Pushmataha County Pumped Storage Project

Pushmataha County Pumped Storage Project

In 2019, the Southeast Oklahoma Power Corp. (SEOPC) proposed a hydropower project that would utilize the Kiamichi River to develop a pumped storage hydroelectric (PSH) generating facility located on the Choctaw Nation (CNO) Reservation in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, with transmission lines running to Paris, Texas.

As a sovereign nation committed to the sustainable protection of its natural and cultural resources, the Choctaw Nation immediately raised serious concerns about SEOPC’s proposal within its reservation, fearing long-term impacts to the Kiamichi River’s water quality, cultural sites, endangered species, and regional economic and ecological integrity.

The Choctaw Nation engaged with numerous agencies, organizations, and community partners, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Chickasaw Nation, to use the Water Settlement Agreement and the support of expert consultants to ensure that our opposition was well-informed and thoroughly presented. This ensured our concerns were heard and addressed throughout the federal licensing process. The comments in opposition, submitted jointly by CNO and Chickasaw, totaled over 500 pages.

Numerous organizations and individuals shared similar concerns with CNO and submitted comments in opposition.

  • Kiamichi River Legacy Alliance and Center of Biological Diversity
  • Pushmataha Rural Water District #2
  • Pushmataha Rural Water District #3
  • The Town of Albion, OK
  • The City of Hugo, OK
  • City of Antlers
  • Pushmataha County Board of County Commissioners
  • The City of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust
  • OK Representative Justin JJ Humphrey
  • OK Representative Brad Boles
  • OK Representative Eddy Dempsey
  • OK Senator David Bullard
  • AG Drummond
  • Former Oklahoma AG Mike Hunter
  • OK Senator George Burns
  • S. Representative Nathaniel Moran
  • S. Representative Josh Brecheen
  • S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
  • S. Fish and Wildlife

On April 14, 2025, FERC terminated SEOPC’s Notice of Intent (NOI) and pre-application document (PAD) for the Pushmataha Project, including the following statement:

“In preparing the PSP, SEOPC has not demonstrated the diligence needed under the ILP for the Pushmataha Project. Due to SEOPC demonstrating a continued inability to adhere to the Commission’s ILP regulations and ongoing delays, the Notice of Intent (NOI) and pre-application document (PAD) for the Pushmataha Project are dismissed, and the associated ILP proceeding is terminated.”

Timeline of Events

  • April 10, 2019: SEOPC was granted the Preliminary Permit. They were granted an extension in April 2023 that will last until March 2027.

  • Nov. 29, 2023: SEOPC contacted Chief Batton in a letter describing the proposed project and inviting tribes to a listening session with less than two weeks’ notice

