Elmore County Doesn’t Think Cat Creek Energy Made Required Progress -The Letter

This letter is from the Elmore County, Idaho, Land Use and Building Department:

Download a pdf version of this document by clicking: Elmore County gives Cat Creek Energy 90 days to cure default

August 27th , 2025

Dear Terri:

This correspondence responds to your letter dated July 28, 2025 regarding Cat Creek Energy’s (“CCE”) efforts to achieve “substantial progress” in its water right proceedings before the Idaho Department of Water Resources (“IDWR”) and its licensing proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). As a reminder, these “substantial progress” requirements derive from the Third Amendment to Development Agreement adopted by the Board on August 2, 2024, and they require CCE to have achieved such “substantial progress” by July 28, 2025. I have read the July 28 letter and its attachments and make the following observations:

1. In the timeline attached to the letter as Exhibit A, only one event falls within the time period between execution of the Third Amendment on August 2, 2024 and the July 28, 2025 deadline. From the County’s perspective, only events within this period of time are relevant to the “substantial progress” requirement.

2. The one event within the relevant period of time is a reference to the April 7, 2025 “credit support letter” from Lotus Infrastructure Partners. However, upon review of that letter, it simply states that Lotus is “approved to enter into negotiations” with CCE, and it does not otherwise inform the level of progress CCE has achieved before the two relevant agencies, IDWR and FERC.

3. The Notice of Disclosure of Documents CCE filed with IDWR was in response to an order issued by IDWR Director Mathew Weaver on May 16, 2025, specifically requiring CCE to provide that information. In other words, it was not an overt attempt by CCE to advance its water right proceedings.

4. Pursuant to IDWR’s order of August 31, 2023, CCE is required to provide IDWR and the parties with a status report every six months, meaning that, during the relevant time period, two separate status reports were required, one towards the end of August 2024, and the other towards the end of February 2025. However, the County only has record of the February 2025 status report. In fact, that status report is the only document other than the Notice of Disclosure filed by CCE in its IDWR proceedings during the relevant time period.

5. Similarly, the only document the County is aware of that CCE has filed in its FERC proceedings during the relevant time period was its mandatory annual report of April 1, 2025.

6. FERC’s April 18, 2019 order granting CCE a preliminary permit contains the following language: “A preliminary permit is issued for the Cat Creek Energy Generation Facility Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project No. 14655 to Cat Creek Energy, LLC for a period effective the first day of the month in which this permit is issued, and ending either 48 months from the effective date or on the date that a development application submitted by the permittee has been accepted for filing, whichever occurs first.” As we understand, this means that the preliminary permit expired unless CCE filed a formal development application prior to April 1, 2023.

7. The County does not have any record of CCE having filed a development application with FERC, and the FERC notice placing the licensing proceedings in abeyance was issued on May 19, 2023, after the April 1, 2023 expiration date.

As you may recall, at the time the Third Amendment was adopted, CCE declined Elmore County’s invitation to further define the phrase “substantial progress” for the purpose of gauging compliance. Based upon that phrase’s plain meaning, however, appears CCE has not achieved substantial compliance in its IDWR and FERC proceedings and, therefore, that it is in violation of the Third Amendment and the 2018 Development Agreement.

Pursuant to Section 5.1 of the Development Agreement, this letter constitutes Notice that CCE has ninety (90 days to rectify this default. If you believe this conclusion is in error, please submit certified statements from both IDWR and FERC expressing their opinion that CCE has achieved “substantial progress in their respective permitting processes within the next 90 days. addition, we have recently become aware of the enclosed order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 27, 2025, accepting Idaho Power’s notice of termination of an agreement with CCE. To the extent CCE intends to challenge this preliminary conclusion of default, please also provide additional information regarding the background and context of the FERC order, its overall effect on CCE’s proposed project, and why it was not discussed in your July 28 letter, even though was issued within the relevant time period. Otherwise, we will proceed to schedule a hearing before the Board of Commissioners to determine if CCE is in default pursuant to Section 5.2 of the Development Agreement.

Signed by James Roddin, Interim Director, Planning Department

Please download a pdf version of this document by clicking: Elmore County gives Cat Creek Energy 90 days to cure default

Door to CCE’s Ability to Distribute Power is Closing

The Cat Creek Energy (CCE) project is advertised as an alternative energy production project designed to store a large amount of power and sell that power at a profit. The pumped hydro plant is actually a net user of power. Clearly, the solar and wind pieces has fallen out of favor with the federal government together with their old subsidies. Cat Creek’s plan to sell the energy they might produce through their proposed combination of solar, wind and pumped hydroelectric storage facility system included an agreement with Idaho Power. This bilateral Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA) was executed by Idaho Power and CCE in 2021.

