Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project FERC Relicensing
Wenatchee, WA
For the past several years, CRC has provided services for Chelan County Public Utility District’s Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project, located on the Columbia River, in order to assist the PUD with relicensing required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The relicensing effort required the integration of existing data with new fieldwork results and coordination with the PUD’s Cultural Resources Work Group, which is composed of tribal, state, and federal agency representatives. Assessments of 77 archaeological and historical sites for this project resulted in multiple recommendations of eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, and preparation of a Cultural Resources Management Plan guiding long–term administration of these resources.
The purpose of the inventory was twofold: to survey and document previously unidentified cultural resources, and to evaluate the current condition of numerous archaeological sites and historic properties. Some locales were determined to require additional assessment excavation, where previously reported information or survey results were insufficient for a NRHP recommendation. CRC prepared an Historic Properties Management Plan as one element of the PUD’s FERC relicensing documentation. In addition, one NRHP–eligible site was determined to require site stabilization measures and another site was selected for extensive evaluative excavations.
Research methodologies were developed by CRC in concert with the Chelan PUD Cultural Resources Work Group. Work conducted for the Rocky Reach FERC relicensing built upon the success of previous projects completed by CRC for Chelan PUD.