NEVADA CITY, CA — The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is calling on the public to submit comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) before a November 30, 2026 deadline regarding a proposed “closed loop” pumped storage hydropower project on Fish Creek, a tributary of the Wild and Scenic South Yuba River east of Nevada City.
RamaFlux Sierra PSH LLC, a company formed this spring, has filed an application with FERC for a preliminary permit to study a 750-megawatt (MW) pumped storage power plant on Fish Creek — a stream just 1.5 miles long that flows through the forest near the town of Washington before meeting the South Yuba River. The proposed project would involve two new dams and reservoirs, an underground powerhouse, new construction roads, and a new 230-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line through Sierra Nevada foothill forests. At 750 MW, the proposed project would generate more power than every existing hydropower project in the Yuba River watershed combined — more than twice the generating capacity of the Colgate Powerhouse. Shasta Dam, by comparison, produces 710 MW and is built on a river with hundreds of times the flow of Fish Creek during winter months.
The fundamental question for SYRCL is this: How can a project that produces more electricity than Shasta Dam work in a watershed that is less than two square miles in area with an average flood flow of less than 100cfs, and how much risk does it present to the protected Wild and Scenic South Yuba?
SYRCL believes that early public engagement is critical to shaping how FERC evaluates the proposed project, what studies are required, and how the project is designed to reflect the unique environmental values of the area.
If granted, a preliminary permit would not allow construction of the project, but it would provide the developer priority to pursue a hydropower license while studying the project’s feasibility. According to the preliminary permit application, the developer proposes to complete all studies, including hydrology, biological, engineering, and water rights, and then submit a final license application detailing the project within just two years. For a project involving two new reservoirs, high voltage powerlines crossing remote river canyons, and potential impacts to the South Yuba watershed, there is a lot of crucial missing information that needs to be gathered in a short period of time.
To ensure this community gets the answers necessary to actually understand the feasibility of this project, the time for meaningful public participation is now. The public should not wait until a project is fully designed to have a voice in whether, where, or how it should be developed. “SYRCL was born fighting dams on the South Yuba River,” said Dr. Aaron Zettler-Mann, Executive Director of the South Yuba River Citizens League. “The Fish Creek application raises serious concerns and leaves critical questions unanswered. Now is the time to raise our collective voice to speak up for this creek and this watershed before a project with significant unanswered questions gains regulatory momentum.”
SYRCL’s review of the application identifies several fundamental unanswered questions about the proposed project’s design and water supply. For example, the application does not specify how large the reservoirs would be or how tall the dams would be. Although Fish Creek is identified as a proposed water source, the application provides insufficient information about the availability of water to initially fill the reservoirs, the water rights needed to support the project, or whether additional water would be drawn from Jefferson Creek.
SYRCL estimates that running the system at the claimed 750 MW output would require moving roughly 6,000 cubic feet of water per second through the turbines, approximately 65 times the two-year flood flow (95 cfs) of Fish Creek. A single eight-hour run would move approximately 1.3 billion gallons of water, or enough to fill around 2,000 Olympic swimming pools. Although pumped storage systems reuse water, these substantial operating volumes raise important questions about reservoir capacity, initial filling, replacement water needs, and potential impacts to Fish and Jefferson creeks.
The developer describes the project as “primarily closed-loop”. Closed-loop is a designation that receives expedited review under FERC’s process. SYRCL questions their characterization though – primarily closed-loop is not the same thing as closed-loop and their uncertainty in how their proposed project will function raises significant concerns about credibility. Building a dam on a flowing creek, as this proposal appears to suggest, is not, by definition, a closed-loop system.
The application also raises significant transparency concerns. RamaFlux Sierra states it will spend $2.5 million studying the project using its owners’ money and additional partnerships it is “exploring”, but names no investors, no partners, and no firms beyond a related company called RamaFlux Inc. The land on which the project would be sited is owned by Berkeley Bear Biotechnology LLC, which is not mentioned in the application. FERC’s preliminary permit process requires only that an applicant state it has sufficient funds to conduct the study, not that it has the financial capacity to build the project or address cost overruns for the required studies. The fact that a company formed this spring with unnamed partners and unspecified long-term capital can secure priority claim on Fish Creek with no further financial disclosure is concerning.
FERC is accepting public comments on the Fish Creek application under Docket P-15429 until 5:00 PM Eastern (2:00 PM Pacific) on Monday, November 30, 2026. This is the first and most consequential opportunity for the public to put local knowledge about Fish Creek, its wildlife, and its neighbors on the federal record before the project gains momentum.
Submitting a comment requires no account. While the environmental impacts of the proposed project may be studied more fully later, this is the public’s opportunity to state what should be part of the technical studies that will inform the feasibility of the project. Comments can highlight specific environmental, technical, and community concerns, identify missing or conflicting information in the application, and request that the study’s findings be made publicly available.
Given the applicant’s accelerated timeline, SYRCL is concerned that important decisions about project design, alternatives, and environmental impacts could be made before the public has an opportunity to review and respond to the findings. SYRCL is urging FERC to ensure that completed studies are publicly accessible, and that meaningful opportunities for community input occur before the developer finalizes its license application.
How to Submit Comments:
- Go to ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
- Enter your name, email, and mailing address
- Search for docket P-15429 and select it
- Type or paste your comment and submit
Comments may also be mailed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Include P-15429-000 on the first page. If you are mailing your comments, please allow sufficient time for delivery before the November 30th deadline.
SYRCL asks that commenters send a copy of their submission to traci@yubariver.org so that the organization can track the community’s response.
Additionally, SYRCL will host a public letter-writing event at its Nevada City office on Thursday, November 19, 2026 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Staff will be available to answer questions and provide guidance on writing an effective public comment. The office is located at 313 Railroad Ave., Nevada City, CA 95959. For individuals who cannot attend in person, a comment writing toolkit is available at YubaRiver.org.
For more information about the Fish Creek Pumped Storage Project and SYRCL’s concerns, please contact SYRCL at info@yubariver.org.
About SYRCL:
The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL, pronounced “circle”) is the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River watershed. Founded in 1983 through a rural, grassroots campaign to defend the South Yuba River from proposed hydropower dams, SYRCL has developed into a vibrant community organization with over 3,500 members and volunteers based in Nevada City, CA. See: www.yubariver.org