On October 17, 2011, Snohomish County PUD dedicated the Youngs Creek Hydroelectric Plant, the first new hydroelectric plant completed in Washington in nearly twenty years. Through a combination of skilled management, careful choice of site, and skilled management of the FERC licensing process, Snohomish succeeded in moving from site acquisition to project commissioning in slightly more than three years, with construction completed on schedule and under budget. The 7.5-MW capacity Youngs Creek Project, located in south-central Snohomish County near the town of Sultan, will provide enough environmentally-benign and carbon-free electric power to support about 2,000 Snohomish County households for the next several decades. GTH congratulates Snohomish County PUD on this remarkable achievement.

GTH attorney Eric Christensen assisted Snohomish County PUD on several aspects of the project, including acquisition of project property, licensing and right-of-access issues, and construction contracts. If you have any questions, please contact one of the attorneys in Gordon Thomas Honeywell’s Energy Practice Group: Eric Christensen (425-676-7539 or echristensen@gth-law.com ), Durham McCormick (206-676-7584 or dmccormick@gth-law.com ), or Don Cohen (425-676-7531 or dcohen@gth-law.com). The attorneys at Gordon Thomas Honeywell have extensive experience assisting clients in all areas affecting the energy and utility industries, including regulatory matters, project development, renewable energy, power purchase agreements, REC purchase agreements, transmission, taxation, municipal law, cooperative law, public records requests and general operations.