Relicensing the Skagit Hydroelectric Project
A view of Diablo Lake from Sourdough Trail (Photo credit: Bonnie Decker)
Project Description
Seattle City Light is in the process of relicensing the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. The project is a series of three dams that provide 20% of City Light’s power, and it is licensed under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The current license expires in 2025.
Renewing the license also means reviewing the safety, cost, environmental, and cultural impacts of the continued operation of the project. Between 2020 and 2023, City Light collaborated with local partners to develop an application for a new license that will last for the next 30-50 years. The license will include requirements around protecting the environment and the culture of the watershed.
Download the Skagit Relicensing Fact Sheet for more information.
Clean, Carbon-Free Electricity
Renewing our federal operating license will allow City Light’s Skagit Project to continue producing clean, carbon-free energy while also safeguarding the cultural and natural resources in the area.
Under the new license, City Light will:
- Adapt to changing climate conditions and customer demand.
- Continue to work with partners to protect and improve natural and cultural resources.
- Optimize power generation and non-power benefits like flood control, downstream fish habitat protection, and recreation.
- Use cutting-edge science to protect resources and mitigate for project effects.
- Identify opportunities to reduce electricity costs for City Light customers.
Key Milestones in the Relicensing Process
An important part of getting a new license is studying the impacts of the hydroelectric dams of the Skagit Project.
City Light worked with 38 partner organizations and consulting parties—including federal and state agencies, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organizations—to gather information needed to ensure the protection of natural and cultural resources within the Skagit Project area for the duration of the new license.
We performed:
- Recreation studies to evaluate how visitors use the area around the project for boating, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
- Fisheries and aquatics studies to evaluate habitat for Pacific salmon, steelhead and bull trout. This helps us determine the timing and amount of water to release from dams to protect adult salmon when they are spawning and young fish when they emerge from their eggs. Studies also evaluated the water quality of the Skagit River to support fish and wildlife downstream.
- Cultural resource studies to inventory and record historic buildings, archaeological sites, and traditional cultural places that may be vulnerable.
- Wildlife and botanical studies to assess the condition of habitat for sensitive wildlife species and for rare and culturally important plant species. These studies will help us understand how best to protect these species.
The studies required for the FERC process are complete; however, City Light plans will also be informed by dam-impact studies that happen outside FERC’s timelines.
Relicensing Updates
April 2024: Continued collaboration with Treaty Tribes, Canadian First Nations, federal and state regulatory bodies, and nearby communities including the development of agreements on operating the Project and managing the complex Skagit River ecosystem.
April 28, 2023: Seattle City Light filed the Final License Application (FLA) with FERC. This is a significant milestone in the relicensing process and represents years of collaboration among Treaty Tribes, Canadian First Nations, federal and state regulatory bodies, and nearby communities. To access the FLA documents, go to the Skagit Relicensing Public Documents Library and search under Relicensing Documents > Licensing & Regulatory > Final License Application (FLA).
March 8, 2023: Seattle City Light filed the Updated Study Report (USR) to FERC. This milestone is the culmination of over two years of intense research on the Skagit River and findings from these 33 studies will help City Light and its relicensing partners better understand and address environmental and other effects of the three-dam system.
Dec. 1, 2022: Seattle City Light submitted a Draft License Application (DLA) to FERC. This is an important and required milestone in the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project relicensing process and a testament to City Light’s successful collaboration with Tribes, Canadian First Nations, federal and state agencies, and other licensing participants. To access the DLA documents, go to the Skagit Relicensing Public Documents Library and search under Relicensing Documents > Licensing & Regulatory > Draft License Application (DLA).
Aug. 8, 2022: FERC issued its determination on requests for study modifications to the approved study plan for the Skagit Project. FERC reviewed comments on the ISR filed by licensing participants and responded to their requests. Read the letter from FERC.
March 8, 2022: Seattle City Light filed the Initial Study Report (ISR) with FERC. The ISR provides initial results from 33 studies that are being done to inform the actions that City Light will take to manage and protect the cultural, environmental, and recreational resources of the Skagit River watershed under the next license. To access the filing documents, go to the Skagit Relicensing Public Documents Library and search under Relicensing Documents > Licensing & Regulatory > Initial Study Report (ISR).
January 2022: Seattle City Light CEO and General Manager Debra Smith sent a letter to License Participants with an update on progress and next steps.
November 2021: Seattle City Light CEO and General Manager Debra Smith sent a letter to License Participants clarifying the utility’s position on fish passage. Read the letter on our Powerlines blog.
