Nebraska Power District Files for Minor Hydro License Management Tweaks
Published Date: 4/8/2025
Notice
Summary
Loup River Public Power District wants to make some changes to their hydroelectric project license on the Loup and Platte Rivers in Nebraska. These changes won’t affect how much power they produce but might impact how the project is run. People and groups have until May 2, 2025, to share their thoughts or get involved—no big costs or power shifts expected, just some important updates.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Lowered Flow Thresholds Proposed
If you live near the Loup and Platte Rivers in Nebraska, the applicant proposes that when flows at the project headworks are under 575 cubic feet per second (cfs) the power canal would be maintained at 300 cfs while flows in the bypassed reach could be reduced to below 275 cfs. The application also proposes that if headworks flows are under 400 cfs the canal would be reduced so the bypassed reach has at least 100 cfs below the Beaver Creek confluence and at least 50 cfs between the headworks and Beaver Creek.
Water Storage to Reach 1,000 cfs
If you live near the project in Nebraska, the applicant proposes to operate the Loup power canal in a limited run-of-canal mode when flows above the headworks are below 1,275 cfs in order to store water as necessary so the project can safely operate at 1,000 cfs. The amendment text says this limited run-of-canal operation and the storage-for-1,000-cfs objective would be used when headworks flows are under 1,275 cfs.
Fisheries Monitoring and Fish‑Kill Reporting
Under the proposed amendment, the applicant would monitor fisheries in the bypassed reach during the specified low-flow conditions and report any fish kills to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (Nebraska DEE). Similar monitoring and reporting to Nebraska DEE is proposed for the limited run-of-canal operations tied to the 1,275 cfs trigger.
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