Welcome to WeAreTV.org. Our site provides a news forum for the purpose of preserving, promoting and protecting the Temescal Valley "Sense of Community." We hope to accomplish this goal by making WeAreTV.org your portal site for everything you need to know about our Valley.
My husband and I have resided in the Temescal Valley for more than 18 years. We purchased our home "brand new" and chose to live here because we could afford it and because it wasn't the city of Corona. We commuted to our Orange County jobs for 15 years. The commute wasn't all that bad because each day we returned home to our wonderful rural neighborhood. Corona never controlled its growth. Why must we suffer because the city ran out of "developable land." Shame on you Corona. Let the Temescal Valley alone.
When Daniel Sexton journeyed to Southern California in 1841, he settled down and married the niece of Chief Solano of the Cahuilla Indians. Through his positive relationship with the Indians, Chief Solano instructed his medicine man to show Sexton a sacred hole in the ground where a metallic substance was located and that the Indians used as tribal medicine.
THE CAJALCO DIGS:
Exploring an Early California Mining Camp
By T.A. FREEMAN
______________________________________ BACK IN THE DAY:
Tin Mining Once
Had Inland Base
By STEVE LECH
Riverside County Historian
______________________________________
Sexton thinking it was silver let the word out, and by 1859 a load was extracted and surprisingly the metal was identified as tin. The news of the tin discovery made national attention. Up to this point there were no tin mines in the United States and this was our nation’s first big tin discovery.
In 1860 the hole with the tin turned into the Cajalco Mine and business operations were organized as the Temescal Mining Company. With a staff of 16 miners, by 1865 the mine shipped five tons of ore to the San Francisco Vulcan Iron Works for crushing, then shipped to Wales in the United Kingdom for refining.
During 1868, San Jacinto Tin Company purchased the mine and increased the staff to 30 men working the mine. Their purchase was a success. The miners started crushing the ore on-site, and then would ship the concentrate to San Francisco in sacks to the Mosheimer Works for smelting and refining. It was at these works that in December of 1868, the first bar of American-mined tin, weighing 85 pounds, was produced.
It was technology that really put our nation’s Cajalco tin mine on the map. In the 1880s it was discovered that when adding tin to metal cans (tin cans), food could be packaged and the containers wouldn’t rust, thus making tin invaluable for the preservation of food.
This really kicked mining activities into high speed. By 1891 there were 250 men working the mine, 82 veins of ore were discovered, and according to James Van Allen of the Scientific American, he visited the mine and estimated that workers were stamping 75 tons of rock daily.
Not only was the tin mine successful, the owners of the mine also decided to mix politics with their mining. Desiring to sell their tin at higher prices, the mine petitioned congress to slap a tin export tariff on Great Britain. To influence congressional decision in their favor, they produced 500 small bars, stamped them, and sent one to each member of congress bragging, in essence, that they could supply enough tin for the entire country. Even the President of the United States Benjamin Harrison sided with the mines’ political efforts. While journeying through California via train, the president stopped at the train station in Corona, mounted a platform and took a picture next to a sign on top of a tower of tin bars that read, “The First American Tin Mine, April 23, 1891.”
The political scheming worked. Congress passed the McKinley Tariff, and the Temescal mine had the advantage. However, it turned out it was all for nothing. Just one year later in 1892, the tin veins ran dry, and the tin mines closed.
That was pretty much the end for our nation’s tin mining. Except for a short time during World War II when the tin mines reopened briefly for war purposes, the mines have sat closed and dormant to this day.
Notes and Sources from the author: 1.Photos are part of the Corona Library Heritage Room Collection 2.“The Temescal Tin Fiasco” by Donald Chaput. Copy of this publication can be found at the Corona Library W.D. Addison Heritage Room 3.Current pictures of Temescal Tin Mine are property of the author
President Benjamin Harrison in 1891 makes a train stop to admire a tower of tin from the Temescal Tin Mine. The sign read “The First American Tin Mine, April 23, 1891.”
An early map depicts the layout of the mine.
Modern-day photo on the left was shot in about the same proximity as the photo on the right taken about late 1880s or early 1890s.
Frank Miller, proprietor of the Mission Inn (then known as Hotel Glenwood) minted tokens circa 1880s from Temescal Tin Mine ore. One side read, “Tin Mine 12 miles from Riverside. The greatest orange growing district in the world.” This token sold at auction in 2017 for $250.
From the “History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties” Volume One, published by the Western Historical Association in 1922, under the section “Beekeeping in Riverside County,” and written by beekeeper L.L. Andrews.
“About 1872, there was an apiary in the Temescal Valley, a few miles east of what is now Glen Ivy and Cold Water Canyon. The bees were brought in by a negro from Mexico or a district near the Mexican border. These are the first bees of which we can find any trace.
“In the year 1874, Mr. James Boyd hauled bees for Mr. D. McLeod from near where Escondido now stands to the Temescal Valley. This apiary was later sold to Morse and Compton as was noted in the Riverside Press of December 28, 1878. Mr. Compton at this writing, January 1922, still resides in the Temescal Valley and keeps an apiary on the same location one quarter of a mile from Lee Lake. This territory is near where the San Diego and San Bernardino County line crossed the valley before Riverside County was cut off.
“There was honey on exhibition from San Diego County at the fair of the Southern California Horticulture Society held in Los Angeles in October 1878. There was also honey from the apiary of Captain Webb of Box Springs and it was pronounced as “white as paper.” In the Riverside Press of December 27, 1879, is an item which reads: “Anderson Brothers of Temescal have received returns from their honey crop of 14,400 pounds. This honey has been kept for two years for a better market and was sold in San Francisco for 15 cents per pound. The cash receipts were $2,160.”
“Temescal Valley, like other vast tracts of land throughout Southern California, was covered with wild brush of all kinds. Black sage, white sage, wild buckwheat, sumac, wild alfalfa, etc., were found in abundance, and furnishing plenty of nectar offered promising locations for the apiarist.”
After weeks of trying to locate an instructor for ham radio operator training here in Temescal Valley, I’m pleased to announce we’re “ready to roll!
James Sanders of Golden Triangle Amateur Radio Club (GTARC), will be our instructor. James is very experienced and holds the coveted Extra Class Ham radio license.
HOW TO REGISTER
The prepaid $15 fee for the FCC testing guarantees a seat in the class. Payment can be made by PayPal (richardlewis115@gmail.com)
or via cash or check dropped off to him in Trilogy. Contact Richard Lewis to make payment arrangements and to get questions answered.
Classes will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 and May 5 with a class review and FCC testing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.
I will conduct an optional Ham Radio Open House and Demo from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 14. We will demonstrate ham radio equipment and you can attend and leave at any time.
We will give you an opportunity to transmit on a ham radio. This is completely legal under third party transmission rules where you are supervised by a licensed ham.
We will demonstrate Echolink, handheld radios and a mobile base station. We will have one of our emergency go box ham radios so you can see that setup.
The open house and classes will be held in the Trilogy Sports Club Center for Well-Being Room, 24491 Trilogy Parkway. That’s the second building on the left when you drive up The Lodge roadway.
Instructor notes will be provided to students prior to class or you can bring an iPad or other device to view the notes electronically.
The good news is the training is FREE and the only charge is $15 for the FCC test. Registration is open, but we have limited class capacity.
Receipt of your $15 fee is the guarantee for your seat in the class.
Immediately after receiving confirmation of your $15 fee, we will send you the class notes so you can start studying.
It’s that monarch-butterfly-time-of-year. Are you ready
SHOW PRIDE IN YOUR MILKWEED PROJECT: Tracy Davis will stencil this monarch butterfly on your curb if you have either 12 milkweed plants or seeds, and nectar plants in your garden. For gated HOAs, she will stencil the butterfly on a plain stepping stone for display in your yard. To learn more, phone Tracy, 951-277-3253.
What’s the Milkweed to Monarch Project? Learn moreHERE
By TRACY DAVIS
Identity Committee Chairwoman
How’s your milkweed growing? The native milkweed should be sprouting by the end of February. Mine isn’t yet, but I did see sprouting milkweed at the tanning vats monument.
The monarch butterfly migration from the coast has started and peaks mid-month. With the warm winter this year, some monarchs did not migrate and those likely are the butterflies we have seen in our yards. If you have tropical milkweed, instead of cutting it back, you now can let it grow for the first generation of caterpillars.
As part of our recent cleanup along Temescal Canyon Road, we scattered hundreds of seeds of the native milkweed varieties showy milkweed, (Asclepias speciosa), and wooly pod milkweed, (Asclepias eriocarpa), adding to the wild seed bank in the soil.
We also have seeds left over to share with residents to plant in their yards. This donation was provided by longtime Temescal Valley resident and Beautification Committee member Gena Osborne.
7 Oaks Nursery is germinating the narrow leaf milkweed, (Asclepias fascicularis), for us again this year. The plants will be ready in April. Don’t miss their first sale of the season, March 17 and 18, to add more nectar plants to your yards to help attract all pollinators!
JULY 2017: The theme was “Patriotic.” Congratulations to LINDA MYERS, a resident of The Retreat, for her entry, “Just a Boy in Search of Gumballs” AUGUST 2017: The theme was “Shadowy.” Congratulations to JANNLEE WATSON, a resident of Wildrose Ranch, for her entry, “Look up in the sky! It’s a bird …” (Actually, it was a shadow created by the bird feeders) SEPTEMBER 2017: The theme was anything beginning with the letter “P.” Congratulations to AMIE KINNE, a resident of Dawson Canyon, for her entry, “Poppies.” OCTOBER 2017: The theme was “Costumes.” Congratulations to LAURA CORTEZ of California Meadows for her beautiful shot of a Tom’s Farms Civil War re-enactor.
NOVEMBER 2017:The theme was “Cloudy.” Congratulations to KRISSY BRANTSMA of Montecito Ranch for her shot titled “Cloud-Kissed.” It almost looks like a painting!
DECEMBER 2017: The theme was “Local Lights.” Congratulations to LAURA GUTIERREZ of California Meadows for her delightful Christmas tree shot using the bodeh technique on the lights. JANUARY 2018: The theme was “Rusty, Rustic or Rural.” Congratulations to MATTHEW HOAG of Horsethief Canyon Ranch for his capture of this old railroad trestle near Lee Lake. FEBRUARY 2018: The theme was “Fun in Temescal Valley.” Congratulations to TRIXIE ANDERSON of Wildrose Ranch for her photo titled “Trail Huggers.” Trixie is a member of the county’s Trails Committee. MARCH 2018: The theme was “Temescal Valley Kids.” Congratulations to KRISSY BRANTSMA of Montecito Ranch for the creative interpretation of her “TV Kids!”
THE NEW OLIVE BRANCH CHURCH AND SCHOOL: Plans call for a 58-foot-tall, 31,500-square-foot worship center. All other buildings will be two-stories.
(Published Dec. 18, 2017)
The county has given approval to the Olive Branch Community Church to build a worship center and K-8 school on the 14.53 acres it owns at the northwest corner of Temescal Canyon Road and Trilogy Parkway. The project will be built in three phases, but a construction date is yet-to-be determined.
Public hearing set for Olive Branch Church
(Published Dec. 9, 2017)
Because of a clerical error, a county Planning Department Director’s Hearing has been continued for the Olive Branch Community Church. The public hearing will be held Monday, Dec. 18 at the county Administrative Center, 4080 Lemon St., Riverside. The 1:30 p.m. hearing will be in Conference Room 2A on the first floor.
The church, currently located in El Cerrito, owns the 14.53 acres at the northwest corner of Temescal Canyon Road and Trilogy Parkway, and plans to expand with a worship center and K-8 school to be built in three phases.
The first phase, with an anticipated 2020 completion date, would be the construction of a 43,972-square-foot building, comprised of a 14,500-square-foot multi-purpose worship center, and 29,472-square-feet of Sunday School classrooms and church office space, plus a 140-student private school and 80-student preschool.
The second phase would expand the private school and preschool with an expected 2023 completion, and the final phase, due to be completed in 2028, would expand the worship center, adding a multipurpose fellowship hall. There would be 605 parking spaces.
At buildout the worship center would seat 1,250 people and the multi-purpose fellowship hall would seat 800. The anticipated enrollment for the preschool is 96 children and 216 students for the school.
The completion dates for each of the three phases are tentative and will be predicated by the church’s fundraising campaigns.
The hearing was continued from Nov. 27 because an erroneous time was listed in the public notice and the notice was not mailed to all neighboring property owners within the 600-foot radius of the project. The county proceeded with two hearings on Nov. 27 – at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Pastor Greg Harris at the 1:30 p.m. hearing addressed a couple of community concerns that were called to his attention when the church presented the project at the April Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting.
He said all the oak trees on the property would remain except one that was diseased and would be replaced. He also noted that a Trilogy entrance monument would be located on church property at Trilogy Parkway.
Primary entrance to the church and school would be from Trilogy Parkway. The roadway within the complex primarily runs along the western border, with parking on the north and south boundaries. A traffic signal eventually will be installed at Squaw Mountain Road.
Drainage problems in the area will be handled by three basins to be built the length of the property along Temescal Canyon Road.
Comments either favoring Plot Plan 25776 or opposing it can be made at the public hearing or by email sent to county planner Dionne Harris – dharris@rivco.org.
CERTIFIED!: Several Temescal Valley residents received their Community Emergency Response Team certification at an October CERT class.
The county Emergency Management Department (EMD), has devoted resources for the formation of a Disaster Response Team (DRT), for Temescal Valley.
Why? We all chose to live here, a narrow valley with no east-west exits and only one north-south roadway in addition to the I-15. We’re surrounded by lush vegetation – easy fuel for wildfires, and we sit on top of the Elsinore Fault Zone, capable of a 7.5 earthquake. The epicenter of its largest recorded tremblor, a magnitude 6.0 in 1910, was in Temescal Valley.
If disaster strikes, we must be able to take care of ourselves and our families, and be prepared to assist our neighbors, as well. That’s what Disaster Response Team training teaches. The team will meet quarterly for training, and team members also are on-call if needed by county EMD.
There are prerequisites before volunteers can be sworn-in as a Disaster Service Worker, but the time invested in this free program will be well worth it when disaster strikes.
Applicants must have Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), training. CERT classes are a commitment of 20 hours over three days — usually Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday.
Potential team members must also fill out an application and take four FEMA online courses. The application cannot be submitted until the FEMA courses are completed, but can be submitted prior to CERT certification. Applicants also must have a no-cost background check.
Temescal Valley DRT now has over 20 potential members who are working toward the prerequisites. The majority are residents of Horsethief Canyon Ranch and Wildrose Ranch, but Sycamore Creek, The Retreat and Dawson Canyon also are represented. The goal is to have team members from every community in Temescal Valley.
CONDO PROJECT TRACT MAP: Among concerns of planning commissioners were streets ending in cul-de-sacs and the number of homes built around each motor court. Butterfield Estates is west of the project, the freeway to the east and Temescal Canyon Road to the south.
Condo density opposed by Jeffries is OK’d
(Published June 15, 2018)
The county’s Board of Supervisors at the June 5 meeting approved the zone change and tract map that allows the controversial Temescal Village 80-unit condominium project to be constructed on Temescal Canyon Road just north of Campbell Ranch Road.
