Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power, 23993-23995 [2024-07293]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Western Area Power Administration

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23993-23995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07293]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

[[Page 23994]]


ACTION: Notice of the final allocation of Provo River Project power.

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SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Colorado River 
Storage Project (CRSP) Management Center (MC), a federal Power 
Marketing Administration of the Department of Energy (DOE), announces 
its Final Allocation of Provo River Project Power. WAPA's Final 2025 
Provo River Project Marketing Plan and Call for 2025 Resource Pool 
Applications (Marketing Plan) was published in the Federal Register on 
March 17, 2023. Applications for an allocation of Provo River Project 
power were due June 15, 2023. WAPA reviewed and considered the single 
application received and published the 2025 Provo River Project 
Resource Pool Proposed Power Allocation in the Federal Register on 
October 31, 2023. The 60-day comment period for the proposed 
allocations closed on January 2, 2024. WAPA received and considered two 
formal comments. This Federal Register notice establishes the Final 
Allocation of Provo River Project Power.

DATES: The final allocations will be effective on May 6, 2024.

ADDRESSES: All documentation retained by WAPA for the purpose of 
developing the final power allocation, including comments, letters, and 
other supporting documents, is available for public inspection and 
copying at the CRSP Management Center, Western Area Power 
Administration, 1800 South Rio Grande Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401. 
Public comments and related information may be accessed from the CRSP 
website at: www.wapa.gov/about-wapa/regions/crsp/power-marketing/2025-provo-power-marketing-plan/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brent Osiek, Vice President of 
Power Marketing for CRSP, 801-244-9519 or [email protected]; or Mr. 
Randolph Manion, CRSP Contracts and Energy Services Manager, 
[email protected], 720-201-3285. Written requests for information should 
be sent to CRSP Management Center, Western Area Power Administration, 
1800 South Rio Grande Avenue, Montrose, CO 81401; faxed to 970-240-
6282; or emailed to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WAPA is responsible for marketing power from 
the Provo River Project, which is done independently from the other 
projects marketed by WAPA's CRSP MC, including the Salt Lake City Area 
Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP), Olmsted Project, and the Falcon-Amistad 
Projects. In addition to marketing power from these federal 
hydroelectric projects, WAPA's CRSP MC is responsible for approximately 
2,316 miles of transmission lines and associated infrastructure across 
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
    The Provo River Project is a small water development project, with 
a powerplant located in northern Utah. It was authorized by President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt, in part, as a response to the Great Depression 
and a severe drought that devastated Utah's agriculture and threatened 
municipal water supplies in the 1930s. The Provo River Project's 
primary function is to provide irrigation, municipal, and industrial 
water to users in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, Utah. The Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), finished 
construction of the Deer Creek Dam in 1938 and the Deer Creek 
Powerplant in 1958, which included two 2.475-megawatt generators. On 
June 27, 1936, Reclamation signed contract number Ilr-874 making the 
Provo River Water Users' Association (PRWUA) the operator of the dam 
and responsible for repayment of the Provo River Project. The initial 
investment in the power facilities was repaid in 1984 but there are 
ongoing costs associated with operation, maintenance, and replacement 
of equipment. Surplus power revenues may be used to aid the repayment 
of the Provo River Project irrigation investment.
    Between October 15 and April 15, water may be diverted from the 
adjacent Weber River Basin into the Provo River Basin and stored in 
Deer Creek Reservoir for irrigation, municipal, and industrial purposes 
pursuant to the terms of the 1938 contract number Ilr-1082 between the 
PRWUA, PacifiCorp (formerly Utah Power and Light Company), and 
Reclamation, among others. The diversion creates a loss of power 
generation at the Weber Powerplant on the Weber River, downstream from 
the diversion. As a result, PacifiCorp, the owner of the Weber 
Powerplant, is reimbursed for its winter energy losses with Provo River 
Project power (Weber/Provo Water Exchange). During this winter period, 
Provo River Project generation above the power reimbursement amount 
owed to PacifiCorp is sold to Provo River Project customers as non-firm 
surplus energy; during the summer period, Provo River Project 
generation is sold to customers as non-firm energy, both without 
capacity. It is expected that the annual energy production from the 
Provo River Project will average around 17,243,527 kilowatt-hours per 
year.

