Geologic factors pertinent to the proposed A. J. Wiley Hydroelectric Project No. 2845, Bliss, Idaho

Abstract

The A.J. Wiley Hydroelectric Project is a proposal by the Idaho Power Company to develop hydroelectricity near Bliss, Idaho, by building a dam on the Snake River (fig. 1). The proposed dam would impound a narrow reservoir as deep as 85 feet in a free-flowing reach of the river that extends from the upper reach of water impounded by the Bliss Dam to the foot of the Lower Salmon Falls Dam, nearly 8 miles farther upstream. The proposed dam would be built in three sections: a spillway section and a powerhouse (intake) section to be constructed of concrete in the right-handed part, and an embankment section to be constructed as a zoned-fill of selected earth materials in the left-hand part. (Right and left are to be understood in the sense of looking downstream.) In August, 1979, the Idaho Power Company was granted a 3-year permit (Project No. 2845) by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to make site investigations and environmental studies in the project area. A year later, on August 26, 1980, the company applied to FERC for a license to construct the project. On October 8, 1980, as explained in a letter by William W. Lindsay, Director of the Office of Electric Power Regulation, the company was given 90 days to correct certain deficiencies in the application. Because several of the deficiencies identified by Mr. Lindsay pertain to geologic aspects of the project, his letter is attached to this report as Appendix A. Hereafter in this report, the deficiencies listed by Mr. Lindsay are identified by the numerical entries in his letter. The Idaho Power Company is referred to as the applicant.