The 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kevin Jeffries dissenting, ends seven months of debate and hearing continuances before the county Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.
The board in April continued the hearing until June to allow the developer time to revise the tract map which Jeffries said was too dense for the location. Developer representative Mike Naggar was told the revision should address Jeffries’ density concerns, including that 36 of the condo garages did not have driveways.
Other supervisors at the April meeting found nothing wrong with the plan as presented and disagreed with Jeffries, commenting in favor of the project. Jeffries told them that he or his staff had met with the developer nine times – each time expressing their concerns with the development and receiving no response to their concerns from Naggar. It wasn’t until he reminded his colleagues that the project was in his district, did they agree to the request for a revision and the continuance.
The project when first presented to the planners in November called for 83 condos but eventually was whittled to 80 units. Two homes, to be built closest to the freeway, were removed at the request of Commissioner Aaron Hake who voiced concerns about emissions data cited in cancer infant mortality rates. Commissioners told Naggar that the two lots should be used for recreation area instead.
While Naggar’s revised plan presented to the board earlier this month added additional driveways for most of the condos, he also had put back in two of the condos removed by the Planning Commission, placing them where the additional recreation area had been designated.
Jeffries told the board he had never experienced a developer who refused to negotiate in good faith and Naggar left him no alternative but to deny the project. Seconded by Supervisor Manuel Perez, Jeffries motion was defeated on a 3-2 vote.
Following discussion led by Supervisor John Tavaglione, who noted the cost to date incurred by the project’s investors, and that “This is a good project,” a motion was made, and the development was approved on a 4-1 vote.
Basically, 80 homes were approved – not 82; 72 of the 80 garages will have driveways; the recreation area Naggar wanted to remove was added back, and 13 parking spaces on the east side of the main entrance street were removed. The developer also will be required to construct a crosswalk and 5-foot wide sidewalk on the west side of Campbell Ranch Road to connect with the existing sidewalk, and to pay for any necessary traffic signal modifications.
Jeffries after the meeting posted on the We Are Temescal Valley Facebook page: “Thank you for coming out today to witness that! I don’t consider myself to be a NIMBY no-growther or an anything goes pro-growther, and when it comes down to it, my primary goal is to support new or expanded local businesses with good paying jobs, and to try to keep development compatible with its neighbors and mitigate its impacts.
“So today when my fellow Board members decided to override my motion to deny an 80 unit condo project (largely because the density was too high for the location) in my district, it was both humbling and frustrating. It appeared that the politically connected developer team had masterfully lined up the support needed to get what they wanted, and it was sad to watch my fellow Board members openly side with the developer’s desires over my concerns for the community.”
Residents had attended the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors hearings to voice concerns that the project was too dense for the acreage, the roads too narrow for fire-fighting equipment and that there is only one road for access to and from the development. The safety of children walking to and from school was questioned, as well as the proximity to adjacent mines and the I-15, and the creation of more traffic on area streets.
No decision on condos; hearing continued
(Published May 1, 2018)
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors at its April 24 meeting made no decision on a proposed 80-unit condo project and instead voted to continue the hearing to the Tuesday, June 5 meeting.
The owner of the 14.81-acre property, located on Temescal Canyon Road just north of Campbell Ranch Road, is seeking a zone change from commercial office to medium-density residential.
Also being sought is approval for the project’s tract map that would place 80 condominiums on nine acres of usable property by utilizing a motor court layout with eight units on each of the narrow motor court streets.
While all supervisors agreed that a residential use for the property was better than the current commercial office zoning, 1st District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries voiced concern about the density of the project.
Jeffries told Mike Naggar, the developer’s representative, that he counted 36 condos without driveways and because fire regulations prevented parking on the motor courts, the only place a resident could park a vehicle was in the garage. Jeffries said this would be an inconvenience to the owners of those 36 condos.
He said that after several meetings with Naggar, he had never received a response to his concerns about the lack of driveways. He asked Naggar to reduce the number of condos to 55.
Naggar said the requested reduction would essentially “kill” the project. Other supervisors attempted to defend Naggar’s position and appeared to be ready to approve the development until Jeffries reminded them that the project was in his district.
Jeffries asked for the continuance to June 5 to give Naggar time to show how he will provide additional parking for the 36 units without driveways. The Board agreed to the continuance.
Jeffries wrote in his May newsletter, “The April 24th meeting contained an agenda item regarding a relatively small but controversial new condominium development proposal along I-15. In the little over five years I’ve served on the Board, this was one of those tense meetings that you hope never to repeat, as we discussed not just the merits of the project, but the rights of a Supervisor to set standards for development within their own district.”
Many Temescal Valley residents have opposed the project, emailing comments prior to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor hearings, as well as attending the meetings and speaking publicly against the development.
Residents’ concerns have been that all commercial zoning must be preserved in Temescal Valley, that the project was too dense for the acreage and the roads too narrow for fire-fighting equipment to maneuver. Additionally, there is only one road for access to and from the project. The safety of children walking to and from school along Temescal Canyon and Campbell Ranch roads has been questioned, as well as the proximity of the project to adjacent mines and the I-15 freeway, and more early-morning school traffic on Temescal Canyon Road.
Condo hearing is April 24
(Published April 17, 2018)
A Board of Supervisors public hearing will be held 9 a.m., Tuesday, April 24 at the county Administrative Center for the 80 condominiums proposed at Temescal Canyon and Campbell Ranch roads.
The We Are Temescal Valley Development Committee asks that comments opposing the project immediately be sent to county planner Russell Brady: rbrady@rivco.org. Note “Temescal Valley condo project” in the subject line. Public comments also can be made at the hearing.
Planners to recommend OK of condo project
(Published Feb. 14, 2018) The Riverside County Planning Commission at the Feb. 7 meeting voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors the approval of a zone change from commercial office to residential for property located at Temescal Canyon and Campbell Ranch roads.
While two commissioners had concerns with some elements of the 83-condominium project’s design, all commissioners thought a residential use was better than commercial office.
The hearing for the project and the final vote had been continued from the Nov. 20 meeting when commissioners asked developer consultant Michael Naggar to submit a redesign of the project’s tract map.
Concerns voiced at that time included all streets ending in cul-de-sacs, and no way to navigate through the community without dead-ending at a cul-de-sac.
A commissioner said he felt eight homes per motor court was excessive and if residents didn’t park vehicles in their garages, firefighters would have difficulty gaining access because of vehicles parked curbside on the motor courts.
The same commissioner asked for a group of homes built closest to the freeway to be relocated because of emissions data cited in cancer infant mortality rates.
Naggar agreed to their suggestion for a tract map redesign and a request that he again contact the Butterfield Estates HOA board about its concerns. He said continuing the meeting would be sufficient time for him to comply with their requests.
At the Feb. 7 meeting, Naggar told commissioners that the proposed Temescal Village Homeowners Association’s covenants, conditions and restrictions will include verbiage stating that vehicles must be parked in residents’ garages and not on the motor courts. Cul-de-sacs will be designated fire lanes with no parking allowed. Additionally, the project’s streets will be widened by four feet to meet county fire requirements, and a left-turn acceleration lane from the project to Temescal Canyon Road will be constructed. Naggar told commissioners he also again met with the Butterfield HOA and homeowners.
The changes did not offset earlier concerns of commissioners Carl Shaffer and Aaron Hake about motor court density and the cancer mortality rates. Shaffer noted that beyond the changes made, Naggar had not submitted a project redesign.
Naggar countered that a redesign would essentially “kill” the project, forcing the developer, after 3.5 years, to start over. He said a redesign would take months and months to accomplish and cost “tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars” to do.
Facing the possibility of another continuance, Naggar suggested allowing him and his engineering team to be given time during the meeting to make changes to the tract map to address the motor courts and cancer rates.
Following a recess, Naggar returned and proposed eliminating two homes closest to the freeway. He also eliminated one residence in a nine-home motor court, and moved a residence in another nine-home motor court to add “breathing space.” Eliminating three homes brings the number to be constructed to 80. Ten additional homes were rotated so they faced the street instead of the eight-home motor court on which they were located.
With these changes, and conditions that all homes contain air filters and that a children’s play area be designated where the two homes were eliminated, commissioners unanimously voted to recommend approval of the zone change and tract map.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation now advances to the Board of Supervisors. A hearing will be scheduled and the public will have the opportunity to comment on the project. The date of that board meeting has not yet been announced.
Decision on condo project continued again
(Published Dec. 21, 2017) The Planning Commission’s decision to recommend approval of or deny a developer’s request for a zone change to build 83 condominiums was continued from Dec. 20 to the Wednesday, Feb. 7 meeting. The continuance was requested by the developer.
The project, to be built on 14.81 acres on Temescal Canyon Road just north of Campbell Ranch Road, has been opposed by residents who believe the current commercial office zoning would better serve the community.
Decision on condo project continued
(Published Nov. 7, 2017) County planning commissioners at their Nov. 1 meeting made no decision on a proposed condominium project, but instead set a new meeting date to give additional time to the developer’s consultant to address concerns they have with the project.
Michael Naggar, a consultant representing the property owner, agreed to the meeting’s continuance to Wednesday, Dec. 20 when he will submit redesigned plans for the 83-condominium community his client wants to build on Temescal Canyon Road just north of Campbell Ranch Road.
The 14.81-acre property, of which only nine acres are usable for the project, currently is zoned for commercial office and the property owner is requesting a zone change to medium-density residential. The property was originally zoned residential, but in 2011 the same owner sought a zone change to commercial office which was granted by county.
About two dozen concerned citizens attended the three-hour public hearing — 11 speaking against the project and seven speaking in favor. A primary objection raised was the earlymorning traffic congestion on Temescal Canyon Road and that the estimated 838 daily vehicle trips generated by the project would add to the gridlock.
A traffic engineer representing the project said that future county improvements scheduled for Temescal Canyon Road would mitigate the current traffic congestion. The completion of the road’s first widening project, planned on the east side of the freeway north of Dawson Canyon Road, is expected in Fall 2019.
Other concerns included public safety and the possible necessity of an evacuation in case of a fire or other natural disaster. Plans call for one road as an entrance into the project and the same road serving as an exit from the project.
Other speakers said that the best use of the property was the current commercial office zoning because Temescal Valley has enough homes, but residents lack services such as medical and dental offices, child care, and assisted senior care.
HOA OPPOSES PROJECT
The project was opposed in a letter submitted to the Planning Commission and signed by all board members of the Butterfield Estates Homeowner’s Association, the closest neighborhood to the proposed project. The primary concern was the traffic congestion and current mountain views to the east that would be obstructed by the two-story condos.
Paula Hook, president of the Butterfield Estates HOA, also questioned agreements that were being made with each of the 14 Butterfield property owners whose homes back up to the condo property. She questioned whether the agreements would require adjustments to the homeowners’ back yards that would require HOA approval and, if so, that the developer work with the HOA board and not each homeowner.
The majority of those speaking in favor of the project were Butterfield residents involved in the agreements.
After the public comment portion of the hearing was closed, Naggar refuted some of the comments made by speakers opposing the project.
He said the commercial office use of the property was not a viable alternative for the owner as that market had declined during the recession and has not recovered. He also said there were too few “rooftops” in Temescal Valley to support services offered by commercial office tenants.
He questioned why the Butterfield HOA would have any involvement in improvements made to the back yards of the 14 residents closest to the project. He said what he was offering these residents in each of the agreements was a “good neighbor” gesture on behalf of his client.
PLANNERS EXPRESS CONCERNS
Commissioners, reviewing the project tract map, had concerns about the streets ending in cul-de-sacs and no way to navigate through the community without dead-ending at a cul-de-sac. Another concern was the number of homes built on each of the narrow motor courts.
A commissioner said he felt eight homes per motor court was excessive and if residents didn’t park vehicles in their garages, firefighters would have difficulty gaining access because of vehicles parked curbside on the motor courts.
The same commissioner asked for a group of homes built closest to the freeway to be relocated because of emissions data cited in cancer infant mortality rates.
Another commissioner asked for a wider buffer between the condos and the 14 Butterfield homes that backed up to the project.
Naggar agreed to their suggestion for a tract map redesign and a request that he again contact the Butterfield HOA board about its concerns. He said continuing the meeting until Dec. 20 would be sufficient time for him to comply with their requests.
CONTENTIOUS LINES: The route ofthe 500-kV transmission lines, shown here in purple, would run northwest in the mountains above Lake Elsinore and then head north, crossing Temescal Valley and the I-15 to Lee Lake and connect to SCE’s Valley-Serrano lines
(Published Aug. 8, 2022)
NEVADA HYDRO SAYS IT’S REROUTING LEAPS LINES
Nevada Hydro, responding to public comments and intervention requests recently submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has announced changes are being made to its controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage project.
In correspondence dated July 1, Nevada Hydro told FERC that the routes and configurations of the transmission lines would be changing based on the results of a study by GridBright Inc.
Nevada Hydro said it will propose new primary transmission lines for the project that “will avoid the Cleveland National Forest and the Temescal Valley by interconnecting via urban routes to existing high voltage transmission lines.”
Nevada Hydro indicated that moving the current northern and southern routes easterly to urban routings also will “reroute the lines to where underground installation is more practical.”
Additionally, to facilitate the undergrounding, Nevada Hydro said it will reduce the capacity of both lines from 500-kV to 230-kV.
The public skepticism following the announcement prompted an email to Nevada Hydro from the We Are Temescal Valley citizen group asking the location of the alternative routes and when that information would be released to the public.
An email response was received from Paul Anderson, LEAPS Director of Sustainability.
“The GridBright Study involved a high-level look at reconfiguring the project, including transmission line sizing and routing. They investigated general route options, capital costs and a number of other items related to commercial and reliability matters,” Anderson wrote.
He continued, “Detailed routing will be based on consultation with the city of Lake Elsinore, other potentially affected stakeholders and input from our experts and construction contractors.”
He said the routing details would be provided in the company’s license application when it refiles, but added, “the timing will be dependent on our consultation with these stakeholders as well as our work with the Forest Service and the Pechanga Band.”
In a second email, Anderson elaborated on the plans to underground the lines.
“Our reason for moving away from 500-kV transmission to a 230-kV line was to make underground installation more practical. There is definitely a push to place transmission lines underground, especially in California. We think associated technologies will improve and therefore costs will further reduce,” he related.
He said he hopes FERC will issue the preliminary permit soon, but Nevada Hydro has no idea when that will happen.
In the meantime, FERC received communication July 15 from the Pechanga Band of Indians seeking to amend its motion to intervene and asked FERC to dismiss Nevada Hydro’s application for a preliminary permit. https://www.wearetv.org/blog/docs/pechangamotion.pdf
With the 60-day comment period now over, it is expected the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will soon decide on whether to issue a preliminary permit to the Nevada Hydro Company Inc. to proceed with its controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage project.
When FERC dismissed the license application and denied a rehearing request, it appeared LEAPS was dead. But Nevada Hydro then filed an application for a preliminary permit for LEAPS under a new docket number — P-15261-000.
FERC accepted the application in April and set the period for public comments and motions to intervene. Having intervention status gives citizens, organizations, and public agencies the ability to legally challenge FERC’s final decision on the project. By the June 6 deadline, FERC received 11 intervention motions and about 70 comments – all opposing the project.
