It”s not quite Yalta, but representatives of three agencies still learning how to divide up the new world of wave energy will make presentations at a public forum in Fort Bragg.
The Saturday, Jan. 19 event at Dana Gray Elementary will be the first time ever that representatives of the California State Lands Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the federal Minerals Management Service have appeared together in public.
The city of Fort Bragg and the county of Mendocino have managed to attract not just the conflicted regulators, but many of the biggest names in the emerging wave energy issue, including industry representatives, environmental regulators, fishing groups, local government leaders and officials from Oregon, which has taken the lead nationally in wave energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) have had an open feud over who controls wave energy at the three-mile limit of state waters.
Under the Federal Water Power Act of 1920, FERC has always claimed jurisdiction over hydropower facilities on land.
But after the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005, the MMS implemented a program to manage offshore renewable energy projects. FERC responded by claiming jurisdiction over marine hydropower facilities, saying: “The Energy Policy Act does not appear intended to alter the existing jurisdiction of any federal agency,” according to the publication Energy Law.
An effort is also under way to get Congress to define jurisdictions in the brand new process of staking wave energy claims.
The state, which also has a claim to the same waters, hasn”t taken a firm position but has asked FERC to consult with State Lands. Several federal and state agencies have asked FERC to work with them more.
PG&E spokesman Ian Caliendo said the utility has recently decided to file with both federal agencies, in an effort to keep the project on track in the current regulatory environment.
“We are filing with MMS for the areas within the FERC preliminary permit that lie outside of the three-mile mark. I want to make clear that this is the same areas in both Humboldt and Fort Bragg, not additional areas. We remain committed to exploring the feasibility of ocean energy, and we are following the regulatory environment as it evolves,” Caliendo said.
The regulatory group planning to come on Jan. 19 includes Stephen Bowler, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Maurice Hill, Federal Minerals Management Service, Sue Young, State Lands Commission and Tom Luster, California Coastal Commission.
California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi told the newspaper that the State Lands Commission is taking a wait and see stance on the wave energy issue.
Garamendi, who was forced to cancel planned visits about wave energy to a local Democratic event and the City of Fort Bragg, granted an emailed request for an interview from this reporter.
The state”s position on the issue is still widely considered one of the key missing pieces to the issue.
Garamendi, the number two man in state government, serves on the State Lands Commission, which maintains legal ownership of the ocean bottom out three miles. He is also a board member of the Ocean Protection Council, the state”s key policymaking body for the ocean.
State Lands, in a terse statement to FERC, made it clear that the state expects the federal agency to behave like any other applicant using state waters, which could easily be read as a claim for final say on those waters.
Garamendi said the commission would wait until projects are brought forward.
“State Lands Commission doesn”t establish/issue policy statements. Our policy would be established through the record of our decisions on these issues. We currently do not have any wave energy projects in front of SLC nor any expected in the immediate future,” Garamendi told the newspaper.
“If and when wave energy projects are presented to the SLC we will do our due diligence in analyzing the impacts and making well-informed decisions based on what is best for the state”s public trust lands,” the Lt. Governor said in the email interview.
Garamendi said the feasibility of the technology is unknown but it is worth studying.
“It could become a new source of renewable energy to reduce the state”s carbon footprint and meet AB 32 goals. Wave and tidal energy projects also have the potential to impact statewide management and use of ocean and coastal resources, including but not limited to such activities as commercial and sport fishing, navigation, recreational activities, and whale migration,” Garamendi said.
Garamendi has requested that the staff of the OPC (staff is actually the California Coastal Conservancy) compose a study, which a California Resources Agency spokesman said could be on the OPC February agenda.
“As with any new technology, wave and tidal energy production must be studied. An objectively balanced, forward-thinking study on the positive and negative cumulative statewide impacts of wave and tidal energy could be a valuable resource and provide California legislators and policymakers with the necessary information to help understand and make appropriate decisions on developing this technology in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner.”
Yalta was where Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin gathered after World War II, to “divide up” the world after the defeat of Japan and Germany.
The free, day-long wave energy forum takes place Saturday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dana Gray Elementary School Multipurpose Room, 1197 Chestnut St., in Fort Bragg. A buffet lunch will be provided.
The forum is intended to provide information to the community about wave energy from a variety of stakeholder perspectives.
Speakers include:
– Industry representatives (wave energy technology developers and PG&E)
– State and Federal agencies entrusted with protecting marine resources
– State and Federal regulatory agencies with permitting jurisdiction for wave energy projects
– Representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing industry, and other local community interest groups
– Representatives from the State of Oregon and Lincoln County, Oregon where the wave energy development review process has advanced further than in California.
The Wave Energy Forum is an opportunity for people to ask questions and get answers on a wide range of topics relating to wave energy. A buffet lunch will be provided at no cost.
Agenda
Details of the day”s schedule, moderators and special speakers follow:
– Welcome and introduction, 9 to 9:30 a.m.
Facilitator: George Reinhardt
Doug Hammerstrom, Mayor, City of Fort Bragg
Kendall Smith, Mendocino County Supervisor, 4th District
– Industry perspectives on wave energy, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Moderator: Paul Cayler
Mary Jane Parks, Finevera Renewables
Steve Kopf, Ocean Power Technologies
Ian Caliendo, Pacific Gas & Electric
– Break, 10:30 to 10:45 a.m.
– Marine issues, 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Mike Grady
James Bond, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
David White / Steve Edmundson, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service
Becky Ota, California Department of Fish & Game
Greg McMurray, Oregon Department of Land Conservation & Development
Troy Nicolini, NOAA/National Weather Service
– Lunch buffet, served from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m.
– Regulatory agencies, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.
Moderator: Kendall Smith
Stephen Bowler, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Maurice Hill, Federal Minerals Management Service
Sue Young, State Lands Commission
Tom Luster, California Coastal Commission
– Break, 2:30 to 2:45 p.m.
– Community and fishing concerns, 2:45 to 4 p.m.
Moderator: Mayor Doug Hammerstrom
Richard Charter, National Outer Continental Shelf Coalition
Dan Platt, Salmon Trollers Marketing Association
John Innes, North Coast Fishing Association
Rachel Binah, Political activist
Michael Butler, Surfriders
Warren Wade, Mendocino Coast Audubon Society
Terry Thompson, Lincoln County Oregon Commissioner
– Closing, 4 p.m.
