Walter D. Pagel
Manager, Eastern Region, Hydro Generation
Southern California Edison Company

Regarding H.R. 3932 to Amend Public Law 99-338 to Authorize the Continued Use of Certain Lands within the Sequoia National Park by Portions of an Existing Hydroelectric Project

Before the National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Resources

April 29, 2004

Good morning Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. I am Walter D. Pagel, Manager of the Eastern Region of Southern California Edison Company’s (SCE) Hydro Generation Department. My duties include oversight of the operation, maintenance, and licensing of 18 of SCE’s 25 hydroelectric projects, including the Kaweah Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Hydropower Project (Project). SCE appreciates the opportunity to present testimony in support of H.R. 3932, the proposed authorization to the Secretary of the Interior to issue three renewals of a permit for the Kaweah project to continue to occupy lands of the United States with the Sequoia National Park.
To provide context to my testimony, let me briefly explain SCE’s role in operating the Kaweah project.

Southern California Edison

SCE is the nation’s second largest investor owned electric utility company, serving more than 11 million people over a 50,000 square mile service territory in Central and Southern California. SCE is headquartered in Rosemead, California, about ten miles east of the City of Los Angeles. SCE is a regulated public utility that has provided high quality, reliable electric service for more than a century. We have over 4.5 million customers.
Kaweah Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Hydroelectric Project

SCE owns, operates, and maintains twenty-five hydroelectric projects in the mountains of Central and Southern California. These hydroelectric projects generate over 1,150 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity, enough to serve over 1 million residential customers.

The Kaweah Project is located in Tulare County in the foothills of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Project has three powerhouses with a combined generating capacity of about 8.8 megawatts. Powerhouse No. 1 began operation in 1899, followed by Powerhouse Nos. 2 and 3 in 1905 and 1913, respectively. The Project generates about 53 gigawatts of electric energy annually. Although the Project is located primarily on privately owned lands, some Project facilities are also on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

Of interest to this Committee, certain Kaweah Project facilities are within the Sequoia National Park. That includes four small reservoirs with a combined storage of about 1,152 acre feet. These reservoirs were originally constructed between 1903 and 1905 on National Forest lands that were added to the Sequoia National Park in 1978. The four reservoirs release water into the East Fork of the Kaweah River during the late summer and early fall to augment normal low flows in the river. After the water leaves the National Park, the water is diverted into Kaweah Powerhouse No. 1 for power generation and is then returned to the Kaweah River.

Additionally, the Project has two small diversion dams on the Middle Fork and the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. Water is diverted into a 26,085 foot long water conveyance facility, within the National Park, for use at Kaweah Powerhouse No. 3. The water is returned to the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River after generating electricity at Powerhouse No. 3. The Kaweah No. 3 diversion facilities and flowline were constructed between 1907 and 1913 within the Sequoia National Park, pursuant to a permit issued by the Department of the Interior.
The Kaweah Project facilities not located within the National Park are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pursuant to a January 31, 1992 license issued to SCE. The Federal Power Act does not allow FERC to issue licenses for project facilities within a National Park.

In 1974 and again in 1986, Congress gave the Secretary of the Interior the specific authority to issue SCE a permit to continue to operate and maintain those Project facilities within the Sequoia National Park. The 1986 legislation, Public Law 99 338, authorized the issuance of one 10 year permit, with one renewal. The existing permit issued to SCE for the Project facilities located within the Sequoia National Park expires in September 2006. H.R. 3932 would amend Public Law 99 338 to allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue two additional renewals of the existing permit.

Similar to a FERC license for a hydropower project, the existing permit contains provisions for the protection of National Park resources, such as ensuring water releases below the diversion dams. The Permit also requires the payment of an annual fee based upon the amount of power generated by the Project.

SCE takes seriously its responsibility to protect National Park resources. We have established a strong and favorable working relationship with Sequoia National Park staff. For example, SCE recently went beyond the Permit requirements and constructed an award winning redwood bridge within the National Park. The redwood bridge was designed to fit aesthetically with the Park’s natural environment and replaced a bridge previously destroyed at least twice by naturally occurring high volume flows in the Kaweah River. SCE fully expects this working relationship to continue as long as Project facilities are located within the Sequoia National Park.

Conclusion

For the continued, successful, efficient operation of the Kaweah Project, SCE requests that H.R. 3932 be passed as currently drafted. As evidenced by the recent energy shortages in California, the Kaweah Hydroelectric project plays an important role in SCE’s efforts to continue supplying reliable, low cost, clean, and renewable energy to our customers. SCE appreciates the opportunity to participate in this hearing. Thank you for your consideration of our comments in support of H.R. 3932. Finally, SCE wishes to express its gratitude to Congressman Nunes for introducing this legislation.