HomeMy WebLinkAboutFERC Letter - Sitka - Blue Lake - Jan 2009~0090126-0279 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 01/22/2009
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Energy Projects
Division of Dam Safety and Inspections - Washington Office
888 First Street, N.E., Routing Code: PJ-13
Washington, D.C. 20426
(202) 502-6743 Office - (202) 219-2731 Facsimile
JAN 2 2 ;~OOg In reply refer to:
P-2230-AK
Mr. Christopher Brewton
Utility Director
City and Borough of Sitka
105 Jarvis Street
Sitka, AK 99835
Re: Board of Consultants for Blue Lake Dam Raise Project, P-2230
Dear Mr. Brewton:
As FERC representatives discussed with you and your staff on Monday,
January 12, 2009, this letter is to inform you that an independent Board of Consultants
(Board) is required to be convened to oversee and assess the adequacy of the
investigations, design, and construction of the proposed raising of Blue Lake Dam at the
Blue Lake Project, FERC No. 2230. The Board shall be comprised of at least three
members with experience that covers the following fields: geotechnical engineering,
structural engineering (with experience in the design of concrete thin arch dams), and
hydrology/hydraulic engineering. It would be preferable, if possible, for some Board
members to have expertise in both geotechnical engineering and engineering geology.
By letter, a copy of each proposed Board member's resume is to be submitted to this
office for review and approval, and two ~pies submitted to the Division of Dam Safety
and Inspections, Portland Regional Engineer.
The Board shall assess, as a minimum, the areas listed below for this project:
1. Geology of the project site and surroundings;
2. The design report, plans and specifications;
3. Constxuction procedures and progress;
4. Design, installation details, and monitoring of instrumentation including seismic
monitoring;
5. Construction quality control and inspection program.
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The operation of the Board should be as follows:
. There will be formal meetings of the Board scheduled for the project to review the
technical areas the Board is required to assess. The meetings should be scheduled
at important milestone markers for the investigations, design and construction of
the project. It is anticipated that the meetings will be attended by members of the
Board, City and Borough of Sitka (C&BS), C&BS's engineering consultants, and
FERC.
2. At least two weeks prior to each project Board meeting, C&BS shall provide to the
distribution list below a data package that contains:
a. A meeting agenda;
b. A statement of the specific level of review the Board is expected to provide;
c. A list of the items to be reviewed and discussed with the Board;
d. Investigations, engineering and design analyses and reports, design
drawings and specifications to be reviewed by the Board;
e. A discussion of significant events in the investigation, design and
construction that have occurred since the last Board meeting;
f. ins~tmentation monitoring data and evaluation, as appropriate.
The data package, as well as all project related correspondence, should be
distributed to:
• One copy to each Board member
• Three copies to the Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, Portland
Regional Engineer
• Three copies to the Director, Division of Dam Safety and Inspections,
Washington, DC
3. At the conclusion of each Board meeting, the Board shall verbally present their
conclusions and recommendations and provide you a copy of the Board meeting
report. An electronic copy of the report should also be included.
4. Within 15 days after each Board meeting, C&BS shall submit to the Division of
Dam Safety and Inspections, Portland Regional Office three copies of the plan and
schedule to comply with the Board's recommendations. In the event some of the
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Board's rvcommendations are not implemented, detailed reasons for not doing so
should be pmvidvd. We may require additional action after we review the above
information.
You are to maintain a summary of all the Board's recommendations in a periodic
status report folder, indicating the Board report in which the recommendation was made,
and including the current status and outcome of each recommendation.
Three copies of the Board's final report are to be submitted to the Division of Dam
Safety and Inspections, Portland Regional Office, within 45 days, upon completion of the
project construction. The final report shall contain a statement indicating the Board's
opinion with respect to the investigation, design construction, safety, and adequacy of the
project structures.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please call Mr. James H. Evans of
this office at 202-502-8716.
Sincerely,
Daniel L Mahoney, Director
Division of Dam Safety
and Inspections