The DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Facility
Learn about the location and land ownership of DeSabla-Centerville
The project is located in northern California in the Butte Creek and West Branch Feather River drainages. Both drainages are located in Butte County along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range geomorphic provinces. The City of Chico is the nearest population center.
Lands within the project drainage basins are mostly privately owned, with a small number owned by the United States and managed by the Forest Service as part of the Lassen and Plumas National Forests and by the Bureau of Land Management. Most of the privately owned land is owned by PG&E and Sierra Pacific Industries.
What’s included in the facility?
The DeSabla-Centerville Project generally consists of three small reservoirs: Round Valley, Philbrook and DeSabla Forebay. It also includes several small diversion and feeder dams, canals with tunnels and flumes, penstocks and three powerhouses: Toadtown, DeSabla and Centerville.
Toadtown Powerhouse
DeSabla Powerhouse
Centerville Powerhouse
Review important DeSabla-Centerville Project documents
Download PG&E’s Final License Application and other pertinent documents.
FERC Disallowing Withdrawal and Soliciting Statements of Interest in Project
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Final Application
Transmittal Letter
Volume I
- Volume I (PDF, 3.3 MB)
Exhibit B
Volume IIA
- Volume IIA (PDF, 10.2 MB)
2.0 General Locale
5.0 Existing and Proposed Facilities and Operations
6.1 Geology and Soils- Fig E6.1.2.1-A-H roads map (PDF, 2.3 MB)
- Fig E6.1.2.2-1 (PDF, 424 KB)
- Fig E6.1.2.2-2A (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- Fig E6.1.2.2-2B (PDF, 494 KB)
- Fig E6.1.2.3-1 (PDF, 654 KB)
- Fig E6.1.2.4-2 (maps 1-2) (PDF, 3.1 MB)
- Fig E6.1.2.4-3 (maps 1-9) (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- Fig E6.1.2.4-4 (maps 1-6) (PDF, 898 KB)
- Fig E6.1.2.4-5 (maps 1-4) (PDF, 520 KB)
- Fig E6.1.2.4-6 (maps 1-5) (PDF, 617 KB)
6.2 Water Resources- Fig E6.2.2.1-1 Hydrology Map 1 (PDF, 189 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.1-2 Hydrology Map 2 (PDF, 188 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.2-2 Ops Model (PDF, 182 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.3-1a Watertemp (PDF, 217 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.3-1b Watertemp (PDF, 204 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.4-1 Waterequal Map 1 (PDF, 200 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.4-2 Waterequal Map 2 (PDF, 186 KB)
- Fig E6.2.2.4-3 Waterequal Map 3 (PDF, 210 KB)
Volume IIB
- Volume IIB (PDF, 3.7 MB)
GIS Figures- Fig E6.3.2.1-1 (maps 1-11) (PDF, 4.4 MB)
- Fig E6.3.2.2-1 Fishpop Map 1 (PDF, 219 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.2-2 Fishpop Map 2 (PDF, 184 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.2-3 Fishpop Map 3 (PDF, 219 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.3-1 BMI 300 (PDF, 198 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.4-1 Location Map (PDF, 335 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.5-1 Mollusc Study Area (PDF, 175 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.5-2 Mollusc in Butte Creek Sites (PDF, 191 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.5-3 Mollusc in WBFR Sites (PDF, 193 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.6-1a Lower Butte Creek - Middle Butte Subreach (PDF, 528 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.6-1b Lower Butte Creek - Lower Butte Subreach (PDF, 459 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.6-3 a-f Lower Butte Study Area (PDF, 1.7 MB)
- Fig E6.3.2.6-4 a-d USFWS 2D Modeling Sites (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- Fig E6.3.2.6-11 Transect Locations Quail Run (PDF, 321 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.6-12 a-b Transect Locations Helltown and Whisky (PDF, 663 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.7-1 U Butte Instream Flow Study Area (PDF, 503 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.7-2 UButte Habitat Mapping Units (PDF, 327 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.7-3 U Butte Transect (PDF, 314 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.8-1 Lower WBFR (PDF, 479 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.8-2 a-c L WBFR Habitat Mapping Units (PDF, 854 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.8-3 L WBFR Transect Jordan Hill (PDF, 316 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.8-4 a-b L WBFR Transect above Kimshew (PDF, 592 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.9-1 U WBFR (PDF, 3.5 MB)
- Fig E6.3.2.9-2 a-d U WBFR Habitat Map Units (PDF, 913 KB)
- Fig E6.3.2.9-3 a-c Transect Sites (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Fig E6.3.2.10-1 (PDF, 248 KB)
Volume IIC
- Volume IIC (PDF, 8.4 MB)
6.4 Wildlife- Fig E6.4.2.3-1 Sensitive Bat Study Map (maps 1-3) (PDF, 951 KB)
- Fig E6.4.2.3-2 Bat Study Map 2 (PDF, 185 KB)
6.5 Botanical Resources- Fig E6.5.2.1-2 (maps 1-11) (PDF, 2.9 MB)
- Fig E6.5.2.2-1 Vegetation (PDF, 298 KB)
- Fig E6.5.2.3-1 (maps 1-11) (PDF, 2.9 MB)
6.7 ESA
6.8 Recreational Resources- Fig E6.8.1-1 Rec Facilities Overview Map (PDF, 312 KB)
- Fig E6.8.2.1-1 RecInventory 5-series (PDF, 1.4 MB)
- Fig E6.8.2.3-1 Rec Flow Study Map (PDF, 252 KB)
- Fig E6.8.2.3-2 WBFR Drainage Recreation Flow Map (PDF, 183 KB)
- Fig E6.8.2.3-3 (Map 1 of 2) (PDF, 136 KB)
- Fig E6.8.2.3-3 (Map 2 of 2) (PDF, 105 KB)
Volume IID
- Volume IID (PDF, 6.9 MB)
6.9 Land Use
6.10 Aesthetic Resources
6.11 Cultural Resources
8.0 Resource Management Measures
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Environmental Assessment
In the Final Environmental Assessment, the Commission analyzed the potential effects of relicensing DeSabla-Centerville, FERC No. 803. They concluded that issuing a new license for the project, with appropriate environmental measures, would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
Mandatory 4(e) Conditioning Agencies
The Final Terms and Conditions for the DeSabla-Centerville Project, FERC No. 803, were submitted pursuant to Section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
State Water Resources Control Board 401 Certification
The Clean Water Act Section 401 prescribes effluent limitations and other limitations necessary to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and with any other appropriate requirement of state law. It also provides that state certification conditions shall become conditions of any federal license or permit for the project. The State Water Resources Control Board is designated as the state water pollution control agency for all purposes stated in the Clean Water Act and any other federal act.
