Welcome to South Sutter Water District’s (SSWD) Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project Relicensing Website. This is an information resource for federal, state and local agencies; non-governmental organizations; and individual members of the public who may be interested in the relicensing of SSWD’s Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project No. 2997 (Project). The website provides 1) documents and material developed by SSWD during the relicensing; and 2) information regarding the Project relicensing proceeding; and is periodically updated by SSWD. Click on the item in which you are interested. Please note that much of the information on this website is in portable document format (pdf) or similar format, and some items will appear blank until information is completed or published.

The Project

The Project is located on the Bear River in Nevada, Yuba and Placer counties, California. The principal Project facilities include: the 170-foot high Camp Far West Dam; the 93,740 acre-foot Camp Far West Reservoir; the 6.8 megawatt Camp Far West Powerhouse at the base of Camp Far West Dam; and two recreation areas on Camp Far West Reservoir. The existing FERC Project Boundary includes 2,864 acres of land, of which 95 percent is owned by SSWD. The remaining 5 percent is owned by private parties.

The License

The initial FERC license for the Project expires June 30, 2021. SSWD plans, pending FERC’s approval, to follow FERC’s Traditional Licensing Process (TLP), as described in Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Subchapter B, Part 5, to prepare an application for a new license. Major filings by SSWD have included: 1) a Notice of Intent to File an Application for a New License, filed on March 14, 2016; 2) a Pre-Application Document (PAD), filed on March 14, 2016; and 3) a request to use the TLP filed on March 14, 2016. Each of these SSWD filings can be found under “Documents >> Relicensing Documents” on the upper menu bar.  Future FERC filings will include 1) a Draft Application for a New License Major Project – Existing Dam; and 2) a Final Application for a New License Major Project – Existing Dam.  These and other pertinent SSWD filings will be posted the relicensing website when available.

SSWD’s Relicensing Goal

SSWD enters the Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project relicensing with the expressed goal of obtaining a new license with minimal adverse impact to Project economics, while helping to foster SSWD’s relationship with the community, resource agencies, and other interested parties.  SSWD desires to obtain a new license of maximum term for the Project at a minimum cost, both initially and ongoing, that allows the Project to maximize profits from the production of electrical power and continue providing low cost water to SSWD’s customers, while also meeting environmental, recreational, irrigation and other non-power requirements and needs.