FERC review team visits creek, hydro plant

By Tim Velder, Lawrence County Journal | Thursday, January 15, 2009

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SPEARFISH -- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staffers got an up close look at the plumbing of the water-powered electrical facilities in Spearfish Canyon on Tuesday.

The tour was part of FERC’s process of reviewing the city of Spearfish’s application to operate the hydro-plant and continue to run water through a pipe from Spearfish Creek to the plant in Spearfish.

Homestake Mining Company deeded the property and its adjoining facilities to the city. Water is diverted from the creek several miles up Spearfish Canyon.

Some citizens would like to see the diversion end and allow the stream to go back to its original state prior to Homestake’s development. The city and other interested water right holders are concerned the water would disappear at the Split Rocks loss zone and eliminate the running creek through Spearfish.

FERC review team members include licensing project coordinator Steve Hocking, fisheries biologist Ryan Hansen and electrical engineer Jennifer Harper. Representatives from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Reclamation joined the FERC officials on the tour Tuesday.

Spearfish City Public Works Director Cheryl Johnson and plant operators Steve Hanson and Gary Lillehaug led the delegation to the Maurice Intake where the water is diverted to a tunnel that pours out at the hydro plant near the city’s campground. Johnson also showed an irrigation water intake about three miles below Maurice where the city pulls water for park and cemetery watering in the summer. Consultant Maureen Winters, of the city’s application writer Devine-Tarbell, also attended.

At Maurice, Forest Service fisheries biologist Steve Hirtzel asked about the city’s plans to implement fish-friendly devices. A dam holds back water to run into the diversion pipe. Some fish swim into the pipe and come out all the way down at the hydro-plant. City officials partnered with the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks last fall to relocate those fish to other places.

Hirtzel also said the Maurice dam prevents fish from moving upstream and he recommended a sloping bed of rocks and terraces so fish can swim over the dam.

Johnson said aesthetic improvements have been discussed, but a large-scale fish passageway is not something the city would consider.

Johnson said the S.D. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is reviewing its statewide stream designations and the city is supporting a move to designate the stream below the Maurice Intake as cold water permanent, as opposed to its current title of cold water marginal. The state is also considering changing the designation for the stream above Maurice to industrial/commercial. This brings with it a definition of the use for the stream, and stricter guidelines for the levels of total dissolved solids in the water.

Johnson also led a walk-through at the hydro-plant before viewing the large water pressure relief system known as the standpipes.

Hocking said the site review is part of the five-year permitting process, which is about halfway completed. Hocking said the issues raised during this site visit will guide the next steps of the application process which involve an environmental review and a more detailed environmental assessment. Depending upon how much more or less information the FERC team requires, the five-year process could be shortened.

A public scoping meeting is planned for 10 a.m. today (Wednesday, Jan. 14) at Spearfish City Hall. An evening session was conducted Tuesday night.

The hydro-plant and its workings was constructed a century-ago and was brought on line around 1911. Homestake mining company used the electricity from the plant to power mining and logging operations in the Lead area.

For more information on the FERC application process, call Cheryl Johnson at 642-1333.