Kern River Boaters seek denial of utility’s request for three-month delay
Upper Kern River boaters are asking the federal government to deny Southern California Edison’s request for a three-month extension to fix problems in its application to relicense its Kernville power plant.
The Kern River Boaters filed a motion to intervene in the proceeding saying Edison didn’t explain why it needed more time to provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with design drawings, which the Boaters state Edison had “years of notice” to provide.
The design drawings were one of several items FERC requested from Edison in a Dec. 20, 2024 notice that Edison’s application for relicensing was deficient.
The utility responded in a letter Feb. 11 that states the other items would be provided by March 18, but it needed until June 30 to provide the design drawings in order to review and update, where needed, prior design documents from 1990, according to an Edison spokeswoman.
That, “…raises serious concerns given the inarguable notice that it was required in the final license application, the lack of any justification for its initial omission or need for additional time. And SCE’s history of delay, misrepresentation and procedural maneuvering,” the Kern River Boater’s motion states.
The motion goes on to detail numerous examples of what Kern River Boaters say are “bad faith” actions by Edison including, among other accusations: Failing to maintain flow data on the river, as required, for the first eight years under its current license; Repeatedly delaying fish monitoring studies; Delaying a recreation camera study; Etc.
Even if FERC grants the extension, the Edison spokesperson said, it should not affect the relicensing timeline as “other studies won’t be completed until 2026, at FERC’s direction.”
The Kern River Boaters are concerned Edison’s request for a three-month delay will compress the time available for members of the public to review the design drawings and other safety-related technical information before FERC moves forward with the relicensing process.
“Given that engineering studies are highly complex, interested parties will require time to consult experts, conduct independent review, and prepare informed comments – something that cannot happen if the timeline is compressed,” the Kern River Boaters’ motion states.
The time extension would also push back the next phase in the process, a full environmental analysis of the plant’s impacts on the Kern River, including the Kern River rainbow trout, which is a species of concern under the federal Endangered Species Act.
If granted, Edison’s request for a delay would bump the start of environmental analysis from April to early July.
The Kernville power plant’s current license is set to expire in 2026, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for the extensive analysis.
Even so, the delay likely won’t affect plant operations as FERC “…generally issues an annual license, or continued operation under the license terms, until the Commission acts on the relicense application,” according to a FERC spokeswoman.
FERC has already ruled that it will not consider decommissioning the plant, which has operated on the river just past Kernville since it was built in 1921. It produces about 40 megawatts, enough to power 15,000 homes, according to Edison.
Instead, Kern River Boaters and other river enthusiasts are hoping to alter the new license to require Edison to take less water out at Fairview dam, about 16 miles upstream from the plant. Their contention is the current license leaves too little water in the river to the detriment of fish and recreation.
Once granted, a new license will govern plant operations for the next 40 years.