(Published May 5, 2022)
JUNE 6 DEADLINE TO FILE COMMENTS, INTERVENTION
FERC issues preliminary permit to Nevada Hydro
When the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in December dismissed a license application filed by Nevada Hydro Company Inc., and in February denied a rehearing request by the hydropower company, it appeared the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project was dead.
But on Feb. 8, the day after the rehearing request was denied, Nevada Hydro filed an application for a preliminary permit for the LEAPS project under new docket number P-15261-000.
FERC announced April 8 the permit application was accepted and set a 60-day period for the public to submit comments and for interested parties/agencies to solicit motions to intervene. The deadline for comments and motions is June 6. Having intervention status gives citizens, organizations, and public agencies the ability to challenge in court FERC’s final decision on the project.
FERC had dismissed the license application based on allegations made by the U.S. Forest Service that Nevada Hydro wasn’t providing the necessary information to consider issuing a Special Use Authorization for the project, which was delaying the Environmental Impact Statement.
In its filing for the preliminary permit, Nevada Hydro reasoned because FERC had dismissed its application for a license without prejudice, the company could refile after it provided the Forest Service with the requested information.
Nevada Hydro told FERC in February that it was working with the Forest Service on obtaining the information and once it had satisfied the agency’s needs, would “promptly” refile the license application.
Nevada Hydro said it expected to complete the process within the next few months and once the license application is refiled, it would withdraw its application for a preliminary permit. Nevada Hydro said it had filed the preliminary permit application to keep others from filing applications for the LEAPS site.
In announcing the acceptance of the preliminary permit application, FERC noted, “The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners’ express permission.”
Temescal Valley residents opposing LEAPS are concerned about the 500-kV transmission lines. The lines would run northwest from a starting point above Lake Elsinore in the Santa Ana Mountains then head north, running between Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden. The lines would cross De Palma Road and the I-15 just south of the Vons shopping center to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains above Lee Lake.
Since the Holy Fire, many residents worry about wildfires started by downed transmission lines and how they impede the ability of firefighters to use planes and helicopters to make chemical and water drops. Additionally, the LEAPS lines would be next to Lee Lake that was used as a water source for helicopters during the Holy Fire.
While individuals are submitting comments to FERC, as of this writing, none have been Temescal Valley residents. We Are Temescal Valley and Sycamore Creek Community Association have filed for intervention status and Glen Eden Corporation is expected to file.
An email will be sent to the submitted email address and follow the provided link
Once in the provided eComment page, enter Docket number P-15261 and select “Search”
Select the small blue cross to tag your comment to the Docket
It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste in the field provided. Quick comments are limited to 6,000 characters. You must includeyour name and contact information at the end of your comments
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
DEADLINE IS JUNE 6
We Are Temescal Valley files intervention notice in LEAPS proceedings
The We Are Temescal Valley citizens’ group filed this Notice to Intervene with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 2. It states the group’s opposition to the proposed hydroelectric LEAPS project in Lake Elsinore.
I. STATEMENT OF INTEREST AND GROUNDS FOR MOTION TO INTERVENE Temescal Valley is the unincorporated Riverside County area located between the cities of Corona and Lake Elsinore to the north and south, and is a narrow valley bordered by the Santa Mountains on the west and the Temescal Mountains on the east. More than 26,000 people reside in the 19.3-square mile community that has 21 identifiable and distinct neighborhoods. We Are Temescal Valley is a grass-roots citizens’ organization, founded in 2011 to provide information to residents regarding issues of public safety, development, education, business, and other items of public interest. The group maintains a website, publishes a monthly newsletter, and has a social media page with more than 10,000 members. Our concerns align with those of the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, including the LEAPS project’s potential negative impact to public safety, fire risk, heritage resources, endangered species, and land use objectives and economic development.
II. COMMENTS
A. The project will increase the risk to public safety. As outlined in the Riverside County General Plan / Temescal Canyon Area Plan, the majority of Temescal Valley is within a high-risk Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Its proximity to the Cleveland National Forest, with housing developments constructed in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, gives rise to the increased fire risk. The August 2018 Holy fire, that destroyed 23,025 acres of wildlands, caused the evacuation of several thousand Temescal Valley residents and burned in the area where the LEAPS project would place the northern 500-kV transmission lines and towers between the communities of Glen Eden and Sycamore Creek. The Holy fire utilized aerial firefighting support of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to prevent the blaze from consuming area homes and businesses. The transmission lines and towers would have limited such efforts. Additionally, helicopters used the community’s Lee Lake as a water source. The proposed path of the LEAPS transmission lines across Temescal Valley will place towers adjacent to Lee Lake, limiting aerial access to the lake’s water. Floods and debris flows followed the Holy fire, causing additional evacuations. Several mountain canyons carry natural water runoff into Temescal Valley neighborhoods, and with the heavy rainfall season that followed the fire, the drainage infrastructure was unable to channel the water flow. The Glen Eden neighborhood, situated at the base of Indian Canyon, sustained severe damage. The proposed path of the transmission lines will necessitate disturbance to the topography and natural plant life growing in the Indian Canyon area, causing further risk of increased flooding and debris flows to Glen Eden and adjacent neighborhoods. Temescal Valley sits on the Elsinore Fault which seismologists say can produce a 7.2–7.5 magnitude earthquake. The location of the 1910 Elsinore 6.0 quake is estimated to be slightly south of the intersection of Temescal Canyon Road and Indian Truck Trail which places it in the path of the proposed transmission lines and towers adjacent to Lee Lake. Also, the project’s 500-kV lines would span the I-15 freeway, one of only two north/south routes in Temescal Valley. If an earthquake downed the lines, a disaster could occur because Temescal Valley evacuation routes are a concern. A study, released in August 2019, by San Francisco-based traffic analytics company StreetLight Data, identified 100 communities across the country with populations under 40,000 that have the most limited means of escaping disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes. It found that 14 of those communities were in California. Only one was in Riverside County – it was Temescal Valley. A recent update to the study looked at 30,000 towns across the U.S., narrowed the number down to 675 based on the number of exits in each community, and Temescal Valley placed 76th nationally in lacking sufficient evacuation routes.
B. The project will damage heritage, cultural and environmental resources. The Temescal Valley area for centuries was populated by Luiseño and Juaneño Native American tribes, drawn to the area by the natural hot springs that flow here. There are numerous historical artifacts, evidence of ancient villages and human remains that have been found throughout Temescal Valley, including the area surrounding Lee Lake. The Historic Properties Management Plan must address these issues. While Lake Elsinore appears to be the primary concern of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, we do not want the importance of the Lee Lake area overlooked. Grading for transmission tower pads and construction of a proposed switchyard adjacent to the lake could cause the loss of invaluable and precious resources. Additionally, much of the path of the LEAPS transmission lines and towers through Temescal Valley falls within the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority’s Multiple Habitat Species Conservation Plan. The plan protects 146 native species of plants, birds, and animals, and preserves a half-million acres of their habitats.
Construction activities on tower pads and the Lee Lake Switchyard will lead to temporary and permanent loss of native vegetation and could threaten protected animal and bird species.
C. The project will hinder the economic development of Temescal Valley. As an unincorporated Riverside County area, it is the desire of Temescal Valley community leaders to become a self-governing incorporated city. To do so, we must increase the community’s assessed valuation and sales-tax base to provide sufficient revenues to support incorporation. The proposed route of the transmission lines and towers, and the location of the Lee Lake Switchyard are planned in an area recently zoned by the county for two commercial/retail complexes and a 258-unit apartment complex to facilitate the state’s mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment for affordable housing. The approval of the LEAPS project would jeopardize these developments.
D. The project must have an Environmental Impact Statement with full scoping. Since the creation of an outdated EIS for this project 15 years ago, much proposed development has been approved in the area directly in the path of the transmission lines and where the Lee Lake Switchyard is to be constructed. These include 196 acres of residential development and 73 acres of commercial/retail development. A new EIS was being created for LEAPS P-14227-003 at the time the project was dismissed by FERC. It is imperative that work progresses on the document and that the process allows full public scoping. The owners of that acreage have a right to be heard.
(Published February 2022)
LEAPS IS DOWN, BUT DON’T COUNT IT OUT FERC dismisses application for license; preliminary permit now sought by Nevada Hydro
When this website last reported on The Nevada Hydro Company’s Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project, federal agencies were beginning work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Many new developments have occurred since then.
NOV. 15: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was notified by the U.S. Forest Service and told the agency could go no further in its talks with Nevada Hydro to complete the studies FERC requested in April 2021.
This was after FERC several times had ordered both parties to resolve their differences and move on with the studies needed for the EIS.
According to the Forest Service, Nevada Hydro wanted a license decision on its LEAPS project prior to continuing with the studies and the environmental process. The Forest Service said it was unable to consider issuing a Special Use Authorization to Nevada Hydro without the studies being completed.
DEC. 8: FERC received communication from the State Water Resources Control Board accusing Nevada Hydro of using delay tactics to undermine the board’s compliance with legal and environmental requirements for the LEAPS project.
DEC. 9: FERC sent communication to Nevada Hydro stating its license application for LEAPS had been dismissed “without prejudice” based on the Forest Service’s allegation the company wasn’t providing the necessary information to consider issuing a Special Use Authorization for the project. Nevada Hydro was told it had 30 days to request a rehearing.
DEC. 10: Nevada Hydro quickly responded submitting an application for a preliminary permit.
DEC. 13: FERC responded, denying the application because, “a preliminary permit conflicts with the license application for the same project.”
JAN. 7: Nevada Hydro asked FERC to grant a rehearing on the dismissal and reinstate the license application or approve a temporary stay on the dismissal until July 1 to give the company time to complete the Forest Service studies.
Nevada Hydro related if its license application wasn’t dismissed without advance warning, the company would have let the Commission know of its change of circumstances – it was in receivership.
The plaintiff in the receivership is Daytona Power Corp., described as a “newly-formed” renewable energy company in Carson City, Nev., and owned by Grafton Asset Management.
It was Grafton, an energy sector investment management company based in Canada, that Nevada Hydro, in 2017, told FERC would assist with the funding for LEAPS.
Nevada Hydro said it risked irreparable harm if FERC denied a rehearing and did not stay dismissal of the license application. The company explained it did not own the property upon which LEAPS would be built and its most “substantial asset” to serve as collateral for investors was the license application.
Nevada Hydro told FERC the only way to protect its more than $30 million investment in the project was to keep the license application in place for a reasonable length of time while it worked to satisfy the Forest Service’s study needs. Nevada Hydro emphasized that the company’s new management was committed to addressing what the Forest Service needed to advance the license application.
With the Dec. 9 dismissal, Nevada Hydro was told it could plead its case if it thought an error was made in the final decision, but the alleged error must be stated in the request for the rehearing.
Nevada Hydro acknowledged no error had been made to warrant a rehearing but, instead, outlined the financial impact of the court-ordered receivership and the loss of its most important asset – the license application.
JAN. 24: The city of Lake Elsinore and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians both filed briefs with FERC itemizing reasons why the rehearing request should be denied. The city provided court documents from the receivership with representatives from both old and new management accusing each other of mismanagement of Nevada Hydro.
FEB. 7: FERC sent Nevada Hydro notification that the request for a rehearing had been denied.
FEB. 8: Nevada Hydro filed an application for a preliminary permit for the LEAPS project under docket number P-15261-000. In its explanation to FERC, Nevada Hydro reasoned because its application for a license was dismissed without prejudice, the company could refile after it provided the Forest Service with the requested information.
Nevada Hydro told FERC it was now working with the Forest Service on obtaining the information and once it had satisfied the agency’s needs, would “promptly” refile the license application. Nevada Hydro said it expected to complete the process within the next few months and once the license application is refiled, it would withdraw its application for a preliminary permit.
Nevada Hydro said it was filing the preliminary permit application now to keep others from filing permit applications for the LEAPS site.
FEB. 7: But Blue Water Renewable Development LLC, a day earlier, had filed an application for a preliminary permit for the Blue Water Energy Storage Project to be built at Lake Elsinore.
In the filing, Blue Water described a project similar to LEAPS with a few differences. There was a smaller footprint for U.S. Forest Service land use and the route of the 500-kV transmission lines was changed.
The lines would not cross Temescal Valley between Glen Eden and Sycamore Creek, but would descend from the Santa Ana Mountains, run south of Horsethief Canyon Ranch, and cross the I-15 to connect to SCE’s Valley-Serrano lines at the proposed Alberhill substation. The substation, located in Temescal Valley on Concordia Ranch Road, has yet to receive approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
FEB. 11: Just as quickly as Blue Water had filed the application, it withdrew its request. “Upon consideration of additional facts and circumstances, Blue Water has decided to withdraw its Application,” was the only reason given.
It’s unknown the next steps FERC will take in processing Nevada Hydro’s application for a preliminary permit.
(Published August 2020)
EIS SCOPING: IT’S TIME TO SEND COMMENTS TO FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is seeking scoping comments from the public as it begins to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project.
Nevada Hydro Company Inc. wants to build the project in the Cleveland National Forest with 32 miles of 500kV transmission lines strung on 150- to 200-foot steel towers.
The plan calls for water from Lake Elsinore to be pumped at night into a to-be-constructed reservoir in the Santa Ana Mountains above the lake and then returned by gravity to generate electricity through turbines.
One set of transmission lines – 13 miles in length, would run northwest across the Santa Ana Mountains then head north, crossing Temescal Valley and the I-15 to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains. A switchyard will be constructed at Lee Lake. Glen Eden, Sycamore Creek and Terramor would be the closest communities to the lines.
The other set of lines would head southwest from the pumped storage facility and run 19 miles to connect with San Diego Gas & Electric lines.
Public comments submitted should address points outlined in the Scoping Document or environmental issues not included in the document.
FERC strongly encourages electronic filing. The public can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. FERC prefers that comments be kept short and to the point. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-14227-003. You must include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. Longer comments also can be submitted online, but registration is required at: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
Deadline for comments is Monday, Aug. 17
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY? HERE’S HELP
The WeAreTV Development Committee with the Sycamore Creek Community Association and Glen Eden Corporation are submitting scoping comments to FERC. If you want to but don’t know what to say, here are the impacts the LEAPS project will have on Temescal Valley. Use whatever you feel is most important.
PUBLIC SAFETY: The transmission lines through Temescal Valley would traverse a “very high” wildfire susceptibility area, a 100-year flood and dam inundation zone, and a seismic activity area associated with the Elsinore Fault Zone. Weather-wise, the project lies in the Elsinore Convergence Zone noted for extreme weather patterns including tornados. The lines would cross both the I-15 freeway and Temescal Canyon Road, the only north-south evacuation routes for Temescal Valley in case of a major disaster. There are no east-west roadways into or out of the area. Downed lines across the freeway and/or Temescal Canyon Road would hinder residential evacuation efforts.
INHIBIT FIRE-FIGHTING EFFORTS: Temescal Valley is prone to wildfires. Aircraft are utilized to fight blazes, most notably the August 2018 Holy Fire, when thousands of residents were evacuated. The lines and towers would impede aerial firefighters in accessing an inferno. The transmission lines, towers and switchyard adjacent to Lee Lake would inhibit the aircraft’s ability to draw water from the lake.
