Hydro Licensing

Southern California Edison (SCE) is beginning the relicensing process for the Rush Creek Hydroelectric Project. Please use this page to find out how to get involved and stay up to date.

Quick Links

• Stay Informed
• Relicensing Overview
• Existing Project Description
• Relicensing Documents
• Upcoming Meetings
• Past Public Meetings
• Technical Working Groups
• Reference Documents and Information
• Contact Us

Stay Informed

If you are interested in participating in the relicensing proceeding, please complete the Contact Registration Form. This will ensure you are included on the distribution list and will receive future relicensing proceeding communications and meeting notifications.

Register online here to be notified via e-mail of new FERC filings and issuances related to the Rush Creek Project. Follow the online instructions and subscribe to docket number P-1389.

Relicensing Overview

SCE’s operating license for the Rush Creek Project (Project), FERC Project No. 1389, expires on January 31, 2027. Consequently, SCE is taking the initial steps required by the Federal Power Act and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain a new license for the Project using the Integrated Licensing Process (ILP). The ILP requires that SCE prepare a Notice of Intent (NOI) and Pre-Application Document (PAD) to be filed with FERC between five and five and one-half years before the expiration of the existing license (i.e., January 31, 2022).

• Relicensing Process Schedule
• Rush Creek Project Relicensing Notice
• FERC’s Integrated Licensing Process

Existing Project Description

The Rush Creek Project is located on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Mono County, California. The Project is situated approximately four miles southwest of the unincorporated community of June Lake. The majority of the Project occupies federal lands within the Inyo National Forest which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service (portions of the Project are located within the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area). The Project was constructed between 1915 and 1918 and later modified in 1924 and 1925, prior to the formation of the Wilderness.

The 13.01-megawatt Project includes three dams and associated reservoirs – Agnew Dam (Agnew Lake), Gem Dam (Gem Lake), and Rush Meadows Dam (Waugh Lake); a water conveyance system; the Rush Creek Powerhouse; and ancillary facilities. The three Project reservoirs historically provided storage for lake recreation during the summer and allowed for electricity generation at the Rush Creek Powerhouse in the fall/winter. Water exiting the powerhouse enters a short tailrace and is returned to Rush Creek upstream of Silver Lake.

Recently, SCE conducted fault studies, structural testing, and engineering analyses of Agnew, Gem, and Rush Meadows dams as a consequence of the Silver Lake Fault being identified as a potential safety concern in 2007. As a result of the analyses and subsequent consultation with FERC and DSOD, SCE implemented storage restrictions at the three reservoirs beginning in 2012, as well as structural modifications at Agnew and Rush Meadows dams in 2017 and 2018 and Gem Dam in 2020 and 2021.

• Project Vicinity Map
• Project Flyover Video

Relicensing Documents

All documents related to the Rush Creek Project can be found on FERC’s eLibrary. Links to relevant relicensing documents can also be accessed below (in descending chronological order).

SCE’s Initial Study Report

FERC's Study Plan Determination

SCE's Revised Study Plan

SCE's Proposed Study Plan

FERC's Scoping Document 2

SCE's Response to Scoping Document 1 (2)

SCE's Response to Scoping Document 1 (1)

FERC's Scoping Document 1

SCE's Pre-Application Documents

• Table of Contents
• Cover Letter and Notice of Intent
• Section 1, Introduction
• Section 2, Existing Project Location, Facilities, and Operations
• Section 3, Proposed Project Alternatives
• Sections 4.1–4.6, Existing Resource Information
• Sections 4.7–4.15, Existing Resource Information
• Section 5, Preliminary Issues, Draft Technical Study Plans, and Relevant Plans
• Section 6, Summary of Contacts
• Appendix A, Relicensing Process Plan
• Appendix B, Summary of Contacts
• Appendix C, Draft Technical Study Plans

Upcoming Public Meetings

There are no upcoming meetings at this time.

SCE invites all stakeholders to attend a webinar (Microsoft Teams Meeting) on January 20, 2022 from 9-11 am. The purpose of the webinar is to discuss (1) 2022 FERC relicensing milestones; (2) PAD content and organization, including Draft Technical Study Plans (TSP); and (3) the process for enhanced Stakeholder collaboration to review and discuss Draft TSPs, including establishment of future Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings. Click here for the meeting announcement.

Past Public Meetings

November 9,2023 - Initial Study Report Public Meeting

• Agenda
• Meeting Slide Deck
• Meeting Summary

July 6, 2022 – East Shore Silver Lake Improvement Association Presentation

• Presentation

June 16, 2022 – Proposed Study Plan Meeting

• Announcement
• Presentation

January 20, 2022 – Pre-Application Document Overview / Technical Study Plan Development Meeting

• Announcement
• Presentation

October 19, 2021 - Relicensing Kick-off Meetings

• Announcement
• Presentations
• Afternoon Meeting Notes
• Evening Meeting Notes

Technical Working Groups (TWG)

The TWG process is open to all interested parties including public agencies, Native American tribes, and non-governmental organizations, as well as individuals. Participants are expected to make a significant time commitment to prepare for and attend meetings, review documents, and provide technical input to SCE and its consultants on methods, analysis, and interpretation in a timely fashion. In light of this time commitment, it is expected that the TWG process will attract a relatively small number of subject matter experts. SCE will also support a concurrent but separate outreach effort to provide information about the relicensing to the interested public as well as stakeholders electing not to participate in the TWG process via electronic communication and updates to the Project website.

Meetings with TWGs were held in February and March 2022 to solicit input on development of Technical Study Plans. 

To be included in the TWG process, please complete the Technical Working Group Sign-up Form

Reference Documents & Information

• Existing FERC License (February 4, 1997)
• Project Information Questionnaire
• FERC's Notice of Commencement 
• FERC's Scoping Document 1
• FERC's Scoping Document 2

Contact Us