Sept. 20, 2021: Seattle City Council voted unanimously to authorize a new fund to support endangered fish species in the Skagit River watershed, including bull trout and Chinook salmon. The Skagit Habitat Enhancement Program will start with $2.5 million in initial funding to support fish and aquatic habitat projects. Each year, $500,000 will be added to this fund, until the new Skagit Hydroelectric Project license is in place. The Upper Skagit, Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes and federal and state resource agencies will provide input on the fund and Seattle City Light will administer it.
Aug. 4, 2021: City Light shared with partners the plans to do an important assessment of ongoing need for the dams. City Light will be doing comprehensive decommissioning assessment to answer the question “Should we consider removing any or all of the dams on the Skagit?” The assessment is a standard tool developed to help utilities with these complex issues, and City Light will be performing it several times during the life of the next license. To read more about the assessment, visit our Powerlines blog.
July 16, 2021: FERC approved Seattle City Light’s study plans. Their study plan determination includes some modifications to some of the proposed studies, which City Light will be making; it also details what studies are not required by FERC as part of the license. City Light-submitted studies will still be completed as part of our commitments to our partners, even if they are not required by FERC.
Below are links to documents relating to the study plan:
Resources
- Access Fund & Washington Climbers Coalition
- American Rivers
- American Whitewater
- Hydro Reform Coalition
- Lummi Nation
- National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
- Nlaka'pamux Nation
- Nooksack Indian Tribe
- North Cascades Conservation Council (NCCC)
- North Cascades Institute (NCI)
- Samish Tribe
- Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe
- Skagit County
- Skagit County Dike District Partnership (SCDDP)
- Skagit Drainage and Irrigation District Consortium (SDIDC)
- Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission (SEEC)
- Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group
- Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC)
- Snohomish County
- Snoqualmie Indian Tribe
- Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
- Stó:lō Nation
- Suquamish Tribe
- Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
- Trout Unlimited
- Ts'elxwéyeqw Tribe
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
- U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
- U.S. National Park Service (NPS)
- Upper Skagit Indian Tribe
- Washington Climbers Coalition
- Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP)
- Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology)
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
| 2020 | |
|---|---|
| 4/30: | City Light files Pre-Application Document (PAD) |
| 10/24: | Deadline for public comments on PAD and study requests to FERC |
| 12/8: | City Light files Proposed Study Plan (PSP) |
| 2021 | |
| 3/8: | Deadline for public comments on PSP |
| 4/7: | City Light files Revised Study Plan (RSP) |
| 5/6: | Deadline for public comments on RSP |
| 2022 | |
| 12/1: | City Light files Draft License Application (DLA) |
| 2023 | |
| 3/1: | Deadline for public comments on DLA |
| 3/8: | City Light files Updated Study Report (USR) |
| 4/28: | City Light files Final License Application (FLA) |
| 4/30: | City Light filed Final License Application (FLA) |
| 12/12: | City Light files Response to Additional FERC Information Requests |
| 2025 | |
| 4/30: | Current FERC license expires |
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2023
May 2023 | March 2023 | Summer 2023 | September 2023 | December 2023
2022
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2021
Visit the online library to find Skagit Project relicensing documents, background information about the Skagit River watershed and additional resources.
Please Note: The Skagit Relicensing Public Documents Library has moved to a new location. Please update your hyperlinks, favorites, and bookmarks to reflect the new location, fercrelicensing.seattle.gov/library/skagit.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Project is a series of three dams in the upper Skagit River watershed that generate about 20 percent of Seattle City Light’s power. Hydropower is clean, carbon-free energy and the leading source of renewable energy in the U.S.
The Project is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The current license, issued in 1995, regulates the Project’s operations and includes numerous measures to protect fisheries and other public resources. Seattle City Light is seeking a new license because the current license expires in 2025.
Relicensing is an opportunity for Seattle City Light to study and assess the current conditions of the Skagit River ecosystem to ensure that future operations of the Project help protect one of the most important rivers in Puget Sound.
Seattle City Light has been an active partner in the watershed for many years. In 2019, Seattle City Light began collaborating with over 30 License Participants—Tribes, federal and state agencies, local governments, and non-profits—to develop an application for a new FERC license.
On April 28, 2023, City Light submitted the Final License Application (FLA) to FERC, detailing plans to operate the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project for the next 50 years. The FLA commits City Light to a whole-ecosystem, adaptive management approach for the watershed that surrounds this critical source of renewable energy. It also commits to a comprehensive fish management plan, which includes a fish passage program among many other population-supporting strategies.