INHIBIT AREA GROWTH: Riverside County has approved land use and zoning changes to property adjacent to and under the planned transmission lines, including 196 acres of residential development and 73 acres of commercial/retail development. This much-needed development is at risk of being lost, thus adversely affecting the area economy and Temescal Valley’s ability to become an incorporated city.
CONSERVATION: The lines would traverse land area within the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA), jurisdiction. Construction of the towers and associated facilities would cause harm to some of the 146 species of endangered and threatened animals, birds, insects and plants protected by the RCA’s Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.
CULTURAL HERITAGE: The Temescal Valley area for centuries was populated by Luiseño and Juaneño Native American tribes, drawn to the area by the natural hot springs that flow here. There are numerous historical artifacts throughout the area. Grading for tower pads and construction of a proposed switchyard adjacent to Lee Lake could cause the loss of invaluable and precious antiquities. We strongly urge that Temescal Valley and the Lee Lake area be included in the Historic Properties Management Plan.
VISTAS: The transmission towers, lines and the construction of related facilities would impact the view from the I-15 freeway, which has been designated a State Eligible Scenic Highway.
EDISON PROJECT: Southern California Edison has begun construction on the Valley-IvyGlen 115kV subtransmission lines with completion expected mid-2022. These lines will cross the I-15 freeway almost exactly where the Nevada Hydro transmission towers and lines are proposed.
(Published November 2019)
FERC tells Nevada Hydro to give Forest Service info
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), was expected to soon issue a Notice of Intent (NOI), to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), for Nevada Hydro Company’s Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage (LEAPS), project.
The NOI usually includes dates of scoping meetings where details of the project are presented and the public can ask questions and offer comments, but it now appears the NOI will be delayed.
The U.S. Forest Service in October let FERC know it did not have sufficient information from Nevada Hydro to work jointly with other Federal agencies in compiling its environmental data.
FERC, in a Nov. 22 communication, informed Nevada Hydro that withholding the needed information could result in the Forest Service having to develop a supplemental EIS at a later date, which would be inconsistent with the intent to have a single environmental document that supports each agency’s permitting decision.
FERC told Nevada Hydro before it issues the NOI, “Nevada Hydro must consult with the Forest Service to develop a plan and schedule for providing the requested information and file monthly progress reports with the Commission on the status of the consultation and development of the additional information.” Read the document here: https://www.wearetv.org/blog/docs/noi.pdf
(Published September 2019)
Deadline nears for LEAPS protests, interventions
It’s been a busy month for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), since its July 26 announcement that it had accepted the application for a license submitted by the Nevada Hydro Company Inc. for the controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project.
FERC also announced a 60-day period for the public to send protests and for interested parties/agencies to submit motions to intervene which gives citizens and groups the ability to challenge in court FERC’s final decision on the project.
FERC, almost daily, is receiving protests and motions to intervene. Among notable intervention requests received are those from the U.S. Forest Service, city of Lake Elsinore, Sen. Jeff Stone of the 28th District and Sen. Richard Roth of the 31st District, and Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez of the 67th District. Riverside County now is working on its motion to intervene notice.
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. Begin your comments with:
“PROTEST” (in all caps) NEVADA HYDRO COMPANY, INC. PROJECT NO. P-14227 Objections to acceptance of the Final License Application for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Your name, address and phone number And then list your reasons for protesting
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
DEADLINE IS SEPT. 24
(Published August 2019)
LEAPS APPLICATION ACCEPTED; PROTESTS DUE
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in response to a request the Nevada Hydro Company, Inc. (NHC), submitted in June, has accepted the application for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project.
FERC made the announcement July 26 and set a 60-day period for the public to submit protests and for interested parties/agencies to solicit motions to intervene. The deadline for protests and motions is Sept. 24. Filing a protest now gives citizens and groups the ability to challenge FERC’s final decision on the project in court.
In making its request to FERC for expedited acceptance of its license application, NHC said it was on target to the meet the deadlines that had been set for a few lingering study areas. NHC also asked FERC to move forward with its environmental analysis without seeking additional public comments.
NHC told FERC all interested parties have had 15 months to comment which many have done. NHC noted that none of the comments nor any information disclosed in each of the approved study areas have introduced new issues that were not covered in the 2007 Environmental Impact Statement associated with NHC’s first application.
In announcing the acceptance of the application, FERC wrote, “This application has been accepted for filing, but is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.” No mention was made of not requiring scoping meetings for public comments during the environmental analysis.
Temescal Valley resident’s primary concern about the LEAPS project are the 500-kV transmission lines. The lines would run northwest from a starting point above Lake Elsinore in the Santa Ana mountains then head north, running between Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden, and crossing De Palma Road and the I-15 just south of the Sycamore Creek shopping center to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains above Lee Lake.
Since the Holy Fire, many residents worry about wildfires started by downed transmission lines and how they impede the ability of firefighters to use planes and helicopters to make chemical and water drops. Additionally, the LEAPS lines would be next to Lee Lake that was used as a water source for helicopters during the Holy Fire.
City asks FERC to correct deficiencies in water-quality study
While the Nevada Hydro Company thought it had submitted in January its final Lake Elsinore water-quality study requested by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the city wasn’t quite as sure.
The city of Lake Elsinore hired Stillwater Sciences, a water-quality consultant, to provide a peer review on the effect the LEAPS project would have on the water in the lake.
The consulting company found several deficiencies in NHC’s water-quality studies and concluded, “… the report does not provide a clear water quality assessment of LEAPS operations over the long-term.”
U.S. Forest Service says ‘No’ to LEAPS Fire Study Plan
Lake Elsinore residents last week applauded their City Council for a unanimous vote to go on record in opposition to the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project. But a letter sent by the U.S. Forest Service to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 10 gives Temescal Valley residents a reason to celebrate.
Here’s a little background for readers new to the ongoing LEAPS saga. The Nevada Hydro Company, headquartered in San Diego County, is seeking FERC approval to build the controversial project. LEAPS would pump water from Lake Elsinore at night up to a to-be-constructed reservoir in the Decker Canyon area of the Cleveland National Forest. The water then would be returned to the lake via gravity to generate electricity through turbines. The project also calls for 32 miles of overhead 500 kV transmission lines that would connect to SDG&E and SCE lines.
One set of lines would descend in a northerly direction from the Santa Ana Mountains and cross Temescal Valley between the Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden communities. The lines would continue east across the I-15 freeway and connect to Edison lines in the foothills of the Temescal Mountains.
Many Temescal Valley residents oppose the project because of the possible fire danger associated with powerlines – whether igniting a fire or impeding aircraft ability to fight a fire, and the U.S. Forest Service communication to FERC on April 10 underlined the same concerns.
In its licensing process, FERC found certain elements of the overall LEAPS project to need additional studies – one being a Fire Study Plan. In March, Nevada Hydro submitted a plan to FERC, indicating that after consulting with the Forest Service, a “final study plan has been completed with no disagreements between the Forest Service and the company.”
The Forest Service, in its April 10 communication, disagreed, stating that none of its concerns or comments were included in the fire plan submitted by Nevada Hydro. The letter read in part, “The plan lacks the analysis we’ve requested to determine how the proposed project could impact fire risk and fire management activities within the Cleveland National Forest.”
The letter itemized the agency’s issues with Nevada Hydro’s plan and requested Forest Service concerns and comments be incorporated and assessed in the Final LEAPS Fire Study Plan. Nevada Hydro’s final study plans are due to FERC June 30.
The significance of the Forest Service’s objections is that it is a federal agency, as is FERC.
While local opposition, such as the vote taken by the Lake Elsinore City Council is notable, neither city, county or state can approve or deny the project – only FERC has the final say.
Residents and local governing agencies opposed to the project should support the U.S. Forest Service’s latest objections.
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH FERC
To let FERC know you support the Forest Service requests outlined in its April 10 communication, submit your comments via the agency’s online eComment page. Use an Internet Explorer browser: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227.
Begin your comments with — Re: Support of the U.S. Forest Service communication dated April 10 regarding Project No. P-14227
FERC denies Nevada Hydro request to be declared transmission project
Earlier this year The Nevada Hydro Company asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), for a declaratory order designating the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project as a transmission project instead of a storage project.
The request could be considered premature as FERC has yet to rule on granting a license for LEAPS. But, the agency did rule on Nevada Hydro’s request for the declaratory order.
Late last month, FERC announced its decision: “We dismiss Nevada Hydro’s petition and find that a request to designate LEAPS as a transmission facility is premature at this time. LEAPS has not been studied in the CAISO TPP (California Independent System Operators’ Transmission Planning Process), to determine whether it addresses a transmission need identified through that process, and, if such a need were met, how the facility would be operated. Absent such information, the commission cannot make a reasoned decision on whether LEAPS is a transmission project and thus eligible for cost recovery under the transmission access charge.”
FERC had received much written opposition to Nevada Hydro’s request, most notably from CAISO, Southern California Edison and the California Public Utilities Commission.
(Published Sept. 12, 2018)
Lawsuit settled; deadline nears for study requests
EVMWD will supply LEAPS water; must pay Nevada Hydro $2 million
A press release jointly issued Aug. 29 by the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and The Nevada Hydro Company quietly announced that a settlement had been reached in the $24 million lawsuit the hydroelectric company filed in September 2012 against the water district.
The lawsuit claimed breach of contract by the water district when in 2011 the district terminated a 1997 agreement it had with Nevada Hydro for its Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage project (LEAPS).
The press release stated: “After many years of litigation, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD) and The Nevada Hydro Company (Nevada Hydro) have reached a settlement of litigation regarding a 1997 development agreement. ‘We have agreed to the settlement to protect EVMWD’s rate payers from the costs of ongoing litigation and to avoid exposure to millions in damages,’ said John D. Vega, general manager for EVMWD. The San Diego County Superior Court has entered a consent judgment approving the settlement agreement.”
What the press release didn’t say:
Basically, EVMWD will sell to Nevada Hydro and purchase if necessary the “initial fill” of 15,000 acre-feet of water for the LEAPS project and charge Nevada Hydro a 10 percent administrative fee based on its cost to purchase the water. EVMWD will purchase additional water as needed and sell it to Nevada Hydro.
The water district will return to Nevada Hydro $154,852, the amount that Nevada Hydro claims was erroneously refunded to EVMWD by the U.S. Forest Service.
EVMWD must within 30 days of the settlement pay Nevada Hydro $2 million in additional monetary compensation for dismissal of the lawsuit.
The water district is expressly forbidden to oppose Nevada Hydro and/or the LEAPS project and must withdraw any opposition issued in the past and to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Read the consent judgment and settlement agreement:
Nevada Hydro response for additional studies due Sept. 13
In June, FERC determined that 12 requests for additional studies for the LEAPS project from the 34 submitted held merit and that further evaluation was necessary. FERC gave Nevada Hydro a deadline of Sept. 13 to submit the additional studies.
Three of the 12 studies have direct impact on Temescal Valley: Study 30 – Visual Simulations, Study 33 – Cultural Resources and Study 34 – Alternative Northern Transmission Alignments.
In Study 34, the report found that the alignment of the northern lines running east from the mountains and across Temescal Valley needs more study because of the area’s development in the past 10 years.
Nevada Hydro was told the study should be done in consultation with area residential communities, including Sycamore Creek, Terramor and the not-yet-approved Lakeside community.
In August, Nevada Hydro emailed Sycamore Creek, Terramor and possibly Lakeside (not confirmed), outlining its reasoning for choosing the alignment it did. The 500-kV transmission lines would run from the mountains above Lake Elsinore in a northerly direction and cross Temescal Valley between Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden. The lines would cross the freeway to a switchyard to be constructed at Lee Lake and then continue northeasterly to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines.
Nevada Hydro explained two other alignment possibilities. Alternative 1 would keep the lines in the Cleveland National Forest where they would join the Valley-Serrano lines on the west side of the freeway instead of the east side. Nevada Hydro said this alternative was too costly.
Alternative 2 would have the lines descending from the mountains but crossing Alberhill Ranch and the Pacific Clay property and run adjacent to the southeastern border of Horsethief Canyon Ranch. The lines could connect to a switchyard built on the Edison property at Concordia Ranch and Temescal Canyon roads and continue northeast to connect to the Valley-Serrano lines above Lee Lake. Nevada Hydro said Pacific Clay had objected to the lines running across its property, plus the transmission towers would be close to Horsethief.
In deference to Sycamore Creek protests that the lines were too close to that community, Nevada Hydro said it would change the route to the south side of Glen Eden which would place the lines farther away from Sycamore Creek, but closer to Glen Eden.
In its email, Nevada Hydro asked the recipients to submit comments on the alignment by Sept. 6. Comments from the Sycamore Creek attorney stated the community’s preferred alignment would be Alternative 1 – to keep the lines in the forest and on the west side of the freeway.
Although not consulted by Nevada Hydro, Glen Eden submitted comments also favoring Alternative 1.
‘Privileged’ info indicates Nevada Hydro will get water; EVMWD lawsuit mediated
By JANNLEE WATSON Communications Chairwoman We Are Temescal Valley
Because of redactions made to documents I requested from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it’s difficult to pinpoint who will be the water supplier for Nevada Hydro’s LEAPS project. The documents, despite the redactions, strongly indicate that water will be available and negotiations between the company, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD), and other entities are progressing. But – let’s start at the beginning.
In January, FERC notified Nevada Hydro of several deficiencies and the need for additional information in its license application filed for the LEAPS project. The company was given 90 days to respond.
Nevada Hydro’s response was published April 3 on FERC’s online-accessible eLibrary, which included many documents responding to the request for more information. Most all the documents were available to the public, but two – how Nevada Hydro planned to keep the level of Lake Elsinore above 1,240 feet and who was going to supply the additional water needed for the reservoir and daily evaporation – were determined to be “privileged,” meaning not available for public review.
On April 10, I sent an email to FERC requesting the documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). After being notified of my request, Nevada Hydro on April 27 opposed release of the documents citing private financial details, including rate information, with potential water suppliers for the project.
The company argued that public disclosure of certain portions of the documents “would reveal internal business strategies, trade secrets, deliberations and views of negotiations that made it exempt from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4.”
FERC agreed with Nevada Hydro’s assessment, and I received on May 8 a copy of a letter sent to Nevada Hydro by FERC stating it intended to release the documents to me but would redact (black out) portions containing confidential business-related information.
After two follow-up requests to FERC (“Where are the documents?”), I received them earlier this month.
In the first document, Nevada Hydro proposes to pre-purchase 15,000 acre-feet of water to fill the Decker Canyon reservoir and raise the level of Lake Elsinore by three feet. The company also plans to enter a long-term water agreement to purchase enough water to offset evaporative losses at the lake associated with the LEAPS project.
Nevada Hydro explains in detail why the water purchases would “ensure that the elevation of Lake Elsinore with the LEAPS project would always be higher than the elevation of Lake Elsinore without the LEAPS project.”
The amount of water needed to assure the lake level would not fall lower than 1,240 feet was based on two hydrology studies cited in the document.
The company also noted that with the lake level no lower than 1,240 feet, the aeration effects the project would have on the lake would make it more able to support “substantially larger and more robust populations of warm-water fish, which in turn will substantially enhance recreation and fishing at Lake Elsinore.”