After CCE missed the most important LGIA agreement deadlines, Idaho Power has stated they have finally terminated the LGIA for lack of action on primary agreement provisions. It is our understanding that without a way to distribute and sell their power, the entire financial viability of the CCE project is likely to collapse.

In the linked document, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agrees that Idaho Power acted within it’s legal rights to terminate the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement with Cat Creek Energy. We are hoping this is the first of several key elements that are about to fall, and the project can be dead filed.

🚨 Link to the full FERC document from June 27, 2025: FERC-20250627-3009.pdf

Thanks for reading our post.

We’re still fighting the good fight when it comes to protecting Elmore County’s back country!

Water Rights and Other Problems Continue to Plague the Cat Creek Energy Project

The Cat Creek Energy Project, tentatively scheduled to be developed on Little Camas Prairie and a portion of Camas Prairie in southwestern Idaho, has been having a difficult time getting started. And for good reason. This project was brought before the Elmore County Board of County Commissioners in 2017 and has faced stiff opposition from local citizens. There are also water rights issues, inconsistencies in what Cat Creek is planning in regard to the hydropower plant on Little Camas Prairie. There are also a host of federal requirement that Cat Creek Energy needs to deal with in the next two years.

On April 12, 2024, the attorneys for Elmore County filed a rebuttal to Cat Creek Energy’s 2024 Annual Report. The letter, pasted below, highlights some issues Cat Creek Energy needs to address before they can get approval for the project. Please read through this document to gain a better perspective of some of the newest issues that have materialized in the last year.

April 12, 2024

VIA EMAIL AND EFILING

Kimberly D. Bose Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E.
Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426 https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.as px

Re: Cat Creek Energy and Water Storage Project No. P-14655-002 Response to Annual Report

Dear Ms. Bose:

On behalf of the Board of Commissioners of Elmore County, Idaho, please find the following response to the Annual Report filed by Cat Creek Energy on March 29, 2024. Elmore County has jurisdiction over the land use approvals required for the project pursuant to Idaho’s Local Land Use Planning Act (LLUPA), Idaho Code Title 67, Chapter 65. Elmore County is also a party to Cat Creek’s water right proceedings pending before the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR). The Board has asked me to clarify some representations made by Cat Creek in the Annual Report.

Status of Cat Creek Water Rights

In Paragraph 6(a) under the “Brief Overview” section of the Annual Report, Cat Creek specifically represents that it is “currently entitled” to the storage of 100,000 acre-feet of water in Cat Creek Reservoir. This is untrue.

Cat Creek filed its initial water right application with IDWR on May 16, 2017. Since that time, very little has occurred to advance the matter toward a contested case hearing. At Cat Creek’s request, IDWR has ordered the proceedings to remain on hold

indefinitely. According to Cat Creek, the FERC proceedings need to proceed further before resuming the IDWR proceedings. With the FERC proceedings in abeyance, it is unclear when the water right proceedings will resume.

As a reference point, when Elmore County obtained its permit for water right 63-34348, nearly two-and-a-half years elapsed between the filing of the initial water right application (March 3, 2017) and the issuance of a final order by IDWR (August 13, 2019). And, no appeals were filed. As an additional reference point, when SBar Ranch appealed Elmore County’s approval of Cat Creek’s CUPs to the judicial system, more than four years elapsed between the filing of SBar’s initial petition for judicial review (May 1, 2018) and the issuance of a final order and remittitur by the Idaho Supreme Court (June 14, 2022). Based on the level of opposition to Cat Creek’s project that continues to be expressed by members of the public, there is no reason to believe these timeframes would be accelerated.

Therefore, even if Cat Creek requested resumption of its water right proceedings tomorrow, it is highly unlikely Cat Creek would have a final, non-appealable water permit before 2031, and every day that the water right proceedings are on hold just adds to that. Needless to say, it will be a long time before Cat Creek can accurately represent that it is “currently entitled” to any diversion and use of water.

Cat Creek Reservoir Expansion

Paragraph 6 also states that Cat Creek is “considering expanding the size of the new upper reservoir by another 50,000 acre-ft. [110,000 acre-ft to 160,000 acre-ft]….” It is true that Cat Creek has filed applications with both Elmore County and IDWR related to the expansion of Cat Creek Reservoir. However, at the February 9, 2024 public hearing before the County Commissioners, Cat Creek formally withdrew its request to expand the Reservoir in response to a suggestion that such a massive expansion should be evaluated by the County’s Planning & Zoning Commission. It is difficult to reconcile the representation in the Annual Report with the prior withdrawal of the request.

