are supporting the PCWA’s water rights extension filings with the State Water Resources Control Board. In their statement of support, the two environmental organizations cited the agency’s “superior stewardship” and demonstrated commitment to water conservation. The agency board’s next meeting will be January 17, starting at 2 p.m., in the PCWA Business Center at 144 Ferguson Road in Auburn.
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