Two pages of the seven-page document under the subheading “Negotiating Agreements in Principle – Current Status,” were redacted. Unfortunately, this section probably explained additional methodology and named the water supplier or suppliers with whom Nevada Hydro is negotiating.
The document ends with Nevada Hydro reminding FERC that the author of one of the studies cited in the document is now engaged in 500 additional hours of analysis on implementation of the company’s plan and will let the commission know when the study is complete.
The second document is a copy of a court order regarding the lawsuit Nevada Hydro filed in September 2012 against EVMWD. The lawsuit claimed breach of contract by the water district when in 2011 the district terminated a 1997 LEAPS agreement it had with Nevada Hydro.
The lawsuit was scheduled to begin last September before a San Diego County Superior Court jury. Water district officials, when asked about the status of the lawsuit, have offered no response saying they can’t discuss pending litigation.
The court document I received dealt with an extended stay of action for the lawsuit and continued status conferences.
It claims that the parties have privately mediated their dispute and “developed a framework for the potential settlement of this action, which included the negotiation of a possible Water Supply/Management Agreement” for the LEAPS project.
In ordering the extended stay of action, the legal document concluded: “… the Parties mutually desire to continue their good faith negotiations toward a possible Water Supply/Management Agreement that would provide a water supply for the LEAPS project, improve Lake Elsinore water levels and water quality, and provide a pathway for global resolution of this litigation.”
The stay also was ordered because “such negotiations will necessarily involve third party vendors and/or suppliers and will require additional time to explore.”
A status conference has been scheduled 9 a.m., Friday, July 27 before Judge Timothy M. Casserly in Dept. 31 of the North County Regional Center, 325 S. Melrose Drive, Vista.
Additional studies warranted for 12 of the 34 submitted
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today released an important document in Nevada Hydro’s quest to obtain a license for the LEAPS project.
FERC determined that 12 requests for additional studies from the 34 submitted held merit and that further evaluation is necessary. At least three of the 12 have direct impact on Temescal Valley: Study 30 – Visual Simulations, Study 33 – Cultural Resources and Study 34 – Alternative Northern Transmission Alignments.
FERC had concerns that earlier visual simulations of how the project will look didn’t take into consideration new and proposed development in Temescal Valley and other areas. Additional study also is needed for Luiseno cultural resources in the Lee Lake area. The report found that the alignment of the northern lines running east from the mountains and across Temescal Valley needs more study because of the area’s development in the past 10 years – Glen Eden, Terramor, Sycamore Creek, Horsethief Canyon Ranch and the yet-to-be approved Lakeside community were specifically named.
The Nevada Hydro deadline to file the required study plans is Sept. 13.
Did you miss the Jan. 13, 2018 Press-Enterprise update on the controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage project? You can read it HERE.
As referenced in the Press-Enterprise report, here is the Jan. 3, 2018 communication to Nevada Hydro from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission outlining the deficiencies the agency has found in the final license application: https://www.wearetv.org/blog/docs/deficiencies.pdf
What’s the next step for Nevada Hydro’s Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage project (LEAPS), now that the deadline has passed for additional study requests?
We contacted James Fargo at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC.) It appears the process will be a long one with the first step being a review of all requests submitted for additional studies and the determination of which requests are valid.
Here’s what Fargo stated in an email:
The issuance of the Ready for Environmental Analysis (REA), Notice and subsequent milestones will not occur until the additional information needs of Commission staff on the final license application have been satisfied, which may include the completion of any needed additional studies. The milestones that provide opportunities for stakeholder input are highlighted in red.
Additional study requests due
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments
Public Scoping Meetings
Comments on Scoping Document 1 due
Issue Scoping Document 2 (if necessary)
Issue REA Notice soliciting comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions
Comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions due
Issue updated EIS
Comments on updated EIS due
Issue final EIS (if necessary)
Several requests for studies were submitted just prior to the Dec. 1 deadline, including one from the U.S. Department of Agriculture with concerns about the Cleveland National Forest – among them the Decker Canyon Reservoir, the design of the transmission lines, fire hazards and the outdated Environmental Impact Statement.
Many study requests came from Sycamore Creek residents and one petition (many different ones, plus form letters were submitted), had more than 1,000 signatures.
(Published Nov. 28, 2017)
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS IS FRIDAY. DEC. 1
HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL STUDY REQUESTS Requests for additional studies can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page on the website. Use an Internet Explorer browser: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227. Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project No. P-14227-003
NEW INFO: A copy of your request sent to FERC for additional studies also MUST BE emailed to Rex Waite at Nevada Hydro: Rex@leapshydro.com
There seems to be disagreement between Southern California Edison and Nevada Hydro Co. about the connection point of the LEAPS project’s northern transmission lines, which could change the path of those lines if the hydro-power project is approved.
Speaking at the Nov. 8 Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting, Edison’s Jeremy Goldman said the lines will connect to the proposed Alberhill substation. If the substation plan gains approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, it will be constructed on 124 acres of SCE-owned land at the corner of Temescal Canyon and Concordia Ranch roads east of the 1-15 and close to the 1,900-home Horsethief Canyon Ranch neighborhood.
In filing its Final License Application with FERC, Nevada Hydro shows the connection point to be a switchyard it will build near Lee Lake with the lines continuing north to join Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains. The path to the Lee Lake switchyard would pass very close to the Glen Eden, Terramor, Sycamore Creek and Horsethief Canyon communities.
If the connection point is the Alberhill substation, about three miles south of the proposed Lee Lake switchyard, it is presumed the path of the lines would be changed, with major impact to Horsethief Canyon Ranch residents.
When questioned further, Goldman directed people to read Edison’s communication to FERC dated Sept. 22, 2017.
In the meantime, the countdown continues toward the Friday, Dec. 1 deadline for requests to be submitted to FERC asking for additional scientific studies for the LEAPS project.
The We Are Temescal Valley Development Committee urges residents, especially those living in Sycamore Creek, Glen Eden, Terramor and Horsethief Canyon Ranch, to request a new Environmental Impact Statement for the project.
The EIS that Nevada Hydro is using for the project was prepared in January 2007. Since that time, Riverside County has approved land use changes to property adjacent to and under the path of the proposed northern transmission lines, including Terramor and new Sycamore Creek neighborhoods. The impact of such an intensive project should be studied under current conditions, not those of almost 11 years ago.
The city of Lake Elsinore, the Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency and the Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority soon will be submitting requests for additional studies. Local Congressman Ken Calvert is resubmitting his request next week.
HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL STUDY REQUESTS Requests for additional studies can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page on the website. Use an Internet Explorer browser: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227. Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project No. P-14227-003
NEW INFO: A copy of your request sent to FERC for additional studies also MUST BE emailed to Rex Waite at Nevada Hydro: Rex@leapshydro.com
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
The following entities already have sent letters opposing the project and/or requesting State and local agency review:
Glen Eden Corporation Sycamore Creek Community Association Horsethief Canyon Ranch Community Association The Retreat Community Association Terramor at Temescal Valley Lakeside Temescal Valley Riverside County 1st District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, 42nd Congressional District Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, 67th Assembly District Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency City of Lake Elsinore Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority U.S. Department of Agriculture California Department of Fish and Wildlife California Water Resources Control Board Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Center for Biodiversity Sierra Club San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society Southern California Edison
(Published Oct. 12, 2017)
PATH OF THE LINES: This illustration is from the Final License Application and shows the path of the transmission lines through Temescal Valley.
LATE-BREAKING NEWS …
Nevada Hydro rep Rex Wait, speaking at the Oct. 11 TV MAC meeting, announced a 60-day public comment period to request additional studies for the LEAPS project.
Request DEADLINE IS DEC. 1. If you submitted earlier comments, those comments must be resubmitted and phrased to request the need for additional studies and your reason for seeking the study.
HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL STUDY REQUESTS Requests for additional studies can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page on the website. Use an Internet Explorer browser:
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227. Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project No. P-14227-003
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
(Published Oct. 7, 2017)
FERC allows license application to be filed and waives requirement for additional review and public scoping
WHO: Nevada Hydro Speaker WHAT: Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council WHEN: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 11 WHERE: The Trilogy Lodge, 24503 Trilogy Parkway.
Despite protests from many state, county and city agencies, as well as elected officials and concerned citizens, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Sept. 29 issued its approval to accept a draft license application for a significant hydro-power project without requiring further review or public scoping. This action opened the door for the Nevada Hydro Company Inc. to file a final license application for its LEAPS project, which it did Oct. 2.
This application, with little exception, is based on a 10-year-old environmental impact statement. What comes next? We hope the Nevada Hydro representative who will speak at the Wednesday, Oct. 11 Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting can answer that question. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Trilogy Lodge, 24503 Trilogy Parkway.
NEVADA HYDRO SIMULATION: Looking to the east from De Palma Road, south of the Shops at Sycamore Creek center and north of Glen Eden. Yellow building at right is the proposed lake switchyard. Lee Lake can be viewed behind the switchyard.
Nevada Hydro resubmits LEAPS application to FERC
A request to submit a draft license application for a controversial power project that would greatly impact the Temescal Valley scenic view could be approved at any time by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
FERC is reviewing the application resubmitted by Nevada Hydro Company Inc. to build its Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project in the Cleveland National Forest with 32 miles of 500 kV transmission lines and 170 high-voltage steel towers. Nevada Hydro is asking FERC to accept the draft license application without additional review and public scoping.
ACTION NEEDED NOW
Deadline for comments is Sept. 22, 2017
Comments can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page — use an Internet Explorer browser:
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. FERC prefers that comments be kept short and to the point. The docket number is P-14227.
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project Number 14227 Comments to The Nevada Hydro Company’s May 31, 2017 Notification of Intent to File License Application
Letters should be copied to Jim Fargo at the above FERC address. He has primary responsibility for the LEAPS project and can be reached by email at: james.fargo@ferc.gov or phone at 202-502-6095.
The plan calls for water from Lake Elsinore to be pumped at night into a to-be-constructed reservoir and then returned via gravity to generate electricity through turbines.
One set of transmission lines would run northwest across the Santa Ana mountains then head north, crossing Temescal Valley and the I-15 to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains. Glen Eden, Terramor, Sycamore Creek and Horsethief Canyon Ranch would be the closest communities to the lines.
The other set of lines would head southwest from the pumped storage facility to connect with San Diego Gas & Electric lines.
The project’s intent is to provide additional electricity during peak power usage and to replace electrical output lost with the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
The project was originally submitted in 1995. FERC initially approved the application in the early 2000s but then dismissed it in 2011 because of uncertainty over whether Nevada Hydro had rights to use Lake Elsinore water.
The previous project partner, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD), backed out of the project and terminated its agreement with Nevada Hydro in 2011. A lawsuit on the water rights issue is scheduled to begin before a San Diego County Superior Court jury on Sept. 22.
The WeAreTV Development Committee is sending a letter to FERC outlining reasons why the application should be denied:
DOWNED POWER LINE SAFETY: According to the Riverside County General Plan’s Temescal Canyon Area Plan, the Temescal Valley portion of the project would traverse a very high wildfire susceptibility area, a 100-year flood and dam inundation zone, and a seismic activity area associated with the Elsinore Fault Zone. Weather-wise, the project lies in the Elsinore Convergence Zone noted for extreme weather patterns including tornados.
The lines would cross both the I-15 freeway and Temescal Canyon Road, the only two north-south evacuation routes in Temescal Valley in case of a major disaster. There are no east-west roadways into or out of the area.
CHANGE IN CONDITIONS: Riverside County has approved land use changes to property adjacent to and under the planned transmission lines since the project’s dismissal in 2011. New development has been constructed. A draft Federal Environmental Impact Statement under National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), guidelines was released in January 2007 — 10 years ago. The impact of such an intensive project should be studied under current conditions, not those of 10 or 20 years ago.
CONSERVATION: The lines would traverse land area within the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA), jurisdiction. Construction of the towers and associated facilities would disturb endangered and threatened species of animals and plants protected by the RCA’s Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.
VISTAS: The transmission towers, lines and the construction of related facilities would impact the view from the I-15 freeway, which has been designated a State Eligible Scenic Highway.
EDISON PROJECTS: The final Environmental Impact Report has been released for Edison’s Valley-IvyGlen transmission lines and the Alberhill Substation. A public hearing on these projects soon will be scheduled by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). If approved, Edison’s 115 kV subtransmission lines will cross the I-15 freeway almost exactly where the Nevada Hydro transmission towers are proposed.
LACK OF STATE APPROVALS: FERC has indicated it may grant the new application with no additional review. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there is only an outdated Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project that was never approved. There is no current project application before the California Public Utilities Commission.
With the 60-day comment period now over, it is expected the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will soon decide on whether to issue a preliminary permit to the Nevada Hydro Company Inc. to proceed with its controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage project.
When FERC dismissed the license application and denied a rehearing request, it appeared LEAPS was dead. But Nevada Hydro then filed an application for a preliminary permit for LEAPS under a new docket number — P-15261-000.
FERC accepted the application in April and set the period for public comments and motions to intervene. Having intervention status gives citizens, organizations, and public agencies the ability to legally challenge FERC’s final decision on the project. By the June 6 deadline, FERC received 11 intervention motions and about 70 comments – all opposing the project.
(Published May 5, 2022)
JUNE 6 DEADLINE TO FILE LEAPS COMMENTS, INTERVENTION FERC issues preliminary permit to Nevada Hydro for LEAPS
When the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in December dismissed a license application filed by Nevada Hydro Company Inc., and in February denied a rehearing request by the hydropower company, it appeared the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project was dead.
But on Feb. 8, the day after the rehearing request was denied, Nevada Hydro filed an application for a preliminary permit for the LEAPS project under new docket number P-15261-000.
FERC announced April 8 the permit application was accepted and set a 60-day period for the public to submit comments and for interested parties/agencies to solicit motions to intervene. The deadline for comments and motions is June 6. Having intervention status gives citizens, organizations, and public agencies the ability to challenge in court FERC’s final decision on the project.
FERC had dismissed the license application based on allegations made by the U.S. Forest Service that Nevada Hydro wasn’t providing the necessary information to consider issuing a Special Use Authorization for the project, which was delaying the Environmental Impact Statement.
In its filing for the preliminary permit, Nevada Hydro reasoned because FERC had dismissed its application for a license without prejudice, the company could refile after it provided the Forest Service with the requested information.
Nevada Hydro told FERC in February that it was working with the Forest Service on obtaining the information and once it had satisfied the agency’s needs, would “promptly” refile the license application.
Nevada Hydro said it expected to complete the process within the next few months and once the license application is refiled, it would withdraw its application for a preliminary permit. Nevada Hydro said it had filed the preliminary permit application to keep others from filing applications for the LEAPS site.
In announcing the acceptance of the preliminary permit application, FERC noted, “The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners’ express permission.”
Temescal Valley residents opposing LEAPS are concerned about the 500-kV transmission lines. The lines would run northwest from a starting point above Lake Elsinore in the Santa Ana Mountains then head north, running between Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden. The lines would cross De Palma Road and the I-15 just south of the Vons shopping center to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains above Lee Lake.