  • Jan. 24, 2024: FERC met with CNO via teleconference to discuss the upcoming licensing process. CNO expressed concern with the project, emphasizing that numerous statutes, the Water Settlement Agreement, and feedback from tribal members and community members will all impact how this project proceeds. The meeting ended with CNO stating their intention to file a letter with the Commission outlining the Nation’s position on the project.
  • Jan. 31, 2024: SEOPC submitted its Notice of Intent and Pre-Application Document. FERC rejected SEOPC’s documentation as deficient twice before SEOPC’s third submission was accepted in July 2024.
  • February: FERC announced a new policy that gives deference to tribal objections on reservation-based projects.
  • Feb. 26 , 2024: FERC documented the first comment opposing the project. The comment ends with, “Please don’t do this to us.” Comments in opposition will become a steady stream throughout the project. By the end of April 2025, over 1,000 opposition comments will have been submitted.
  • May 7, 2024: Kiamichi River Legacy Alliance submitted its comment in opposition and continues to do so throughout the process.
  • By the end of May 2024, FERC received over 300 comments opposing the project.
  • July 2, 2024: Chickasaw Governor Anoatubby issued a letter to FERC expressing significant concerns over the project and its impact on the Water Settlement Agreement.
  • July 3, 2024: Chief Batton sent a letter to FERC requesting they deny SEOPC’s preliminary permit, stating that information sharing with SEOPC has been “inconsistent and insufficient thus far.”
  • July 8, 2024: The Choctaw Nation Historic Preservation Department issued a letter outlining their attempts to communicate with SEOPC concerning the project, stating “all attempts to consult on this project, as required by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)… have been unsuccessful to date.” When trying to contact the SWCA tribal liaison listed in the pre-application document on June 7, 2024, the number had been disconnected.
  • The letter provided a list of historical sites within five miles of the proposed project area that would need to be evaluated before the project could commence.
  • July 13, 2024: Choctaw Nation Tribal Council passed a resolution opposing SEOPC’s proposal.
  • July 17, 2024: Pushmataha Rural Water District #2 issued a comment in opposition.
  • July 25, 2024:  The Oklahoma Historical Preservation Society submitted a letter stating that SEOPC had not initiated the required consultation with their office or submitted adequate maps or location information to identify potential project impact.
  • July 30, 202 4: The U.S. Department of Wildlife submitted a letter outlining the significant impacts the project may have on the land and endangered species.
  • Aug. 7, 2024: Two scoping meetings were held in Paris, TX.
  • Aug. 8-9, 2024: Two scoping meetings were held in Tuskahoma, OK.
  • Aug. 8, 2024: The City of Antlers, OK, issued a letter in opposition.
  • Aug. 8, 2024: Pushmataha Rural Water District #3 Board of Directors issued a letter in opposition.
  • Aug. 15, 2024: A virtual scoping meeting was held.
  • Aug. 15 , 2024: The Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma filed a joint request for an extension of time to file comments stating that the “applicant’s anemic efforts to inform and work with the Nations on this Project has impeded them from developing timely comments and study requests to the Commission.”
  • Aug. 19, 2024: OK Representative Justin JJ Humphrey issued a letter in opposition.
  • Aug. 21, 2024: OK Senator David Bullard issued a letter in opposition.
  • Aug. 26, 2024: Pushmataha County Board of County Commissioners issued a letter in opposition.
  • Aug. 28, 2024: Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a letter outlining his opposition, stating that the Southeastern Oklahoma Public Corporation (SEOPC) had not contacted the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to assess the impact on water levels. He also expressed concerns about how the project may violate the historic Water Settlement Agreement and the need to acquire private property.
  • Sept. 3, 2024: The town of Albion, OK, issued a letter in opposition.
  • Sept. 4, 2024: The Choctaw Nation’s newspaper, Biskinik, released an article outlining how the project could impact the reservation.
  • Sept. 4, 2024: FERC granted the requested time extension request, noting that between “Aug. 15 and Aug. 29, 2024, an additional 27 stakeholders filed requests for extensions of time of up to 60 days to address the numerous environmental impacts. Due to the large number of comments filed to the record to date, and the continued strong interest in commenting, the scoping comment deadline is extended by 60 days to Nov. 5, 2024”.
  • Sept. 5, 2024: The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife issued a letter expressing concerns over the project’s impact.
  • Sept. 5, 2024: The City of Hugo, OK, issued a letter in opposition.
  • Sept. 5, 202 4: Choctaw Nation Historic Preservation issued a letter of concern, noting that a “major discrepancy exists between the number of cultural resources listed in the PAD…and the actual number of cultural resources encompassed by the proposed project boundary…”
  • Sept. 26, 2024: Former Oklahoma AG Mike Hunter issued a letter of opposition.
  • By the end of Sept. 2024, FERC received over 950 comments opposing the project.
  • Oct. 3, 3034: OK Senator George Burns issued a letter in opposition.
  • Oct. 15, 2024: U.S. Representative Nathaniel Moran issued a letter in opposition.
  • Oct. 15, 2024: U.S. Representative Josh Brecheen issued a letter in opposition.
  • Oct. 30, 2024: Reps. Dempsey and Humphrey held an interim study on the Kiamichi River in southeast Oklahoma before the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
  • Speakers included Seth Willyard, Tye Baker and Ahndria Ablett, both with the Choctaw Nation, Zach Quintero with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., and Nels Rodefeld with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
  • Nov. 1, 2024: Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust issued a letter in opposition.
  • Nov. 4 , 2024: The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs submitted a letter noting deficiencies in SEOPC’s proposed studies and providing BIA recommendations.
  • Nov. 5,  2024: OK State Reps. Humphrey, Boles, Bullard, and Dempsey issued a letter calling for FERC to halt the project.
  • Nov. 5 , 2024: The Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma issued joint comments on the Pre-Application Document and Scoping Document 1 and Study Requests
  • Among many issues outlined in the 450-page document, the joint comment stated that SEOPC’s PAD failed to disclose project aspects that “left the Nations in the dark on matters crucial to the protection of their Reservations, their natural resources, and their Treaty rights.”
  • Dec. 20, 2024: FERC issued the Scoping Document 2 with updated considerations SEOPC must address in their study plan.
  • Dec. 20, 2024: SEOPC filed its initial Proposed Study Plan (PSP)
  • Dec. 30, 2024: The Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma issued a joint request for FERC to reject the proposed study plan as deficient, stating,“SEOPC’s study plan cannot provide the basis for a study plan meeting because it is patently deficient under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or Commission) Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) rules. The only purpose of such a meeting would be remedial—to instruct SEOPC on how to develop a facially acceptable plan. That would compound the prejudice to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation (collectively, Nations) by requiring that they do SEOPC’s work while denying them the regulatorily-required opportunities for comments and objections for a study plan that satisfies the ILP’s rules.”