CUP/Development Agreement Status

Paragraph 2 under the “Elmore County: Requested Actions” section of the Annual Report states that Cat Creek’s Development Agreement with the County has been extended until October 19, 2026. The correct date is actually October 17, 2026. Regardless, while this representation is directionally accurate, there are two important qualifications that also require some background explanation:

Cat Creek’s initial five CUPs were approved by Elmore County on February 10, 2017, and the original Development Agreement required development of each CUP to be completed by February 10, 2022. At Cat Creek’s request, on February 4, 2022, the County extended the development deadline to February 10, 2024, pursuant to a particular provision within the Development Agreement allowing for a one-time two- year extension. At the time, Cat Creek cited the SBar Ranch appeal as the need for the extension, and Cat Creek also specifically assured the County: “Once the [SBar Ranch] appeal process is complete, Cat Creek Energy, LLC is ready to commence development.” (see attached; emphasis added).

As previously referenced, that appeal was complete as of June 14, 2022. Despite that, on December 1, 2023, Cat Creek applied for another extension. Again, Cat Creek cited delays from the SBar Ranch litigation, even though the litigation had concluded nearly 18 months earlier, and despite the prior assurance that Cat Creek would be “ready to commence development” at the conclusion of the SBar appeal. In response, the County approved another extension of the development deadline until October 17, 2026.

I provide this background because Cat Creek has filed a petition for reconsideration of the extension granted to it by the County. The hearing on that request has been scheduled for April 19, 2026. Therefore, while it is true that the County extended the development deadline until October 17, 2026, that decision is now being challenged, and we will not know the finality of that determination until Cat Creek’s reconsideration request is heard and the subsequent appeal deadline lapses.

In addition, it is worth noting that of the five CUPs issued to Cat Creek, only the CUP relating to hydropower is directly relevant to the FERC proceedings. While the October 17, 2026 development deadline applies to the hydropower CUP, it is also important to note that the CUP and Development Agreement contain a deadline to enter into a water delivery agreement with the County. That requirement has always had an earlier deadline than the CUP development deadline, and it has not yet been satisfied. So, while it is accurate to state that the development deadline has been extended until October 17, 2026, that date is relevant only if the earlier water delivery agreement requirement is timely satisfied or extended.

***

Thank you for the opportunity to provide these clarifications to Cat Creek’s Annual Report. If there is anything else Elmore County can provide that would be of assistance, please let me know. Otherwise, thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

VARIN THOMAS LLC

END OF LETTER!

S Bar Ranch Flies into Sulfur Creek Airport Near Stanley, Idaho

(June 17, 2023) When the owner of S Bar Ranch isn’t actively trying to stop Cat Creek Energy from building wind turbines on Camas Prairie, he’s out flying his Tailwheel plane around the Western US. And recently he and six other pilots took off from the runway on the S Bar Ranch and meandered through the rugged scenic beauty of the region to a remote airstrip about 30 miles northwest of Stanley, Idaho.

Here is a link to a 12-minute video capturing some of the back reaches of S Bar Ranch and the flight up to the Sulfur Creek Ranch, just 5 miles from the storied Middle Fork of the Salmon River. (https://youtu.be/bm7WlHJzW9s)

Federal Regulatory Commission Tells Cat Creek to Submit Progress Reports Now

(Last updated on Wednesday, April 13, 2022) – While the Elmore County Commissioners are reconsidering a previous decision to give Cat Creek Energy an extension on the construction of their large energy project, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) told Cat Creek they legally need to file progress reports on the pump storage hydro electrical generating facility portion of the project. The progress report deadline Cat Creek should have submitted expired about two weeks ago or more specifically, March 31, 2022.

If Cat Creek Energy cannot even be bothered to submit a progress report to the US Government regarding the project they want to build on lands only 20 miles to the northeast of Mountain Home, Idaho, what makes the resident of Elmore County or the Elmore County Commissioners believe Cat Creek will follow through on any of the requirements set forth in the project’s Development Agreement between Elmore County and Cat Creek Energy, LLC.

Below is a copy of the letter the FERC sent to Cat Creek Energy in April 2022, or download the pdf file at https://catcreek-energy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/FERC_overdue-progress-report-13Apr2022.pdf

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20426

April 13, 2022

OFFICE OF ENERGY PROJECTS

Project No. 14655-001-Idaho
Cat Creek Energy and Water Storage Project
Cat Creek Energy, LLC

VIA Electronic Mail

James Carkulis
Cat Creek Energy, LLC
jtc@ccewsrps.net

RE: Overdue Progress Report

Dear Mr. Carkulis:
Article 4 of the successive preliminary permit1 for the above referenced project requires submittal of a progress report every 12 months. According to our records, the progress report due March 31, 2022, has not been filed.
The failure to timely file a progress report warrants the cancellation of the preliminary permit. This letter constitutes notice under section 5 of the Federal Power Act of the probable cancellation of the preliminary permit no less than 30 days from the date of this letter.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Tust at (202) 502-6522 or michael.tust@ferc.gov.