Since the Holy Fire, many residents worry about wildfires started by downed transmission lines and how they impede the ability of firefighters to use planes and helicopters to make chemical and water drops. Additionally, the LEAPS lines would be next to Lee Lake that was used as a water source for helicopters during the Holy Fire.
While individuals are submitting comments to FERC, as of this writing, none have been Temescal Valley residents. We Are Temescal Valley and Sycamore Creek Community Association have filed for intervention status and Glen Eden Corporation is expected to file.
An email will be sent to the submitted email address and follow the provided link
Once in the provided eComment page, enter Docket number P-15261 and select “Search”
Select the small blue cross to tag your comment to the Docket
It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste in the field provided. Quick comments are limited to 6,000 characters. You must includeyour name and contact information at the end of your comments
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
DEADLINE IS JUNE 6
We Are Temescal Valley files notice in LEAPS proceedings
The We Are Temescal Valley citizens’ group filed this Notice to Intervene with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 2. It states the group’s opposition to the proposed hydroelectric LEAPS project in Lake Elsinore.
I. STATEMENT OF INTEREST AND GROUNDS FOR MOTION TO INTERVENE Temescal Valley is the unincorporated Riverside County area located between the cities of Corona and Lake Elsinore to the north and south, and is a narrow valley bordered by the Santa Mountains on the west and the Temescal Mountains on the east. More than 26,000 people reside in the 19.3-square mile community that has 21 identifiable and distinct neighborhoods. We Are Temescal Valley is a grass-roots citizens’ organization, founded in 2011 to provide information to residents regarding issues of public safety, development, education, business, and other items of public interest. The group maintains a website, publishes a monthly newsletter, and has a social media page with more than 10,000 members. Our concerns align with those of the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, including the LEAPS project’s potential negative impact to public safety, fire risk, heritage resources, endangered species, and land use objectives and economic development.
II. COMMENTS
A. The project will increase the risk to public safety. As outlined in the Riverside County General Plan / Temescal Canyon Area Plan, the majority of Temescal Valley is within a high-risk Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Its proximity to the Cleveland National Forest, with housing developments constructed in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, gives rise to the increased fire risk. The August 2018 Holy fire, that destroyed 23,025 acres of wildlands, caused the evacuation of several thousand Temescal Valley residents and burned in the area where the LEAPS project would place the northern 500-kV transmission lines and towers between the communities of Glen Eden and Sycamore Creek. The Holy fire utilized aerial firefighting support of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to prevent the blaze from consuming area homes and businesses. The transmission lines and towers would have limited such efforts. Additionally, helicopters used the community’s Lee Lake as a water source. The proposed path of the LEAPS transmission lines across Temescal Valley will place towers adjacent to Lee Lake, limiting aerial access to the lake’s water. Floods and debris flows followed the Holy fire, causing additional evacuations. Several mountain canyons carry natural water runoff into Temescal Valley neighborhoods, and with the heavy rainfall season that followed the fire, the drainage infrastructure was unable to channel the water flow. The Glen Eden neighborhood, situated at the base of Indian Canyon, sustained severe damage. The proposed path of the transmission lines will necessitate disturbance to the topography and natural plant life growing in the Indian Canyon area, causing further risk of increased flooding and debris flows to Glen Eden and adjacent neighborhoods. Temescal Valley sits on the Elsinore Fault which seismologists say can produce a 7.2–7.5 magnitude earthquake. The location of the 1910 Elsinore 6.0 quake is estimated to be slightly south of the intersection of Temescal Canyon Road and Indian Truck Trail which places it in the path of the proposed transmission lines and towers adjacent to Lee Lake. Also, the project’s 500-kV lines would span the I-15 freeway, one of only two north/south routes in Temescal Valley. If an earthquake downed the lines, a disaster could occur because Temescal Valley evacuation routes are a concern. A study, released in August 2019, by San Francisco-based traffic analytics company StreetLight Data, identified 100 communities across the country with populations under 40,000 that have the most limited means of escaping disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes. It found that 14 of those communities were in California. Only one was in Riverside County – it was Temescal Valley. A recent update to the study looked at 30,000 towns across the U.S., narrowed the number down to 675 based on the number of exits in each community, and Temescal Valley placed 76th nationally in lacking sufficient evacuation routes.
B. The project will damage heritage, cultural and environmental resources. The Temescal Valley area for centuries was populated by Luiseño and Juaneño Native American tribes, drawn to the area by the natural hot springs that flow here. There are numerous historical artifacts, evidence of ancient villages and human remains that have been found throughout Temescal Valley, including the area surrounding Lee Lake. The Historic Properties Management Plan must address these issues. While Lake Elsinore appears to be the primary concern of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, we do not want the importance of the Lee Lake area overlooked. Grading for transmission tower pads and construction of a proposed switchyard adjacent to the lake could cause the loss of invaluable and precious resources. Additionally, much of the path of the LEAPS transmission lines and towers through Temescal Valley falls within the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority’s Multiple Habitat Species Conservation Plan. The plan protects 146 native species of plants, birds, and animals, and preserves a half-million acres of their habitats.
Construction activities on tower pads and the Lee Lake Switchyard will lead to temporary and permanent loss of native vegetation and could threaten protected animal and bird species.
C. The project will hinder the economic development of Temescal Valley. As an unincorporated Riverside County area, it is the desire of Temescal Valley community leaders to become a self-governing incorporated city. To do so, we must increase the community’s assessed valuation and sales-tax base to provide sufficient revenues to support incorporation. The proposed route of the transmission lines and towers, and the location of the Lee Lake Switchyard are planned in an area recently zoned by the county for two commercial/retail complexes and a 258-unit apartment complex to facilitate the state’s mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment for affordable housing. The approval of the LEAPS project would jeopardize these developments.
D. The project must have an Environmental Impact Statement with full scoping. Since the creation of an outdated EIS for this project 15 years ago, much proposed development has been approved in the area directly in the path of the transmission lines and where the Lee Lake Switchyard is to be constructed. These include 196 acres of residential development and 73 acres of commercial/retail development. A new EIS was being created for LEAPS P-14227-003 at the time the project was dismissed by FERC. It is imperative that work progresses on the document and that the process allows full public scoping. The owners of that acreage have a right to be heard.
(Published February 2022)
LEAPS IS DOWN, BUT DON’T COUNT IT OUT FERC dismisses application for license; preliminary permit now sought by Nevada Hydro
When this website last reported on The Nevada Hydro Company’s Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project, federal agencies were beginning work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Many new developments have occurred since then.
NOV. 15: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was notified by the U.S. Forest Service and told the agency could go no further in its talks with Nevada Hydro to complete the studies FERC requested in April 2021.
This was after FERC several times had ordered both parties to resolve their differences and move on with the studies needed for the EIS.
According to the Forest Service, Nevada Hydro wanted a license decision on its LEAPS project prior to continuing with the studies and the environmental process. The Forest Service said it was unable to consider issuing a Special Use Authorization to Nevada Hydro without the studies being completed.
DEC. 8: FERC received communication from the State Water Resources Control Board accusing Nevada Hydro of using delay tactics to undermine the board’s compliance with legal and environmental requirements for the LEAPS project.
DEC. 9: FERC sent communication to Nevada Hydro stating its license application for LEAPS had been dismissed “without prejudice” based on the Forest Service’s allegation the company wasn’t providing the necessary information to consider issuing a Special Use Authorization for the project. Nevada Hydro was told it had 30 days to request a rehearing.
DEC. 10: Nevada Hydro quickly responded submitting an application for a preliminary permit.
DEC. 13: FERC responded, denying the application because, “a preliminary permit conflicts with the license application for the same project.”
JAN. 7: Nevada Hydro asked FERC to grant a rehearing on the dismissal and reinstate the license application or approve a temporary stay on the dismissal until July 1 to give the company time to complete the Forest Service studies.
Nevada Hydro related if its license application wasn’t dismissed without advance warning, the company would have let the Commission know of its change of circumstances – it was in receivership.
The plaintiff in the receivership is Daytona Power Corp., described as a “newly-formed” renewable energy company in Carson City, Nev., and owned by Grafton Asset Management.
It was Grafton, an energy sector investment management company based in Canada, that Nevada Hydro, in 2017, told FERC would assist with the funding for LEAPS.
Nevada Hydro said it risked irreparable harm if FERC denied a rehearing and did not stay dismissal of the license application. The company explained it did not own the property upon which LEAPS would be built and its most “substantial asset” to serve as collateral for investors was the license application.
Nevada Hydro told FERC the only way to protect its more than $30 million investment in the project was to keep the license application in place for a reasonable length of time while it worked to satisfy the Forest Service’s study needs. Nevada Hydro emphasized that the company’s new management was committed to addressing what the Forest Service needed to advance the license application.
With the Dec. 9 dismissal, Nevada Hydro was told it could plead its case if it thought an error was made in the final decision, but the alleged error must be stated in the request for the rehearing.
Nevada Hydro acknowledged no error had been made to warrant a rehearing but, instead, outlined the financial impact of the court-ordered receivership and the loss of its most important asset – the license application.
JAN. 24: The city of Lake Elsinore and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians both filed briefs with FERC itemizing reasons why the rehearing request should be denied. The city provided court documents from the receivership with representatives from both old and new management accusing each other of mismanagement of Nevada Hydro.
FEB. 7: FERC sent Nevada Hydro notification that the request for a rehearing had been denied.
FEB. 8: Nevada Hydro filed an application for a preliminary permit for the LEAPS project under docket number P-15261-000. In its explanation to FERC, Nevada Hydro reasoned because its application for a license was dismissed without prejudice, the company could refile after it provided the Forest Service with the requested information.
Nevada Hydro told FERC it was now working with the Forest Service on obtaining the information and once it had satisfied the agency’s needs, would “promptly” refile the license application. Nevada Hydro said it expected to complete the process within the next few months and once the license application is refiled, it would withdraw its application for a preliminary permit.
Nevada Hydro said it was filing the preliminary permit application now to keep others from filing permit applications for the LEAPS site.
FEB. 7: But Blue Water Renewable Development LLC, a day earlier, had filed an application for a preliminary permit for the Blue Water Energy Storage Project to be built at Lake Elsinore.
In the filing, Blue Water described a project similar to LEAPS with a few differences. There was a smaller footprint for U.S. Forest Service land use and the route of the 500-kV transmission lines was changed.
The lines would not cross Temescal Valley between Glen Eden and Sycamore Creek, but would descend from the Santa Ana Mountains, run south of Horsethief Canyon Ranch, and cross the I-15 to connect to SCE’s Valley-Serrano lines at the proposed Alberhill substation. The substation, located in Temescal Valley on Concordia Ranch Road, has yet to receive approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
FEB. 11: Just as quickly as Blue Water had filed the application, it withdrew its request. “Upon consideration of additional facts and circumstances, Blue Water has decided to withdraw its Application,” was the only reason given.
It’s unknown the next steps FERC will take in processing Nevada Hydro’s application for a preliminary permit.
(Published August 2020)
EIS SCOPING: IT’S TIME TO SEND COMMENTS TO FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is seeking scoping comments from the public as it begins to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project.
Nevada Hydro Company Inc. wants to build the project in the Cleveland National Forest with 32 miles of 500kV transmission lines strung on 150- to 200-foot steel towers.
The plan calls for water from Lake Elsinore to be pumped at night into a to-be-constructed reservoir in the Santa Ana Mountains above the lake and then returned by gravity to generate electricity through turbines.
One set of transmission lines – 13 miles in length, would run northwest across the Santa Ana Mountains then head north, crossing Temescal Valley and the I-15 to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains. A switchyard will be constructed at Lee Lake. Glen Eden, Sycamore Creek and Terramor would be the closest communities to the lines.
The other set of lines would head southwest from the pumped storage facility and run 19 miles to connect with San Diego Gas & Electric lines.
Public comments submitted should address points outlined in the Scoping Document or environmental issues not included in the document.
FERC strongly encourages electronic filing. The public can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. FERC prefers that comments be kept short and to the point. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-14227-003. You must include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. Longer comments also can be submitted online, but registration is required at: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
Deadline for comments is Monday, Aug. 17
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY? HERE’S HELP
The WeAreTV Development Committee with the Sycamore Creek Community Association and Glen Eden Corporation are submitting scoping comments to FERC. If you want to but don’t know what to say, here are the impacts the LEAPS project will have on Temescal Valley. Use whatever you feel is most important.
PUBLIC SAFETY: The transmission lines through Temescal Valley would traverse a “very high” wildfire susceptibility area, a 100-year flood and dam inundation zone, and a seismic activity area associated with the Elsinore Fault Zone. Weather-wise, the project lies in the Elsinore Convergence Zone noted for extreme weather patterns including tornados. The lines would cross both the I-15 freeway and Temescal Canyon Road, the only north-south evacuation routes for Temescal Valley in case of a major disaster. There are no east-west roadways into or out of the area. Downed lines across the freeway and/or Temescal Canyon Road would hinder residential evacuation efforts.
INHIBIT FIRE-FIGHTING EFFORTS: Temescal Valley is prone to wildfires. Aircraft are utilized to fight blazes, most notably the August 2018 Holy Fire, when thousands of residents were evacuated. The lines and towers would impede aerial firefighters in accessing an inferno. The transmission lines, towers and switchyard adjacent to Lee Lake would inhibit the aircraft’s ability to draw water from the lake.
INHIBIT AREA GROWTH: Riverside County has approved land use and zoning changes to property adjacent to and under the planned transmission lines, including 196 acres of residential development and 73 acres of commercial/retail development. This much-needed development is at risk of being lost, thus adversely affecting the area economy and Temescal Valley’s ability to become an incorporated city.
CONSERVATION: The lines would traverse land area within the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA), jurisdiction. Construction of the towers and associated facilities would cause harm to some of the 146 species of endangered and threatened animals, birds, insects and plants protected by the RCA’s Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.
CULTURAL HERITAGE: The Temescal Valley area for centuries was populated by Luiseño and Juaneño Native American tribes, drawn to the area by the natural hot springs that flow here. There are numerous historical artifacts throughout the area. Grading for tower pads and construction of a proposed switchyard adjacent to Lee Lake could cause the loss of invaluable and precious antiquities. We strongly urge that Temescal Valley and the Lee Lake area be included in the Historic Properties Management Plan.
VISTAS: The transmission towers, lines and the construction of related facilities would impact the view from the I-15 freeway, which has been designated a State Eligible Scenic Highway.
EDISON PROJECT: Southern California Edison has begun construction on the Valley-IvyGlen 115kV subtransmission lines with completion expected mid-2022. These lines will cross the I-15 freeway almost exactly where the Nevada Hydro transmission towers and lines are proposed.
(Published November 2019)
FERC tells Nevada Hydro to give Forest Service info
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), was expected to soon issue a Notice of Intent (NOI), to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), for Nevada Hydro Company’s Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage (LEAPS), project.
The NOI usually includes dates of scoping meetings where details of the project are presented and the public can ask questions and offer comments, but it now appears the NOI will be delayed.
The U.S. Forest Service in October let FERC know it did not have sufficient information from Nevada Hydro to work jointly with other Federal agencies in compiling its environmental data.
FERC, in a Nov. 22 communication, informed Nevada Hydro that withholding the needed information could result in the Forest Service having to develop a supplemental EIS at a later date, which would be inconsistent with the intent to have a single environmental document that supports each agency’s permitting decision.