  • Jan. 6, 2025: The BIA submitted its objection to the PSP.
  • Jan. 6, 2025: U.S. Fish and Wildlife submitted its objection to the PSP.
  • Jan. 7, 2025: Kiamichi River Legacy Alliance and Center of Biological Diversity submitted their objection to the PSP.
  • Jan. 8, 2025: FERC informed SEOPC that the initial PSP was denied.
  • Feb. 5, 2025: SEOPC filed its second PSP.
  • Feb. 20, 2025: FERC informed SEOPC that the second PSP was denied.
  • March 7, 2025: AG Drummond issued praise for halting the project.
  • March 17, 2025: SEOPC filed its third PSP.
  • April 4, 2025: The Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma issued joint objections to the PSP, stating:“SEOPC has shifted the burden of developing the record here to the Nations and other stakeholders. The need to respond to SEOPC’s Notice of Intent (NOI) and Pre-Application Document (PAD) and multiple deficient filings to protect our legally cognizable interests has imposed real and significant financial and other costs on the Nations. The Commission, as our trustee, should not force us to continue to incur these costs for the sole benefit of SEOPC, a private corporate entity that has shown no real regard for the Nations and local communities.”

    “The Tribes, agencies, and other stakeholders should not be forced to spend considerable resources to respond to a proposed Project that SEOPC has yet to show, even on a preliminary basis, is needed, can be feasibly constructed and operated, or will be economically beneficial. Accordingly, the Nations request that the Commission terminate the ILP for this project and initiate cancellation of the related preliminary permit.”

  • April 9, 2025: Oklahoma City filed its objection to the PSP.
  • April 11, 2025: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife filed its objection to the PSP.
  • April 19, 2025: FERC terminated SEOPC’s Notice of Intent (NOI) and pre-application document (PAD) for the Pushmataha Project.
  • “In preparing the PSP, SEOPC has not demonstrated the diligence needed under the ILP for the Pushmataha Project. Due to SEOPC demonstrating a continued inability to adhere to the Commission’s ILP regulations, and ongoing delays, the Notice of Intent (NOI) and pre-application document (PAD) for the Pushmataha Project are dismissed, and the associated ILP proceeding is terminated.”
  • By the end of this project, FERC received over 1,000 comments opposing the project.
  • March 31, 2027: The Preliminary Project will expire.

Official Correspondence & Public Records

To find historical information on this project, including the comments sent in regarding it, you can follow the following steps:

  • In your chosen browser search for “FERC elibrary”
  • Select “General Search”
  • Enter P-14890 in the “Enter Docket Number”
  • In “Select Date Range”, change the “*From” date to Jan. 1, 2019, and keep the “*To” field as today’s date
  • Click “Search” and all documents from the beginning of the project filings will populate for your review.