Sincerely,

~ Signed ~

David Turner, Chief Northwest Branch
Division of Hydropower Licensing

__________________
1167 FERC ¶ 61,046.

Originally published on April 13, 2022

Thanks,

A Concerned Group of Idaho Residents!

County Commissioners Unwisely Grant Cat Creek Energy an Extension on Their Project

(Last updated on Saturday, April 9, 2022) – On February 11, 2022, the Elmore County Commissioners granted Cat Creek Energy a new two-year extension to begin construction on their massive energy project in the mountains northeast of Mountain Home, Idaho. This was both a mistake and outside the realm of their responsibilities in our opinion. In short, we believe the development agreement only allows an extension to be granted if the project is likely to be operational in two years. In fact, the project has barely begun the FERC approval process, has no water rights nor environmental impact report. The list is long but one thing we know is that Cat Creek Energy has consistently failed to meet most deadlines.

The S Bar Ranch has filed the following Request for Reconsideration motion with the county commissioners. A reconsideration public hearing with the county commissioners will be held on Friday, April 15, 2022, at 1:30 pm in the Elmore County Courthouse in Mountain Home. Prior to that public hearing, concerned citizens may file written comments regarding the proposed new extension until Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Comments will also be accepted at the Friday, April 15 hearing.

We hope you will let your Elmore County Commissioners know your thoughts and concerns about this extension.

Land Use and Building Department

520 East 2nd South Street
Mountain Home, ID 83647
Phone: (208) 587-2142 ext 1256
Fax: (206) 587-2120
www.elmorecounty.org

Date: March 23, 2022

To: Whom It May Concern

Subject: Notice of Public Hearing

Applicants: Merlyn W. Clark for S Bar Ranch LLC

Case #: Reconsideration of EOA-2022-01

Proposal: S. Bar Ranch appeals to the Elmore County Board of County Commissioners for reconsideration of Extension of Approval granted to CUP-2015-03, CUP-2015-04, CUP-2015-05, CUP-2015-06, and CUP-2015-07.

A public hearing will be held before the Elmore County Board of County

Commissioners (the “Board”) on Friday, April 15, 2022, at the hour of 1:30 p.m.

in the Elmore County Courthouse, downstairs in the Commissioner’s room, 150

South 4th East, Mountain Home, ID 83647, for reconsideration of the extension

of approvals granted to Cat Creek Energy, LLC Conditional Use Permits (CUP-

2015-03, CUP-2015-04, CUP-2015-05, CUP-2015-06, and CUP-2015-07).

The Board issued its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order on

February 11, 2022 (following a public hearing on February 4, 2022) for granting

a one-time two-year time extension for the five CUPs as provided for in the

Development Agreement signed on February 9, 2018. S Bar Ranch, LLC, filed a

timely request for the Board to reconsider its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of

Law, and Order and rescind the order for the approval of time extension(s) on

the CUP(s). The reconsideration request is reviewed by the Land Use and

Building Department under Elmore County Code 7-3-12. The Director has

conferred with the Board and the Board has granted a reconsideration hearing.

Please review the request and provide your written comments to the

Elmore County Land Use and Building Department, 520 East 2nd South Street,

Mountain Home, ID, 83647, by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, so your

comments are included in staff report. All interested persons shall be heard at

said hearing and the public is welcome and invited to submit testimony.

Testimony will be limited to reconsideration of extension(s) of the CUP(s).

The Elmore County Board of Commissioners is responsible for ensuring

compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Any person

needing special accommodations to participate in the public hearing should

contact the Elmore County ADA Coordinator, Kacey Ramsauer, 24 hours prior to

the Public Hearing at 208-587-2142 ext. 1254, or email ADA@elmorecountv.org.

Sincerely,

~~ Signed ~~

Mitra Mehta-Cooper, Director

Originally published on April 3, 2022

Thanks,

A Concerned Group of Idaho Residents!

Many People Think the Cat Creek Energy Project Deserves More Scrutiny

(Last updated on February 5, 2022) The developers of the Cat Creek Energy (CCE) Project seem to be trying to tell authorities their project is so inconsequential and simple they should be allowed to move forward without doing the required studies and research necessary to prevent environmental damage around a large section of land just 2o miles northeast of Mountain Home, Idaho.

