Northwest Hydroelectric Association (NWHA) Virtual Fall Hydro Camp
We are proud to sponsor this year’s Northwest Hydroelectric Association (NWHA) Virtual Fall Hydro Camp on October 6-7! This year there will be an all-star set of panelists to share valuable content and six professional development hours available for attendees. If you are attending, feel free to reach out to Robert Indri and Andy Kragt, P.E. Kragt to learn more about our services at Schnabel Engineering.
Agenda:
Wednesday, October 6
9:00 – Welcome – Mary Gail Sullivan, President of NWHA, Northwestern Energy
9:15 – Meet the Regulators
Attendees will have a chance to hear from local, state, and federal regulators from our region.
Hear the view from their desks, what the horizon line looks like, and get a unique opportunity to
connect and learn from each other.
Moderator- Finlay Anderson, Kleinschmidt Associates
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife- Kregg Smith
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality- Chris Stine
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife- Benjamin Blank
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission- Douglas Johnson, P.E. Regional Engineer
EPA –Anna Wildeman, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of
Water, Counsel, Troutman Pepper
10:30-11:00 – Break
11:00-12:00 Fish Passage Updates, Lessons, and Outcomes
A lightning round update from four different projects throughout the region to include updates,
lessons learned as well as outcomes from initiatives.
Moderator: Dana Postlewait, R2 Kleinschmidt
Lewis River- Chris Karchesky, PacifiCorp
Trail Bridge- James Kapla, Jacobs
Pelton Round Butte and Opal Springs- PGE Megan Hill, Pelton Round Butte Natural Resources
Manager, Portland General Electric
Other Project Updates- Joseph Miller, Four Peaks Environmental Science & Data
Thursday, October 7
9:00 – Tribal Relations
This session will ask questions of different tribal representatives. Questions could include, how
can our industry do appropriate land acknowledgments or how can relationships be built that
respect cultural differences? The moderator will ask nuts and bolts questions surrounding
consultations. What is the typical hierarchy and structure of tribes to ensure that nobody is left
out from the negotiation process? What does consultation mean for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
versus the Tribes? Following the panel, a case study will be presented from the Skokomish Tribe
and Tacoma Power to explore lessons learned and how this case study could guide future
collaborative efforts.
Moderator: Matt Love, Partner, Cascadia Law Group
Jennifer Frozena, Department of the Interior
Joseph Pavel, Skokomish Tribe
Jim Manion, General Manager, Warm Springs Power Enterprise
Elizabeth Molloy, Of General Counsel- Indian Matters, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
10:00-10:30 a.m. National Update
Zolaikha Strong, Vice President Government Affairs, National Hydropower Association- What
2021 has held, tax credits, 401, NEPA, infrastructure bills, and how NWHA members can leverage
these initiatives to help in the Northwest.
10:30-10:45- Break
10:45-12:00 Beyond the Heat Dome
Are we ready for the new way of operating? The discussion will focus on looking ahead for
transmission planning, changes in precipitation patterns (both challenges and opportunities)
how operations will be changing moving forward, and how utilities are thinking about the period
of record and how that affects FERC licenses and forecasting, how owners may be looking at how
modeling is changing with extreme weather events, and how utilities are thinking about staffing,
recreation.
Moderator: Bree Sheron, HDR, Inc.
John Chandler, Water Resources Technical Lead, Puget Sound Energy- Period of Record- Should
we use shorter or longer data sets? What does 100 years ago tell us now?
Scott Spahr, Snohomish County PUD- Planning, Forecasting, & Modeling
Nathalie Voisin, Water Resources Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Lab, Hydropower’s
Contribution to Grid Reliability Under Environmental Constraints
Rachel Hansen, Senior Communications Strategist, Chelan County PUD, Chelan County PUDs
Development of a Fire Safety Outage Plan