Home - Merced Irrigation District Public Relicensing Website

Welcome to Merced Irrigation District’s (Merced ID) Merced River Hydroelectric Project Relicensing Public Website. This is an information resource for parties interested in the relicensing of Merced ID’s Merced River Hydroelectric Project, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project No. 2179 (Project).

The Project

The Project is located on Merced River in Mariposa County, California, and consists of 2 reservoirs (Lake McClure and McSwain Reservoir), 2 powerhouses (New Exchequer and McSwain powerhouses) and various recreation facilities on Lake McClure and McSwain Reservoir. The Project does not include any transmission lines, canals or open conduits. The installed capacity of the Project is 103.5 megawatts.

The License

The initial FERC license for the Project expires February 28, 2014. Merced ID intends to apply to FERC for a new license (Relicensing) using FERC’s Integrated Licensing Process (ILP), as described in Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Subchapter B, Part 5. Consistent with these regulations, Merced ID intends to file with FERC a notice of intent to apply for a new license (NOI) and a Pre-application Document (PAD) after September 1, 2008 but no later than February 28, 2009. Merced ID plans to file an application for new license by February 28, 2012.

The Relicensing Process

MID enters the Merced River Hydroelectric Project Relicensing (Relicensing) with the expressed goal of obtaining a new license with minimal adverse impact to Project economics, while helping to foster MID’s relationship with the community, resource agencies, and other interested parties. MID desires to obtain a new license of maximum term for the Project at a minimum cost (both initially and ongoing) that allows the Project to maximize profits from the production of electrical power while also meeting environmental, recreational, irrigation and other non-power requirements and needs.

The Site Purpose

The purposes of the Merced River Hydroelectric Project Relicensing Public Website are to make available to federal, state and local agencies; non-governmental organizations; and individual members of the public who may be interested in the Relicensing: 1) documents and material developed by MID during the Relicensing; and 2) information regarding the Merced River Hydroelectric Project Relicensing proceeding. The index to your left is divided into sections related to the Relicensing proceeding, and is periodically updated by MID. Click on the item in which you are interested. Please note that much of the information on this Public Website is in portable document format (pdf) or similar format, and some items appear blank until information is completed or published.

For more information on the Merced River Hydroelectric Project Relicensing, please contact MID’s Relicensing Manager at dpope@mercedid.org.

A help file with frequently asked questions is available as an Adobe pdf. Click HELP! The latest Acrobat Reader is available at