Ross Hendrick
Grant County PUD

DESCRIPTION

Over the term of a license, licensees must conduct routine operations and maintenance activities and safety improvements to preserve existing hydropower projects and often propose efficiency upgrades, changes to project design, or added capacity to maximize utilization of water resources. When do these changes require a license amendment and what are the compliance requirements for these amendments? There has been growing discussion on what triggers a license amendment and FERC’s interpretation of its regulations. The formal licensing amendment process can be a resource intensive, costly, and lengthy process requiring three-stage consultation, public comment and environmental analysis. Amendment requirements can delay important project maintenance and improvements that protect and optimize the value of existing hydropower assets.
 
This panel will discuss challenges licensees have encountered over the last 5 years and how that differs from years prior. Participants will gain an understanding of the regulatory framework that guides the compliance and amendment processes and learn about proposed hydropower reform intended to provide certainty in defining non-substantial work and streamline the amendment process.

This session is part of the Regulatory and Policy Track. 

This session is a 201-level session for those looking for expert-level knowledge or wanting a deeper understanding of this subject matter. 

Moderator:
Betsy McGregor, Kleinschmidt Associates

Panelists:

• Wayne Dyok, H2O EcoPower
• Chuck Sensiba, Troutman Pepper
• Ross Hendrick, Senior Manager of Environmental Affairs, Grant County PUD
• Shelly Adams, Decommissioning Project Manager for the Newhalem Creek Hydroelectric Project, Seattle City Light

Panelists Bios:

• Wayne Dyok has been involved in hydropower for many decades. He is presently supporting Current Hydro on several projects on the Ohio River and eastern US. He has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on projects world-wide, but most of his experience is in the US. He was a former Project Manager for the Susitna-Watana Project and is hopeful that it will restart soon, but probably without him.
• Ross Hendrick- As Senior Manager of Environmental Affairs at Grant PUD, Ross is responsible for ensuring compliance with FERC licensing requirements, with a focus on fish, wildlife, and water quality, shoreline management, recreation, and hazardous waste.
• Shelly Adams leads the FERC proceeding to surrender the license for Seattle City Light's Newhalem Creek Hydroelectric Project and was the environmental lead for the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project for over 10 years, where she oversaw regulatory and license compliance for O&M activities.