Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between the County of Riverside and Eagle Crest Energy Company for the FERC-Licensed Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Facility
Summary
SCH Number
2025050231
Public Agency
Riverside County
Document Title
Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between the County of Riverside and Eagle Crest Energy Company for the FERC-Licensed Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Facility
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/6/2025
Document Description
The MOU memorializes the County's and Eagle Crest Energy Company's ("Eagle Crest") agreement to cooperate and work together and for Eagle Crest to provide community benefit funding to the County of Riverside ("County"), as set forth in Exhibit B to the MOU, for currently unidentified community benefit programs, and for
Eagle Crest to generally utilize County processes for permits and to generally follow the parameters of County and State requirements where not contrary to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's ("FERC") previously approved license for the construction and operation of a hydroelectric project at Eagle Mountain.
Contact Information
Name
Melissa R. Cushman
Agency Name
Office of County Counsel, County of Riverside
Job Title
Supervising Deputy County Counsel
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Riverside
Counties
Riverside
Regions
Countywide
Cross Streets
The Unincorporated Area of Riverside County, including area shown on attached map
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
15061(b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
The MOU is not a project under from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
and is exempt from CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines sections 15061 (b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the MOU may have a significant effect on the environment. The MOU merely sets forth an agreement for Eagle Crest to pay for County staff time when processing future applications consistent with Eagle Crest's previously approved FERC license and for Eagle Crest to generally utilize County administrative procedures and requirements for processing permits and projects when reviewing Eagle Crest's future applications under its FERC license, where such requirements do not conflict with the FERC license and despite the general Federal preemption applicable to the hydroelectric project as previously approved. The MOU also merely sets forth future community benefits payments and
other payments to be made by Eagle Crest to the County upon reaching specified milestones, but no actions or projects have been identified that the payments will fund, making any environmental review at this point purely speculative. If a project is identified in the future that such payments will fully or partially fund, appropriate CEQA compliance with be evaluated at that time.
County Clerk
Riverside
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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