City Light is currently working closely with Tribes, First Nations, State and Federal Agencies and other stakeholders to identify measures that should be included in the next license. We anticipate concluding this process by the end of 2024. At that time, FERC will begin its environmental review process. It is anticipated that FERC’s process will take about two years. If the new license is not issued by April 2025, the project will be covered by annual licenses.
The RSP focused on the geographic area in the vicinity of the hydropower project and transmission lines, and on environmental issues related to operating the dams in the river. Robust environmental study is key to understanding the benefits and effects of the Project and Seattle City Light is committed to using sound science to guide future decisions.
The RSP was responsive to and incorporated significant input from the License Participants. It described 33 proposed studies related to fish populations, river ecology, flood risk, water quality, wildlife, cultural and historic resources, recreation, safety, and more. While Seattle City Light paid for this research the License Participants and other scientific experts helped guide the work.
Yes. In addition to our existing license implementation and science grant programs, we used this relicensing opportunity to look even deeper into the surrounding ecosystem with additional studies, such as a food web study that looked at food supply for fish in the reservoirs.
The DLA provided important information about the Project that FERC and others will use when relicensing the Project, such as a description of how the Project is managed and what the power is used for. It also included a detailed environmental analysis that was developed upon scientific studies and an extensive collaborative process with our partners.
To access the DLA documents, go to the Skagit Relicensing Public Documents Library and search under Relicensing Documents > Licensing & Regulatory > Draft License Application (DLA).
The plans and programs in the DLA addressed a wide range of factors including fish and aquatic resources, water resources, restoring flows to the bypass reach, flood management, cultural resources, geology and soils, plants and vegetation, wildlife, recreation, visual resources and more. View a brief summary of some of the projects included in the filing.
The DLA is not final, as additional work was done prior to the submission of the Final License Application.
On April 28, 2023, Seattle City Light submitted a final license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), detailing plans to operate the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project for the next 50 years. Although this was not the last step in the FERC relicensing process, the FLA was a significant milestone, and represents years of collaboration among Treaty Tribes, Canadian First Nations, federal and state regulatory bodies, environmental groups, and nearby communities.
City Light manages the flow of water through the hydroelectric project according to the following priorities: flood risk management, fish habitat, recreation and power generation. Those priorities won’t change in the next license, but there are new measures that reflect climate change, partner and regulatory agency requirements, and tribal cultural interests.
Our next license is built for more monitoring, more flexibility and more collaboration and includes:
- A whole ecosystem approach: The next license takes a whole-ecosystem approach to managing the hydropower project’s effects on the watershed.
- Adaptive management: The next license will include a robust/long-term monitoring program, which is essential to a flexible and adaptive management program.
- A comprehensive fish program that includes fish passage and estuary restoration: City Light has worked with Tribes, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and other key partners to develop a comprehensive fish program that will contribute to the protection and restoration of fish throughout the river. This includes considerations such as water quality, spawning beds, rearing habitat in the estuary, and more. City Light has also been responsive to the interests expressed by the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, NMFS and others, and has proposed a fish passage program for passage across all three dams. The fish passage program is just one component of the comprehensive fish program. City Light is also committed to estuary restoration, mainstem habitat restoration and managing flows to reduce the risk of floods while protecting salmon habitat.
To access the FLA documents, go to the Skagit Relicensing Public Documents Library and search under Relicensing Documents > Licensing & Regulatory > Final License Application (FLA).
As part of its commitment to do more for the Skagit River watershed, Seattle City Light has established the Skagit Habitat Enhancement Program—a fund to support high value habitat restoration projects outside of the FERC process. City Light has committed to supporting the Smokehouse Dike Setback Restoration Project and the Milltown Island Estuary Restoration Project restoration sites with funding through this program.
We understand the profound importance to Tribes and other Licensing Participants of instream flows below Gorge Dam. Seattle City Light is committed to providing flows in the bypass as soon as possible and as part of a long-term commitment in the new license. Seattle City Light is working with the Licensing Participants to identify appropriate flows for the bypass reach that consider cultural, spiritual, aesthetic, and ecological interests.
City Light filed the Final License Application (FLA) with FERC on April 28, 2023. Next, FERC has a public environmental review process that will be completed over the next several years. Additionally, City Light will continue to collaborate with partners to develop agreements on operating the project and managing the complex ecosystem of the Skagit River. Once completed, those additional agreements will be presented to FERC and may be included in the FERC license.