Welcome to the Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s (SEAPA) public site for the Tyee Lake Third Turbine License Amendment Project

This page and links serve as an information source for people interested in learning more about the Tyee Third Turbine License Amendment Project and the license amendment process

THE PROJECT

The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) operates the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project (Project) located on Tyee Creek approximately 40 miles southeast of Wrangell, Alaska under a license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), FERC Project No. P-3015. The Project is located in a remote area of Southeast Alaska on federal, state, borough and private lands. The Project, together with the Swan Lake Hydroelectric Project via the Swan-Tyee Intertie serves the remote communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg, Alaska.

The Tyee Lake Project was designed and constructed with provisions to add a third generating unit. The third turbine (and generator) would increase the Project’s installed capacity by 50 percent (12.5MVA). Adding the third turbine requires a capacity license amendment.

THE LICENSE AMENDMENT PROCESS

SEAPA will use the required FERC process for filing a license amendment, which affords an opportunity to evaluate all resources potentially affected by an amendment to the operation of the Project. The process begins with early identification and resolution of studies to fill information gaps to avoid additional studies once the application is filed with FERC. The process encourages collaboration and integrates stakeholders in the license amendment process, including state and federal resource agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), applicable Native American tribes, and members of the public.

Tyee Lake Hydro Project

Proposed Capacity-Related License Amendment

Contact Information

This Site

Public Notices

Mark Hilson, P.E.,
Project Manager

Southeast Alaska Power Agency

55 Don Finney Lane

Ketchikan, Alaska 99901

P 907.228.2281 | Email: mhilson@seapahydro.org

This site is designed to facilitate communication between the Southeast Alaska Power Agency and license amendment stakeholders. Through this website, SEAPA will share meeting notes, study plans, and other documents required by the license amendment process, provide links to other helpful license amendment resources, and keep stakeholders informed about upcoming meetings and relicensing process deadlines.

Useful Links:

Notice of Filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Southeast Alaska Power Agency
Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project
FERC No. 3015

Please take notice that Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA), licensee for the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 3015), filed an Application for a Capacity-Related Amendment to License (Final Amendment Application) on January 27, 2025 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) to enable SEAPA to install an additional 10 megawatt hydroelectric Pelton-style turbine-generator (Proposed Project) in the existing empty bay in the powerhouse.

The Tyee Project is located at the head of Bradfield Canal, approximately 40 miles southeast of the community of Wrangell, 70 air miles southeast of Petersburg, and 60 miles northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska.

The Final Amendment Application is available for public viewing during normal working hours at the following venues:

Ketchikan Public Library, 1110 Copper Ridge Lane, Ketchikan, Alaska
Irene Ingle Public Library, 124 2nd St., Wrangell, Alaska
Petersburg Public Library, 14 S 2nd St., Petersburg, Alaska
SEAPA’s office, 55 Don Finney Lane, Ketchikan, Alaska

The application documents are also posted on SEAPA’s website at https://www.seapahydro.org/tyee-license, and can be downloaded through FERC’s eLibrary at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp by searching under docket number P-3015.

The Commission will publish subsequent notices soliciting public participation if the application is found acceptable for filing.

Notice of 11/14/2024 Public Meeting

Notice of Joint Agency and Public Meeting
Tyee Lake Project (FERC Project No. 3015)

Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA), licensee for the Tyee Lake Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 3015), proposes to file an Application for a Capacity-Related Amendment to License (Amendment Application) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to enable SEAPA to install an additional 10 megawatt (MW) hydroelectric Pelton-style turbine-generator (Proposed Project) in the existing empty bay in the powerhouse. On October 8, 2024, SEAPA filed an Initial Consultation Document in the form of the Draft Amendment Application (DAA) pursuant to the content requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 18 Section § 4.38.

NOTICE is hereby given that SEAPA is hosting a joint agency and public meeting in accordance with the FERC requirements at 18 CFR § 4.38(b)(3). Two sessions will be held on November 14, 2024, both of which are open to the public. A morning agency session will be held virtually from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 11:30 a.m. The evening public session will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and may be attended virtually or in-person. The evening session will be held at the SEAPA office located at:

55 Don Finney Lane,
Ketchikan, Alaska 99901

The purpose of the meeting is to review the Proposed Project plans, discuss the FERC regulatory process, address questions on the DAA, and receive stakeholder feedback. The final meeting agenda, developed in consultation with meeting participants, will be available November 7, 2024 on SEAPA’s website at: https://www.seapahydro.org/tyee-license . Please notify SEAPA by November 1, 2024 if you plan on attending the meeting virtually by contacting Betsy McGregor, Senior Scientist and Regulatory Consultant to SEAPA, at Betsy.McGregor@KleinschmidtGroup.com or by telephone at 907-885-3418.
The DAA is available online on the FERC E-Library website (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search) under Project No. P-3015 or on SEAPA’s website. SEAPA respectfully requests written comments on the DAA be submitted within 60 days, or by December 9, 2024.