In response to CCE’s attempt to sneak out on doing the right thing for the residents of Idaho, the City of Boise wrote a letter telling the regulatory agency that there is much concern about the entire project. Read the full letter below.

“Many People Think the Cat Creek Energy Project Deserves More Scrutiny, Not Less Scrutiny”

The proposed location of the Cat Creek Energy Project

Some of the facts about this complex project

The Cat Creek Energy project isn’t simple. It’s a complex project that will greatly affect lands within Elmore County.
Constructing the proposed Cat Creek Reservoir will entail also building a powerhouse, transmission infrastructure, transporting equipment, building new roads, and permanently disrupting a water supply diversion will surely degrade the environment and wildlife habitat of deer and elk within game Management Units 39, 43, 44 and 45.
The Cat Creek Energy project is controversial despite what the developers want you to believe. There are fifteen organizations/entities that have submitted documentation and data opposing the CCE water rights applications to Idaho’s Department of Water Resources to divert 100,000 acre-feet of water out of the Anderson Ranch Reservoir. By definition, that makes it controversial.
Cat Creek Energy falsely insists the studies that will be completed by the US Government for the proposed plan to raise Anderson Ranch Reservoir by 6 feet will answer some or even all of the environmental issues facing the Cat Creek Energy project. It can’t and it won’t because they are completely different projects.

A City of Boise Letter About a Complex Project

Source: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_num=20220201-5000

Submission Date: 1/31/2021

From: Mary R Grant, Boise Deputy City Attorney

Dear Secretary,

On behalf of the City of Boise (City), we submit these comments in response to the request by Cat Creek Energy (CCE) to utilize the Traditional Licensing Process (TLP) for licensing this project. For FERC’s consideration as to whether the TLP is appropriate, rather than the default Integrated Licensing Process (ILP), we offer the following:

1. Likelihood of timely license issuance: No comment.

2. Complexity of the resource issues: CCE states they have conducted extensive research and data collection on potential resource issues and intend to use the Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) Anderson Ranch Dam raise feasibility study and EIS as supporting documentation of resource issues. CCE acknowledged in the transmittal letter that the project is large but believes the resource issues and environmental impacts in the area qualify as minor. The City disagrees that the impact on resources and the environment in the project area qualify as minor. A project of this nature and scale is inherently complex. Constructing a new reservoir with powerhouse and transmission infrastructure, transporting equipment, building new roads, and permanently disrupting a water supply diversion is dramatically different than raising an existing dam 6 feet as Reclamation is proposing. The City is concerned that much of the information provided in the recent past (of the studies noted above) is research and data that has only limited applicability and relevance to the extent and nature of this specific project.

3. Level of anticipated controversy: CCE indicated a level of coordination with local, state, and federal agencies and stakeholders that would represent this project as having a low level of controversy. The City is one of fifteen original protestants of the CCE water right applications to Idaho’s Department of Water Resources to divert 100,000 acre-feet of water out of the Anderson Ranch Reservoir, suggesting otherwise. These protestants include state and local agencies, irrigation districts and canal companies, environmental groups, and individual water rights holders on the Boise River. Such a broad group of protestants with varied interests and concerns demonstrates the complexity of this large surface water storage project and its potential impacts.

4. Relative cost of the TLP compared to the ILP: No comment.

5. The amount of available information and potential for significant disputes over studies: CCE specifically notes their intent to rely on Reclamation’s feasibility study and EIS as supporting study and data collection for their project in addition to their own research. Again, the City points out that Reclamation’s project and CCE’s project are significantly different in scope and operation, with considerable differences in the magnitude of expected impacts. Reclamation’s feasbility and EIS will shed light on the types of issues to be expected with CCE’s proposed project but should not be used in lieu of a comprehensive suite of project-specific studies to identify a complete list of impacts and the magnitude of those impacts.

6. Other factors believed to be pertinent: The City is supportive of clean energy projects in the Treasure Valley and across the West. We believe that is the future of energy production. However, these projects must be accomplished while also protecting and enhancing the environmental resources along the Boise River and within this watershed.

We are available for further comment or clarification by contacting 208-608-7950.

Best regards,

Mary Grant
Deputy City Attorney

cc: John Roldan, Water Resources Manager

Originally published on February 5, 2022.

We believe the entire Cat Creek Energy project needs to be significantly scaled back or canceled altogether.

Thanks.

Cat Creek Energy – A Problem, Not A Solution!

Camas Prairie, Elmore County, Idaho

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