[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 23 (Thursday, February 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 5655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2593]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Transfer of License

January 29, 1999.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: Transfer of Licenses.
    b. Project Nos.: (1) 2403-013, (2) 2534-021, (3) 2666-009, (4) 
2710-011, (5) 2712-015, (6) 2721-015, and (7) 2727-059.
    c. Date Filed: December 7, 1998.
    Date Amended: January 22, 1999.
    d. Applicants: Bangor Hydro-Electric Company (Bangor) and Penobscot 
Hydro, LLC (Penobscot).
    e. Name and Location of Projects: (1) Veazie, (2) Milford, (3) 
Medway, (4) Orono, and (5) Stillwater: Penobscot and Stillwater Rivers 
in Penobscot County, Maine; (6) Howland: Piscataquis River in Penobscot 
County, Maine; and (7) Ellsworth: Union River in Hancock County, Maine.
    f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. Secs. 791(a)-
825(r).
    g. Applicant Contacts:
    For Bangor: Alan M. Spear, Bangor Hydro-Electric Company, 33 State 
Street, Bangor, ME 04402, (207) 941-6697.
    For Penobscot: Robert W. Burke, Jr., Penobscot Hydro, Inc., 11350 
Random Hills Road, Suite 400, Fairfax, VA 22030, (703) 293-2600.
    Attorney for Applicants: John A. Whittaker, IV, Winston & Strawn, 
1400 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005-3502, (202) 371-5766.
    h. FERC Contact: James Hunter, (202) 219-2839.
    i. Comment Date: February 24, 1999.
    j. Description of Transfer: Transfer of the licenses for these 
projects to Penobscot is being sought in connection with the 
divestiture by Bangor of certain generation and other assets, pursuant 
to Maine Public Law 1997, ch. 316, 35-A Sec. 3204, et seq. (An Act to 
Restructure the State's Electric Industry).
    The transfer application was filed within five years of the 
expiration of the licenses for Projects Nos. 2666 and 2721, which are 
the subject of pending relicense applications. In Hydroelectric 
Relicensing Regulations Under the Federal Power Act (54 FR 23,756; FERC 
Stats. and Regs., Regs. Preambles 1986-1990 30,854 at p. 31,437), the 
Commission declined to forbid all license transfers during the last 
five years of an existing license, and instead indicated that it would 
scrutinize all such transfer requests to determine if the transfer's 
primary purpose was to give the transferee an advantage in relicensing 
(id. at p. 31,438 n. 318). The transfer would lead to the substitution 
of the transferee for the transferor as the applicant in the 
relicensing proceedings for Projects Nos. 2666 and 2721.
    Bangor proposed to decommission the Orono Project No. 2710 (which 
is operating under an annual license) as part of its proposal to build 
the downstream Basin Mills Project No. 10981. However, by order issued 
April 20, 1998, the Commission denied Bangor's application for license 
for Project No. 10981.\1\ Bangor subsequently requested rehearing of 
the denial and now asks that, as of the effective date of this 
transfer, Penobscot be substituted for it in the rehearing proceeding 
and as applicant for the Basin Mills Project No. 10981.
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    \1\ 83 FERC para. 61,039.
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    k. This notice also consists of the following standard paragraphs: 
B, C1, and D2.
    B. Comments, Protests, or Motions to Intervene--Anyone may submit 
comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene in accordance with the 
requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, 
.214. In determining the appropriate action to take, the commission 
will consider all protests or other comments filed, but only those who 
file a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules 
may become a party to the proceeding. Any comments, protests, or 
motions to intervene must be received on or before the specified 
comment date for the particular application.
    C1. Filing and Service of Responsive Documents--Any filings must 
bear in all capital letters the title ``COMMENTS'', ``RECOMMENDATIONS 
FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS'', ``PROTEST'', OR ``MOTION TO INTERVENE'', as 
applicable, and the Project Number of the particular application to 
which the filing refers. Any of the above-named documents must be filed 
by providing the original and the number of copies provided by the 
Commission's regulations to: The Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. A copy of any 
motion to intervene must also be served upon each representative of the 
Applicant specified in the particular application.
    D2. Agency Comments--Federal, state, and local agencies are invited 
to file comments on the described application. A copy of the 
application may be obtained by agencies directly from the Applicant. If 
an agency does not file comments within the time specified for filing 
comments, it will be presumed to have no comments. One copy of an 
agency's comments must also be sent to the Applicant's representatives.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-2593 Filed 2-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M