Response to Comments on the Provo River Project 2025 Resource Pool 
Proposed Power Allocation

    WAPA's Final 2025 Provo River Project Marketing Plan and Call for 
2025 Resource Pool Applications (Marketing Plan) was published in the 
Federal Register on March 17, 2023 (88 FR 16433). WAPA reviewed and 
considered the single application received and published the 2025 Provo 
River Project Resource Pool Proposed Power Allocation and initiated a 
public comment period in the Federal Register on October 31, 2023 (88 
FR 74488). During the public comment period, WAPA received one written 
comment and one verbal comment on the proposal. In preparing the Final 
Allocation of Provo River Project Power, WAPA reviewed and considered 
both comments received. This section summarizes and responds to those 
comments.
    Comment(s): Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) 
submitted one oral and one written comment, both in support of WAPA's 
proposal not to alter existing power allocations under the 2025 
Resource Pool. UAMPS submitted an application for a portion of the 2025 
Resource Pool on behalf of three of its members currently receiving 
Provo River Project power (Payson, Utah; Springville City, Utah; and 
South Utah Valley Electric Service District) to pursue a share of the 
2025 Resource Pool in the event of reallocation to new applicants. 
However, UAMPS stated its preference was to not reallocate power under 
the Resource Pool.
    Response: WAPA appreciates UAMPS comments in support of the 
proposal.

Resource Pool Power Allocation

    WAPA did not receive applications for Provo River Project power 
from new, eligible preference entities. As noted, UAMPS submitted an 
application on behalf of three of its members, all existing Provo River 
Project contractors. After analyzing the application and taking into 
consideration all existing federal hydropower allocations to all Provo 
River Project contractors, WAPA determined no significant benefit of 
additional widespread use would occur by continuing forward with the 
2025 Resource Pool. Therefore, WAPA will not reduce Provo River Project 
contractor allocations by 3 percent and will not reallocate power under 
the 2025 Resource Pool. All current Provo River Project allocations 
will remain unchanged, as defined in the Final Allocation of Provo 
River Project Power table below:

[[Page 23995]]



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                                                                                                       Sub-
                                                  Percentage                                        percentage
                    Allotee                       entitlement      On behalf of, if applicable     entitlement,
                                                                                                   if applicable
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Heber Light and Power.........................             6.0  Not applicable..................
UAMPS (In Total)..............................            24.0
                                                                Lehi............................             2.7
                                                                Springville.....................            12.9
                                                                Payson..........................             4.8
                                                                South Utah Valley ESD...........             3.6
Utah Municipal Power Agency (In Total)........            70.0
                                                                Provo...........................            60.9
                                                                Salem...........................             1.4
                                                                Spanish Fork....................             7.7
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Contracting Process

    After the effective date of this notice, WAPA will begin the 
contracting process pursuant to the Marketing Plan. That process 
requires each individual allottee identified in the table above to 
execute and return without modification WAPA's electric service 
contract to purchase Provo River Project energy within 6 months of the 
contract offer, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by WAPA. WAPA 
reserves the right to withdraw and reallocate any allocation if an 
allottee does not execute the new electric service contract by close of 
business September 30, 2024. The date of initial service under these 
contracts will be October 1, 2024, and these contracts will remain in 
effect through September 30, 2054.
    If there is any unallocated power after this process, WAPA reserves 
the right to reallocate such power according to the eligibility and 
allocation criteria set forth in the Marketing Plan. Entities who have 
submitted an application pursuant to this process need not re-submit an 
application if they wish to be considered. WAPA will contact such 
eligible entities.

Legal Authority

    The Marketing Plan, published in the Federal Register (88 FR 16433) 
on March 17, 2023, was established under the following authorities: the 
Provo River Project was initially authorized under a feasibility 
finding of the Secretary of the Interior, which was approved by the 
President, on November 16, 1935, pursuant to Sec.  4 of the Act of June 
25, 1910 (36 Stat. 836), and subsection B of Sec.  4 of the Act of 
December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702) (see also Act of March 29, 1948, ch. 
159, 62 Stat. 92); Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (Pub. L. 57-161) 
(32 Stat. 388); Reclamation Project Act of August 4, 1939 (Pub. L. 76-
260) (53 Stat. 1187); Department of Energy Organization Act of August 
4, 1977 (Pub. L. 95-91) (91 Stat. 565); and Reclamation Projects 
Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-575) (106 Stat. 
4600, 4605), as such acts may be supplemented or amended. Allocating 
power from the resource pool falls within the Marketing Plan and is 
covered by this authority.

Regulatory Procedure Requirements

A. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    WAPA has determined that this proposed action fits within the 
categorical exclusion listed in Appendix B to subpart D of 10 CFR part 
1021 (B4.1 contracts, policies, and marketing and allocation plans for 
electric power). Categorically excluded projects and activities do not 
require preparation of either an environmental impact statement or an 
environmental assessment. A copy of the categorical exclusion 
determination is available on the CRSP website at: wapa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cx-02-14-22-prp-marketing-plan.pdf.

B. Determination Under Executive Order 12866

    WAPA has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under 
Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, no clearance of this notice by the 
Office of Management and Budget is required.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 1, 
2024, by Tracey A. LeBeau, Administrator, Western Area Power 
Administration pursuant to the above identified legal authority. For 
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of 
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit this 
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document 
of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way 
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-07293 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P