Communication Protocol

Introduction

During the course of relicensing the Wells Project, communication will take place through public meetings, Resource Work Group and stakeholder meetings, telephone communication and written communications. All phases of formal correspondence require adequate documentation to establish the formal consultation record. The Communication Protocol is intended to provide a flexible framework for the dissemination of information and for documenting consultation among all parties involved in the Wells Project ILP. The Communication Protocol shall remain in effect until a new long-term FERC license is issued.

Distribution of Relicensing Material

Douglas PUD will encourage all interested parties to receive written relicensing materials in electronic format through email or the relicensing website.  Douglas PUD will also give all customer/owners the opportunity to be included on the relicensing distribution list.  Unless otherwise specified, Douglas PUD will use the following procedures to distributed documents:

All the material listed in the above table will be posted on the relicensing website (www.douglaspud.org/relicensing) and will be used to document the consultation record for relicensing.

Certain documents may be restricted from publication on the relicensing website in accordance with FERC’s regulations protecting Critical Energy Infrastructure Information (CEII) (18 CFR  388.113) or in cases where the document contains privileged information (e.g., sensitive species locations, cultural resource sites, etc.).  Douglas PUD will address requests for access to this information on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with Washington State law as needed during the relicensing consultation process.

Information Requests

Douglas PUD will make public records available at the District's headquarters building in East Wenatchee. There are no costs associated with viewing documents in person at Douglas PUD’s Relicensing Library. Requests to inspect public records shall be made in writing and directed to:

Meaghan Vibbert
Public Information Officer
Douglas County PUD
1151 Valley Mall Parkway
East Wenatchee, Washington 98802-4497
Fax: 509-884-0553
email: mvibbert@dcpud.org

All requests for public records should clearly indicate the document name, publication date (if known) and FERC Project No. 2149.  Hard copies, in addition to those distributed as part of the consultation process, will be available for a reproduction cost of $0.15 per page. Documents that need to be scanned to convert to electronic format at a citizen's request are subject to the copy charge noted above. There will be no charge for hard copies requested by federal, state or tribal entities.

Meeting Notices and Minutes

Douglas PUD will hold both public and Resource Work Group meetings at various times throughout the relicensing process. For public meetings, written notification will be provided to all parties on the relicensing distribution list and will be published in newspapers of regional or state circulation at least 15 days in advance of the meeting date. In addition, FERC will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the date for the formal ILP meetings that it is responsible for scheduling in its effort to obtain public comment.

For all work group meetings, Douglas PUD will post the meeting information on the relicensing website Meetings by Year page and provide email notice and a preliminary agenda at least 10 business days prior to scheduled meetings. A final agenda will be posted to the Meetings by Year page and distributed at least one week prior to the meetings. Parties may submit proposed agenda changes to Douglas PUD within 5 business days of receipt of the preliminary agenda or may suggest changes to the final agenda at the meeting. Written materials that need to be reviewed prior to the meetings will be provided to stakeholders at least one week prior to scheduled meetings, except under exceptional circumstances.

Draft minutes of all meetings will be prepared and circulated by Douglas PUD within one week of each meeting. Comments on the draft minutes must be submitted to Douglas PUD within one week of distribution. Only meeting attendees can provide comments on meeting minutes. After the one-week review period, Douglas PUD will distribute a red-line version of the revised meeting minutes, based on comments and corrections received. Any comments received, together with final versions of such minutes, will be included in the consultation record maintained on the relicensing website at www.douglaspud.org/relicensing.

FERC Communications

FERC has assigned Kim A. Nguyen of its staff to serve as an advisor during the Wells Project ILP. Ms. Nguyen will participate in relicensing meetings and is expected to provide guidance during the relicensing process. The role of the FERC advisor will be in accordance with the rules and regulations for the ILP. Any FERC staff member may participate in a meeting without prior notice to other participants provided that minutes are written and placed into the public record. For questions related to FERC Communications please contact Kim Nguyen at kim.nguyen@ferc.gov or at 202-502-6105.

Communications with FERC staff that address the merits of the proceeding will be included in to the public record.  In order to have written communication with FERC staff made a part of the record for a project, it must be formally filed with the FERC Secretary as follows:

The Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20426

All written communications to FERC must include an original and 8 copies and have the following displayed on the first page:

Wells Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 2149-152) – Application for New License

The docket and sub-docket number assigned to the Wells ILP is P-2149-152.

FERC is strongly encouraging stakeholders to file their comments electronically via the Internet instead of submitting comments by paper.  Instructions for e-Filing are provided at www.ferc.gov under the eLibrary link.  Additional information on this program can be found in the regulations at 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii). Filing comments electronically with FERC also eliminates the need for filing an original and 8 copies

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