FERC says PSE must use less water at falls

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. – The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission has sided with the Snoqualmie Tribe, ruling that Puget Sound Energy must reduce the amount of water it uses to generate power at Snoqualmie Falls.

FERC ruled in March that increasing untrammeled water flows for two months of the year would not be a financial hardship for the energy company.

Puget Sound Energy must increase flow to the falls, from 45,000 to 90,000 gallons a minute, to 450,000 gallons a minute in May, and from 90,000 a minute to 202,500 gallons a minute in June.

Puget Sound Energy has appealed the ruling.

The Snoqualmie Tribe has been battling to shut down the energy company’s operations at Snoqualmie Falls since the early 1990s.

The tribe considers mist from the falls sacred, and FERC’s ruling shows some respect for those beliefs, tribal administrator Matt Mattson said.