FERC told Nevada Hydro before it issues the NOI, “Nevada Hydro must consult with the Forest Service to develop a plan and schedule for providing the requested information and file monthly progress reports with the Commission on the status of the consultation and development of the additional information.” Read the document here: https://www.wearetv.org/blog/docs/noi.pdf
(Published September 2019)
Deadline nears for LEAPS protests, interventions
It’s been a busy month for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), since its July 26 announcement that it had accepted the application for a license submitted by the Nevada Hydro Company Inc. for the controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project.
FERC also announced a 60-day period for the public to send protests and for interested parties/agencies to submit motions to intervene which gives citizens and groups the ability to challenge in court FERC’s final decision on the project.
FERC, almost daily, is receiving protests and motions to intervene. Among notable intervention requests received are those from the U.S. Forest Service, city of Lake Elsinore, Sen. Jeff Stone of the 28th District and Sen. Richard Roth of the 31st District, and Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez of the 67th District. Riverside County now is working on its motion to intervene notice.
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. Begin your comments with:
“PROTEST” (in all caps) NEVADA HYDRO COMPANY, INC. PROJECT NO. P-14227 Objections to acceptance of the Final License Application for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Your name, address and phone number And then list your reasons for protesting
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
DEADLINE IS SEPT. 24
(Published August 2019)
LEAPS APPLICATION ACCEPTED; PROTESTS DUE
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in response to a request the Nevada Hydro Company, Inc. (NHC), submitted in June, has accepted the application for the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project.
FERC made the announcement July 26 and set a 60-day period for the public to submit protests and for interested parties/agencies to solicit motions to intervene. The deadline for protests and motions is Sept. 24. Filing a protest now gives citizens and groups the ability to challenge FERC’s final decision on the project in court.
In making its request to FERC for expedited acceptance of its license application, NHC said it was on target to the meet the deadlines that had been set for a few lingering study areas. NHC also asked FERC to move forward with its environmental analysis without seeking additional public comments.
NHC told FERC all interested parties have had 15 months to comment which many have done. NHC noted that none of the comments nor any information disclosed in each of the approved study areas have introduced new issues that were not covered in the 2007 Environmental Impact Statement associated with NHC’s first application.
In announcing the acceptance of the application, FERC wrote, “This application has been accepted for filing, but is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.” No mention was made of not requiring scoping meetings for public comments during the environmental analysis.
Temescal Valley resident’s primary concern about the LEAPS project are the 500-kV transmission lines. The lines would run northwest from a starting point above Lake Elsinore in the Santa Ana mountains then head north, running between Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden, and crossing De Palma Road and the I-15 just south of the Sycamore Creek shopping center to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains above Lee Lake.
Since the Holy Fire, many residents worry about wildfires started by downed transmission lines and how they impede the ability of firefighters to use planes and helicopters to make chemical and water drops. Additionally, the LEAPS lines would be next to Lee Lake that was used as a water source for helicopters during the Holy Fire.
City asks FERC to correct deficiencies in water-quality study
While the Nevada Hydro Company thought it had submitted in January its final Lake Elsinore water-quality study requested by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the city wasn’t quite as sure.
The city of Lake Elsinore hired Stillwater Sciences, a water-quality consultant, to provide a peer review on the effect the LEAPS project would have on the water in the lake.
The consulting company found several deficiencies in NHC’s water-quality studies and concluded, “… the report does not provide a clear water quality assessment of LEAPS operations over the long-term.”
U.S. Forest Service says ‘No’ to LEAPS Fire Study Plan
Lake Elsinore residents last week applauded their City Council for a unanimous vote to go on record in opposition to the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project. But a letter sent by the U.S. Forest Service to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 10 gives Temescal Valley residents a reason to celebrate.
Here’s a little background for readers new to the ongoing LEAPS saga. The Nevada Hydro Company, headquartered in San Diego County, is seeking FERC approval to build the controversial project. LEAPS would pump water from Lake Elsinore at night up to a to-be-constructed reservoir in the Decker Canyon area of the Cleveland National Forest. The water then would be returned to the lake via gravity to generate electricity through turbines. The project also calls for 32 miles of overhead 500 kV transmission lines that would connect to SDG&E and SCE lines.
One set of lines would descend in a northerly direction from the Santa Ana Mountains and cross Temescal Valley between the Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden communities. The lines would continue east across the I-15 freeway and connect to Edison lines in the foothills of the Temescal Mountains.
Many Temescal Valley residents oppose the project because of the possible fire danger associated with powerlines – whether igniting a fire or impeding aircraft ability to fight a fire, and the U.S. Forest Service communication to FERC on April 10 underlined the same concerns.
In its licensing process, FERC found certain elements of the overall LEAPS project to need additional studies – one being a Fire Study Plan. In March, Nevada Hydro submitted a plan to FERC, indicating that after consulting with the Forest Service, a “final study plan has been completed with no disagreements between the Forest Service and the company.”
The Forest Service, in its April 10 communication, disagreed, stating that none of its concerns or comments were included in the fire plan submitted by Nevada Hydro. The letter read in part, “The plan lacks the analysis we’ve requested to determine how the proposed project could impact fire risk and fire management activities within the Cleveland National Forest.”
The letter itemized the agency’s issues with Nevada Hydro’s plan and requested Forest Service concerns and comments be incorporated and assessed in the Final LEAPS Fire Study Plan. Nevada Hydro’s final study plans are due to FERC June 30.
The significance of the Forest Service’s objections is that it is a federal agency, as is FERC.
While local opposition, such as the vote taken by the Lake Elsinore City Council is notable, neither city, county or state can approve or deny the project – only FERC has the final say.
Residents and local governing agencies opposed to the project should support the U.S. Forest Service’s latest objections.
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH FERC
To let FERC know you support the Forest Service requests outlined in its April 10 communication, submit your comments via the agency’s online eComment page. Use an Internet Explorer browser: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227.
Begin your comments with — Re: Support of the U.S. Forest Service communication dated April 10 regarding Project No. P-14227
FERC denies Nevada Hydro request to be declared transmission project
Earlier this year The Nevada Hydro Company asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), for a declaratory order designating the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS), project as a transmission project instead of a storage project.
The request could be considered premature as FERC has yet to rule on granting a license for LEAPS. But, the agency did rule on Nevada Hydro’s request for the declaratory order.
Late last month, FERC announced its decision: “We dismiss Nevada Hydro’s petition and find that a request to designate LEAPS as a transmission facility is premature at this time. LEAPS has not been studied in the CAISO TPP (California Independent System Operators’ Transmission Planning Process), to determine whether it addresses a transmission need identified through that process, and, if such a need were met, how the facility would be operated. Absent such information, the commission cannot make a reasoned decision on whether LEAPS is a transmission project and thus eligible for cost recovery under the transmission access charge.”
FERC had received much written opposition to Nevada Hydro’s request, most notably from CAISO, Southern California Edison and the California Public Utilities Commission.
(Published Sept. 12, 2018)
Lawsuit settled; deadline nears for study requests
EVMWD will supply LEAPS water; must pay Nevada Hydro $2 million
A press release jointly issued Aug. 29 by the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and The Nevada Hydro Company quietly announced that a settlement had been reached in the $24 million lawsuit the hydroelectric company filed in September 2012 against the water district.
The lawsuit claimed breach of contract by the water district when in 2011 the district terminated a 1997 agreement it had with Nevada Hydro for its Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage project (LEAPS).
The press release stated: “After many years of litigation, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD) and The Nevada Hydro Company (Nevada Hydro) have reached a settlement of litigation regarding a 1997 development agreement. ‘We have agreed to the settlement to protect EVMWD’s rate payers from the costs of ongoing litigation and to avoid exposure to millions in damages,’ said John D. Vega, general manager for EVMWD. The San Diego County Superior Court has entered a consent judgment approving the settlement agreement.”
What the press release didn’t say:
Basically, EVMWD will sell to Nevada Hydro and purchase if necessary the “initial fill” of 15,000 acre-feet of water for the LEAPS project and charge Nevada Hydro a 10 percent administrative fee based on its cost to purchase the water. EVMWD will purchase additional water as needed and sell it to Nevada Hydro.
The water district will return to Nevada Hydro $154,852, the amount that Nevada Hydro claims was erroneously refunded to EVMWD by the U.S. Forest Service.
EVMWD must within 30 days of the settlement pay Nevada Hydro $2 million in additional monetary compensation for dismissal of the lawsuit.
The water district is expressly forbidden to oppose Nevada Hydro and/or the LEAPS project and must withdraw any opposition issued in the past and to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Read the consent judgment and settlement agreement:
Nevada Hydro response for additional studies due Sept. 13
In June, FERC determined that 12 requests for additional studies for the LEAPS project from the 34 submitted held merit and that further evaluation was necessary. FERC gave Nevada Hydro a deadline of Sept. 13 to submit the additional studies.
Three of the 12 studies have direct impact on Temescal Valley: Study 30 – Visual Simulations, Study 33 – Cultural Resources and Study 34 – Alternative Northern Transmission Alignments.
In Study 34, the report found that the alignment of the northern lines running east from the mountains and across Temescal Valley needs more study because of the area’s development in the past 10 years.
Nevada Hydro was told the study should be done in consultation with area residential communities, including Sycamore Creek, Terramor and the not-yet-approved Lakeside community.
In August, Nevada Hydro emailed Sycamore Creek, Terramor and possibly Lakeside (not confirmed), outlining its reasoning for choosing the alignment it did. The 500-kV transmission lines would run from the mountains above Lake Elsinore in a northerly direction and cross Temescal Valley between Sycamore Creek and Glen Eden. The lines would cross the freeway to a switchyard to be constructed at Lee Lake and then continue northeasterly to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines.
Nevada Hydro explained two other alignment possibilities. Alternative 1 would keep the lines in the Cleveland National Forest where they would join the Valley-Serrano lines on the west side of the freeway instead of the east side. Nevada Hydro said this alternative was too costly.
Alternative 2 would have the lines descending from the mountains but crossing Alberhill Ranch and the Pacific Clay property and run adjacent to the southeastern border of Horsethief Canyon Ranch. The lines could connect to a switchyard built on the Edison property at Concordia Ranch and Temescal Canyon roads and continue northeast to connect to the Valley-Serrano lines above Lee Lake. Nevada Hydro said Pacific Clay had objected to the lines running across its property, plus the transmission towers would be close to Horsethief.
In deference to Sycamore Creek protests that the lines were too close to that community, Nevada Hydro said it would change the route to the south side of Glen Eden which would place the lines farther away from Sycamore Creek, but closer to Glen Eden.
In its email, Nevada Hydro asked the recipients to submit comments on the alignment by Sept. 6. Comments from the Sycamore Creek attorney stated the community’s preferred alignment would be Alternative 1 – to keep the lines in the forest and on the west side of the freeway.
Although not consulted by Nevada Hydro, Glen Eden submitted comments also favoring Alternative 1.
‘Privileged’ info indicates Nevada Hydro will get water; EVMWD lawsuit mediated
By JANNLEE WATSON Communications Chairwoman We Are Temescal Valley
Because of redactions made to documents I requested from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it’s difficult to pinpoint who will be the water supplier for Nevada Hydro’s LEAPS project. The documents, despite the redactions, strongly indicate that water will be available and negotiations between the company, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD), and other entities are progressing. But – let’s start at the beginning.
In January, FERC notified Nevada Hydro of several deficiencies and the need for additional information in its license application filed for the LEAPS project. The company was given 90 days to respond.
Nevada Hydro’s response was published April 3 on FERC’s online-accessible eLibrary, which included many documents responding to the request for more information. Most all the documents were available to the public, but two – how Nevada Hydro planned to keep the level of Lake Elsinore above 1,240 feet and who was going to supply the additional water needed for the reservoir and daily evaporation – were determined to be “privileged,” meaning not available for public review.
On April 10, I sent an email to FERC requesting the documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). After being notified of my request, Nevada Hydro on April 27 opposed release of the documents citing private financial details, including rate information, with potential water suppliers for the project.
The company argued that public disclosure of certain portions of the documents “would reveal internal business strategies, trade secrets, deliberations and views of negotiations that made it exempt from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4.”
FERC agreed with Nevada Hydro’s assessment, and I received on May 8 a copy of a letter sent to Nevada Hydro by FERC stating it intended to release the documents to me but would redact (black out) portions containing confidential business-related information.
After two follow-up requests to FERC (“Where are the documents?”), I received them earlier this month.
In the first document, Nevada Hydro proposes to pre-purchase 15,000 acre-feet of water to fill the Decker Canyon reservoir and raise the level of Lake Elsinore by three feet. The company also plans to enter a long-term water agreement to purchase enough water to offset evaporative losses at the lake associated with the LEAPS project.
Nevada Hydro explains in detail why the water purchases would “ensure that the elevation of Lake Elsinore with the LEAPS project would always be higher than the elevation of Lake Elsinore without the LEAPS project.”
The amount of water needed to assure the lake level would not fall lower than 1,240 feet was based on two hydrology studies cited in the document.
The company also noted that with the lake level no lower than 1,240 feet, the aeration effects the project would have on the lake would make it more able to support “substantially larger and more robust populations of warm-water fish, which in turn will substantially enhance recreation and fishing at Lake Elsinore.”
Two pages of the seven-page document under the subheading “Negotiating Agreements in Principle – Current Status,” were redacted. Unfortunately, this section probably explained additional methodology and named the water supplier or suppliers with whom Nevada Hydro is negotiating.
The document ends with Nevada Hydro reminding FERC that the author of one of the studies cited in the document is now engaged in 500 additional hours of analysis on implementation of the company’s plan and will let the commission know when the study is complete.
The second document is a copy of a court order regarding the lawsuit Nevada Hydro filed in September 2012 against EVMWD. The lawsuit claimed breach of contract by the water district when in 2011 the district terminated a 1997 LEAPS agreement it had with Nevada Hydro.
The lawsuit was scheduled to begin last September before a San Diego County Superior Court jury. Water district officials, when asked about the status of the lawsuit, have offered no response saying they can’t discuss pending litigation.
The court document I received dealt with an extended stay of action for the lawsuit and continued status conferences.
It claims that the parties have privately mediated their dispute and “developed a framework for the potential settlement of this action, which included the negotiation of a possible Water Supply/Management Agreement” for the LEAPS project.
In ordering the extended stay of action, the legal document concluded: “… the Parties mutually desire to continue their good faith negotiations toward a possible Water Supply/Management Agreement that would provide a water supply for the LEAPS project, improve Lake Elsinore water levels and water quality, and provide a pathway for global resolution of this litigation.”
The stay also was ordered because “such negotiations will necessarily involve third party vendors and/or suppliers and will require additional time to explore.”
A status conference has been scheduled 9 a.m., Friday, July 27 before Judge Timothy M. Casserly in Dept. 31 of the North County Regional Center, 325 S. Melrose Drive, Vista.
Additional studies warranted for 12 of the 34 submitted
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today released an important document in Nevada Hydro’s quest to obtain a license for the LEAPS project.
