Public Notice: Water Quality Certification for the Uintah Hydroelectric Project License Surrender on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the Moon Lake Electric Association, Inc. (MLEA) for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) for the above project. Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate.
The EPA acts as the certifying authority in areas of Indian country[1] on behalf of those Tribes that have not received treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for Section 401, in this case the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.
The EPA will act on this certification request by either: (1) granting certification; (2) granting certification with conditions; (3) denying certification; or (4) expressly waiving certification consistent with CWA Section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121.
The Uintah Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 190) is an existing 1,200-kW hydroelectric facility owned and operated by MLEA. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license expired in 2019 and has been operating under annual licenses pending relicensing; during the relicensing process it was decided to decommission the project. Thus, MLEA is requesting a license surrender and corresponding decommissioning of the project.
Applicant
Moon Lake Electric Association, Inc.
Project Location
40.197536, -109.916433 on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation
Waterways
Uintah River, Pole Creek, and Big Springs
Project Description
The proposed project will involve the decommissioning of a run-of-river hydroelectric facility, including the powerhouse and supporting structures that divert water from the Uinta River, Pole Creek and Big Springs. The decommissioning plan has been developed in coordination with the Ute Indian Tribe and Federal agencies.
The Main Canal Heading Structure will remain in place; however, the scour protection weir structure traversing the Uinta River, adjacent to the heading structure will be removed or naturalized pending additional consultation and detailed engineering and hydraulic analysis.
The Big Springs Diversion structure will remain in place with the opening sealed.
The Pole Creek Diversion Structure will be removed, and the creek will be restored to plane-bed channel morphology with gravel/cobble substrate to allow for fish passage. Approximately 350 feet of the northernmost portion of the Pole Creek Canal will be backfilled, compacted, regraded, and revegetated using native vegetation. The remainder of the canal is proposed to be left as is, with mitigation measures imposed for unstable areas as needed. Drainage of the canal will be addressed, as necessary, upon further engineering evaluation and development of a final Decommissioning Plan. The Pole Creek Forebay concrete structure will be removed, and the materials hauled off-site. The above-ground steel penstock leading from the Pole Creek Forebay to the Main Forebay will be removed. The underground portion will be filled and abandoned to preserve the hillslope. The Pole Creek and Uinta River overflow channels shall remain in place.
The concrete structure at the Uintah Project Main Forebay will remain in place and the deficiencies noted in the engineering evaluation report will be addressed. Sections of the underground penstock that are made of high-density polyethylene will be left in place. There are four valve houses that come up to the ground surface along the penstock route. Each house is interfaced with three to four metal valves. These valve houses will either be replaced or covered and sealed with non-metal material. The ends of the remaining pipe will be plugged and buried in ground. The gabion baskets along the tailrace will be removed and the rock materials in them reused to backfill in the initial 50 feet of the tailrace.
The project is estimated to temporarily impact 0.28 acres and permanently impact 0.05 acres of wetlands, and it is estimated to temporarily impact 2,730 linear feet and permanently impact 400 linear feet of stream length. The application indicates these estimates are subject to change as designs are finalized.
Public Comments
Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. The EPA must receive comments by 11:59 pm on July 9, 2025. If you cannot adequately address comments via email, please reach out to Jeffrey Ullman, R8CWA401@epa.gov and 303-312-6329 to discuss alternative arrangements.
At this time there is no opportunity to review the submitted material and documents in person at an EPA office. These documents are only available electronically and can be provided upon request. Notification and details of any public comment period extension will be posted at the public comment web page address only. Interested parties on our email list will also be notified by email.
Public Hearings
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the Administrator, in his or her discretion, determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, the EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information in the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage.
Project Applicant
Jared Griffiths (mjgriffiths@mleainc.com)
Engineering Manager
Moon Lake Electric Association, Inc.
Authorized Agent
Alison Jakupca (Alison.Jakupca@KleinschmidtGroup.com)
Principal Consultant
Kleinschmidt
[1] Indian country is defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 1151. Indian country generally includes (1) lands within the exterior boundaries of Indian reservations; (2) any land held in trust by the United States for an Indian tribe; and (3) any other areas that are “Indian country” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Section 1151.