The State Water Board’s Administrative Hearing Office sent the following letter to Andrew Hitchings, Somach Simmons & Dunn, regarding the Sites Reservoir project:
By this letter, the AHO directs the Sites Project Authority (Authority) to submit CalSim 3 modeling results that incorporate the operating conditions identified in the operations incidental take permit (ITP) for Sites Reservoir issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in October 2024. The results and any accompanying documentation shall be submitted to the AHO by November 3, 2025.
By letter dated September 10, 2025, counsel for Friends of the River, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Sierra Club, and Save California Salmon informed the HO that the Authority had conducted analyses of the operational effects of the ITP on Sites, the Central Valley Project (CVP), and the State Water Project (SWP) using the
CalSim 3 model. The letter requested that the AHO: (1) order the Authority to provide the updated modeling and (2) provide opportunity for cross-examination of knowledgeable witnesses about the updated modeling.
The Authority’s September 12, 2025 response did not dispute the availability of CalSim 3 modeling with operational constraints imposed by the 2024 ITP for the proposed Sites Reservoir Project. The letter asserted that CalSim 3 modeling is not necessary for the Board to decide whether to approve the Authority’s water right application because other relevant evidence is already included in the record.