FERC determined that 12 requests for additional studies from the 34 submitted held merit and that further evaluation is necessary. At least three of the 12 have direct impact on Temescal Valley: Study 30 – Visual Simulations, Study 33 – Cultural Resources and Study 34 – Alternative Northern Transmission Alignments.
FERC had concerns that earlier visual simulations of how the project will look didn’t take into consideration new and proposed development in Temescal Valley and other areas. Additional study also is needed for Luiseno cultural resources in the Lee Lake area. The report found that the alignment of the northern lines running east from the mountains and across Temescal Valley needs more study because of the area’s development in the past 10 years – Glen Eden, Terramor, Sycamore Creek, Horsethief Canyon Ranch and the yet-to-be approved Lakeside community were specifically named.
The Nevada Hydro deadline to file the required study plans is Sept. 13.
Did you miss the Jan. 13, 2018 Press-Enterprise update on the controversial Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage project? You can read it HERE.
As referenced in the Press-Enterprise report, here is the Jan. 3, 2018 communication to Nevada Hydro from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission outlining the deficiencies the agency has found in the final license application: https://www.wearetv.org/blog/docs/deficiencies.pdf
What’s the next step for Nevada Hydro’s Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage project (LEAPS), now that the deadline has passed for additional study requests?
We contacted James Fargo at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC.) It appears the process will be a long one with the first step being a review of all requests submitted for additional studies and the determination of which requests are valid.
Here’s what Fargo stated in an email:
The issuance of the Ready for Environmental Analysis (REA), Notice and subsequent milestones will not occur until the additional information needs of Commission staff on the final license application have been satisfied, which may include the completion of any needed additional studies. The milestones that provide opportunities for stakeholder input are highlighted in red.
Additional study requests due
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments
Public Scoping Meetings
Comments on Scoping Document 1 due
Issue Scoping Document 2 (if necessary)
Issue REA Notice soliciting comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions
Comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions due
Issue updated EIS
Comments on updated EIS due
Issue final EIS (if necessary)
Several requests for studies were submitted just prior to the Dec. 1 deadline, including one from the U.S. Department of Agriculture with concerns about the Cleveland National Forest – among them the Decker Canyon Reservoir, the design of the transmission lines, fire hazards and the outdated Environmental Impact Statement.
Many study requests came from Sycamore Creek residents and one petition (many different ones, plus form letters were submitted), had more than 1,000 signatures.
(Published Nov. 28, 2017)
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS IS FRIDAY. DEC. 1
HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL STUDY REQUESTS Requests for additional studies can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page on the website. Use an Internet Explorer browser: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227. Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project No. P-14227-003
NEW INFO: A copy of your request sent to FERC for additional studies also MUST BE emailed to Rex Waite at Nevada Hydro: Rex@leapshydro.com
There seems to be disagreement between Southern California Edison and Nevada Hydro Co. about the connection point of the LEAPS project’s northern transmission lines, which could change the path of those lines if the hydro-power project is approved.
Speaking at the Nov. 8 Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting, Edison’s Jeremy Goldman said the lines will connect to the proposed Alberhill substation. If the substation plan gains approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, it will be constructed on 124 acres of SCE-owned land at the corner of Temescal Canyon and Concordia Ranch roads east of the 1-15 and close to the 1,900-home Horsethief Canyon Ranch neighborhood.
In filing its Final License Application with FERC, Nevada Hydro shows the connection point to be a switchyard it will build near Lee Lake with the lines continuing north to join Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains. The path to the Lee Lake switchyard would pass very close to the Glen Eden, Terramor, Sycamore Creek and Horsethief Canyon communities.
If the connection point is the Alberhill substation, about three miles south of the proposed Lee Lake switchyard, it is presumed the path of the lines would be changed, with major impact to Horsethief Canyon Ranch residents.
When questioned further, Goldman directed people to read Edison’s communication to FERC dated Sept. 22, 2017.
In the meantime, the countdown continues toward the Friday, Dec. 1 deadline for requests to be submitted to FERC asking for additional scientific studies for the LEAPS project.
The We Are Temescal Valley Development Committee urges residents, especially those living in Sycamore Creek, Glen Eden, Terramor and Horsethief Canyon Ranch, to request a new Environmental Impact Statement for the project.
The EIS that Nevada Hydro is using for the project was prepared in January 2007. Since that time, Riverside County has approved land use changes to property adjacent to and under the path of the proposed northern transmission lines, including Terramor and new Sycamore Creek neighborhoods. The impact of such an intensive project should be studied under current conditions, not those of almost 11 years ago.
The city of Lake Elsinore, the Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency and the Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority soon will be submitting requests for additional studies. Local Congressman Ken Calvert is resubmitting his request next week.
HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL STUDY REQUESTS Requests for additional studies can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page on the website. Use an Internet Explorer browser: https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227. Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project No. P-14227-003
NEW INFO: A copy of your request sent to FERC for additional studies also MUST BE emailed to Rex Waite at Nevada Hydro: Rex@leapshydro.com
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
The following entities already have sent letters opposing the project and/or requesting State and local agency review:
Glen Eden Corporation Sycamore Creek Community Association Horsethief Canyon Ranch Community Association The Retreat Community Association Terramor at Temescal Valley Lakeside Temescal Valley Riverside County 1st District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, 42nd Congressional District Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, 67th Assembly District Riverside County Transportation & Land Management Agency City of Lake Elsinore Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority U.S. Department of Agriculture California Department of Fish and Wildlife California Water Resources Control Board Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Center for Biodiversity Sierra Club San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society Southern California Edison
(Published Oct. 12, 2017)
PATH OF THE LINES: This illustration is from the Final License Application and shows the path of the transmission lines through Temescal Valley.
LATE-BREAKING NEWS …
Nevada Hydro rep Rex Wait, speaking at the Oct. 11 TV MAC meeting, announced a 60-day public comment period to request additional studies for the LEAPS project.
Request DEADLINE IS DEC. 1. If you submitted earlier comments, those comments must be resubmitted and phrased to request the need for additional studies and your reason for seeking the study.
HOW TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL STUDY REQUESTS Requests for additional studies can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page on the website. Use an Internet Explorer browser:
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. The docket number is P-14227. Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project No. P-14227-003
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
(Published Oct. 7, 2017)
FERC allows license application to be filed and waives requirement for additional review and public scoping
WHO: Nevada Hydro Speaker WHAT: Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council WHEN: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 11 WHERE: The Trilogy Lodge, 24503 Trilogy Parkway.
Despite protests from many state, county and city agencies, as well as elected officials and concerned citizens, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Sept. 29 issued its approval to accept a draft license application for a significant hydro-power project without requiring further review or public scoping. This action opened the door for the Nevada Hydro Company Inc. to file a final license application for its LEAPS project, which it did Oct. 2.
This application, with little exception, is based on a 10-year-old environmental impact statement. What comes next? We hope the Nevada Hydro representative who will speak at the Wednesday, Oct. 11 Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting can answer that question. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Trilogy Lodge, 24503 Trilogy Parkway.
NEVADA HYDRO SIMULATION: Looking to the east from De Palma Road, south of the Shops at Sycamore Creek center and north of Glen Eden. Yellow building at right is the proposed lake switchyard. Lee Lake can be viewed behind the switchyard.
Nevada Hydro resubmits LEAPS application to FERC
A request to submit a draft license application for a controversial power project that would greatly impact the Temescal Valley scenic view could be approved at any time by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
FERC is reviewing the application resubmitted by Nevada Hydro Company Inc. to build its Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage (LEAPS) project in the Cleveland National Forest with 32 miles of 500 kV transmission lines and 170 high-voltage steel towers. Nevada Hydro is asking FERC to accept the draft license application without additional review and public scoping.
ACTION NEEDED NOW
Deadline for comments is Sept. 22, 2017
Comments can be submitted to FERC via its eComment page — use an Internet Explorer browser:
Follow the directions on the page. It’s best to prewrite your comments in a Word doc and then copy and paste into the eComment template. FERC prefers that comments be kept short and to the point. The docket number is P-14227.
Comments also can be snail-mailed to: The Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street NE Washington, DC 20426
Begin your comments with: Re: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project Project Number 14227 Comments to The Nevada Hydro Company’s May 31, 2017 Notification of Intent to File License Application
Letters should be copied to Jim Fargo at the above FERC address. He has primary responsibility for the LEAPS project and can be reached by email at: james.fargo@ferc.gov or phone at 202-502-6095.
The plan calls for water from Lake Elsinore to be pumped at night into a to-be-constructed reservoir and then returned via gravity to generate electricity through turbines.
One set of transmission lines would run northwest across the Santa Ana mountains then head north, crossing Temescal Valley and the I-15 to connect to Edison’s Valley-Serrano lines that run across the Temescal Mountains. Glen Eden, Terramor, Sycamore Creek and Horsethief Canyon Ranch would be the closest communities to the lines.
The other set of lines would head southwest from the pumped storage facility to connect with San Diego Gas & Electric lines.
The project’s intent is to provide additional electricity during peak power usage and to replace electrical output lost with the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
The project was originally submitted in 1995. FERC initially approved the application in the early 2000s but then dismissed it in 2011 because of uncertainty over whether Nevada Hydro had rights to use Lake Elsinore water.
The previous project partner, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD), backed out of the project and terminated its agreement with Nevada Hydro in 2011. A lawsuit on the water rights issue is scheduled to begin before a San Diego County Superior Court jury on Sept. 22.
The WeAreTV Development Committee is sending a letter to FERC outlining reasons why the application should be denied:
DOWNED POWER LINE SAFETY: According to the Riverside County General Plan’s Temescal Canyon Area Plan, the Temescal Valley portion of the project would traverse a very high wildfire susceptibility area, a 100-year flood and dam inundation zone, and a seismic activity area associated with the Elsinore Fault Zone. Weather-wise, the project lies in the Elsinore Convergence Zone noted for extreme weather patterns including tornados.
The lines would cross both the I-15 freeway and Temescal Canyon Road, the only two north-south evacuation routes in Temescal Valley in case of a major disaster. There are no east-west roadways into or out of the area.
CHANGE IN CONDITIONS: Riverside County has approved land use changes to property adjacent to and under the planned transmission lines since the project’s dismissal in 2011. New development has been constructed. A draft Federal Environmental Impact Statement under National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), guidelines was released in January 2007 — 10 years ago. The impact of such an intensive project should be studied under current conditions, not those of 10 or 20 years ago.
CONSERVATION: The lines would traverse land area within the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA), jurisdiction. Construction of the towers and associated facilities would disturb endangered and threatened species of animals and plants protected by the RCA’s Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.
VISTAS: The transmission towers, lines and the construction of related facilities would impact the view from the I-15 freeway, which has been designated a State Eligible Scenic Highway.
EDISON PROJECTS: The final Environmental Impact Report has been released for Edison’s Valley-IvyGlen transmission lines and the Alberhill Substation. A public hearing on these projects soon will be scheduled by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). If approved, Edison’s 115 kV subtransmission lines will cross the I-15 freeway almost exactly where the Nevada Hydro transmission towers are proposed.
LACK OF STATE APPROVALS: FERC has indicated it may grant the new application with no additional review. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there is only an outdated Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project that was never approved. There is no current project application before the California Public Utilities Commission.
The Riverside County Transportation Department is moving forward with its plans to widen two stretches of Temescal Canyon Road. Bicycle lanes also will be added.
An informational workshop will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday Sept. 12 at the Trilogy Lodge, 24503 Trilogy Parkway. An environmental analysis was necessary and has been prepared.
Comments about the widening project and the analysis are being accepted by the county now through Sunday, Sept. 24
Comments should be emailed to Marcia Frances Rose, MFRose@rivco.org.
Here’s the link to the analysis; questions also can be asked at Tuesday’s meeting:
Anne Meyer of the Riverside County Transportation Commission and Juan Perez of the Riverside County Transportation Department at the October Municipal Advisory Council meeting presented a concept plan for improvements to be made along Temescal Canyon Road in the El Cerrito and Temescal Valley areas.
Left-turn lanes will be constructed on Temescal Canyon Road at Lawson Road, across from Tom’s Farms and at Hostettler Road in Horsethief Canyon Ranch. Construction on the lanes should begin in the middle of next year. It was suggested at the meeting that street lights be placed near the left-turn lanes.
Also planned is a culvert under Temescal Canyon Road south of Tom’s Farms and north of Glen Ivy Road that would prevent drainage from Coldwater Canyon from flooding and washing out Temescal Canyon Road during heavy storms. This construction should begin late next year.
The concept also looks at widening three stretches of Temescal Canyon Road from two to four lanes. The areas to be widened are from El Cerrito Road south to Tom Barnes Street in back of The Crossings, from 7-Oaks Deli south to the beginning of Wildrose Business Park, and from the southern end of Wildrose Business Park to the Temescal Canyon Road and I-15 interchange.
The road widening will be done in three phases and will cost about $25 million. There are no construction dates established yet because the county still must determine the source or sources for the $25 million. Read the staff report HERE
Buildings at the old tin mines in the early 1890s.
This really kicked mining activities into high speed. By 1891 there were 250 men working the mine, 82 veins of ore were discovered, and according to James Van Allen of the Scientific American, he visited the mine and estimated that workers were stamping 75 tons of rock daily.
The political scheming worked. Congress passed the McKinley Tariff, and the Temescal mine had the advantage. However, it turned out it was all for nothing. Just one year later in 1892, the tin veins ran dry, and the tin mines closed.
President Benjamin Harrison in 1891 makes a train stop to admire a tower of tin from the Temescal Tin Mine. The sign read “The First American Tin Mine, April 23, 1891.”
An early map depicts the layout of the mine.
JULY 2017: The theme was “Patriotic.” Congratulations to LINDA MYERS, a resident of The Retreat, for her entry, “Just a Boy in Search of Gumballs”
AUGUST 2017: The theme was “Shadowy.” Congratulations to JANNLEE WATSON, a resident of Wildrose Ranch, for her entry, “Look up in the sky! It’s a bird …” (Actually, it was a shadow created by the bird feeders)
SEPTEMBER 2017: The theme was anything beginning with the letter “P.” Congratulations to AMIE KINNE, a resident of Dawson Canyon, for her entry, “Poppies.”
OCTOBER 2017: The theme was “Costumes.” Congratulations to LAURA CORTEZ of California Meadows for her beautiful shot of a Tom’s Farms Civil War re-enactor.
NOVEMBER 2017: The theme was “Cloudy.” Congratulations to KRISSY BRANTSMA of Montecito Ranch for her shot titled “Cloud-Kissed.” It almost looks like a painting!
DECEMBER 2017: The theme was “Local Lights.” Congratulations to LAURA GUTIERREZ of California Meadows for her delightful Christmas tree shot using the bodeh technique on the lights.
JANUARY 2018: The theme was “Rusty, Rustic or Rural.” Congratulations to MATTHEW HOAG of Horsethief Canyon Ranch for his capture of this old railroad trestle near Lee Lake.
FEBRUARY 2018: The theme was “Fun in Temescal Valley.” Congratulations to TRIXIE ANDERSON of Wildrose Ranch for her photo titled “Trail Huggers.” Trixie is a member of the county’s Trails Committee.
MARCH 2018: The theme was “Temescal Valley Kids.” Congratulations to KRISSY BRANTSMA of Montecito Ranch for the creative interpretation of her “TV Kids!” 
