[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28679-28681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7490]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2197-073]


Alcoa Power Generating, Inc.; Notice of Application Tendered for 
Filing With the Commission, Soliciting Additional Study Requests, and 
Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for 
Submission of Final Amendments

May 10, 2006.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2197-073.
    c. Date Filed: April 25, 2006.
    d. Applicant: Alcoa Power Generating, Inc.
    e. Name of Project: Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Yadkin River in 
Stanly, Davidson, Davie, Montgomery, and Rowan Counties, North 
Carolina. The project does not affect Federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r)
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Gene Ellis, Licensing and Property 
Manager, Alcoa Power Generating, Inc., Yadkin Division, P.O. Box 576, 
NC Highway 740, Badin, NC 28009-0576.
    i. FERC Contact: Stephen Bowler, (202) 502-6861; or 
[email protected] or Lee Emery, (202) 502-8379; or 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating Agencies: We are asking Federal, state, local, and 
tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect 
to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the preparation of the 
environmental document. Agencies who would like to request cooperating 
status should follow the instructions for filing such requests 
described in item l below. Cooperating agencies should note the 
Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation of 
the environmental document cannot also intervene. See, 94 FERC ] 61,076 
(2001).
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations, if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes 
that an additional scientific study should be conducted in order to 
form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the 
application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person 
must file a request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 
days from

[[Page 28680]]

the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of the request 
on the applicant.
    l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for 
cooperating agency status: June 25, 2006.
    m. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. The Project Description: The existing Yadkin River Hydroelectric 
Project consists of four developments: High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows, 
and Falls. The four developments are located on a 38-mile reach of the 
Yadkin River 60 miles northeast of Charlotte in central North Carolina. 
The High Rock development is the most upstream, with the Tuckertown, 
Narrows, and Falls Developments 8.7, 16.5, and 19.0 miles below High 
Rock respectively. The four Yadkin Developments have a combined 
installed capacity of 210 megawatts (MW). The project produces an 
average annual generation of 844,306 megawatt-hours.
    The High Rock Development includes the following constructed 
facilities: (1) A 101-foot-high, 936-foot-long, concrete gravity dam, 
with a 550-foot-long, gate-controlled spillway; (2) ten, 45-foot-wide 
(Stoney) floodgates; (3) a 14,400-acre reservoir, with a normal pool 
elevation of 623.9 feet USGS (U.S. Geological Survey Datum) and a 
usable storage capacity of 217,400 acre-feet; (4) a powerhouse, 
integral to the dam, containing three vertical Francis turbine units 
directly connected to generators with a total installed capacity of 
32,190 kW; and (5) appurtenant facilities.
    The Tuckertown Development includes the following constructed 
facilities: (1) A 76-foot-high, 1,370-foot-long, concrete gravity dam 
with sections of rock fill and earth fill embankment; (2) a 480-foot-
long spillway with eleven Tainter gates 35-feet-wide and 38-feet-high; 
(3) a 2,560-acre reservoir, with a normal pool elevation of 564.7 feet 
USGS and a usable storage capacity of 6,700 acre-feet; (4) a 204-foot-
long powerhouse, integral to the dam, containing three Kaplan turbine 
units directly connected to generators with a total installed capacity 
of 38,040 kW; and (5) appurtenant facilities.
    The Narrows Development includes the following constructed 
facilities: (1) A 201-foot-high, 1,144-foot-long, concrete gravity dam 
with a 640-foot-long main spillway; (2) twenty-two, 25-foot-wide by 12-
foot-high (Tainter) flood gates and a trash gate; (3) a 128-foot-long 
intake structure with four 20-foot by 20-foot openings each with two 
vertical lift gates; (4) four 15-foot-diameter steel-lined penstocks; 
(5) a 213-foot-long by 80-foot-wide reinforced concrete and brick 
powerhouse located 280 feet downstream of the dam; (6) a 430-foot-long 
bypass spillway with ten Stoney gates (35-feet-wide by 28-feet-high); 
(7) a 5,355-acre reservoir, with a normal pool elevation of 509.8 feet 
USGS and a usable storage capacity of 129,100 acre-feet; (8) four 
vertical Francis turbines directly connected to generators with a total 
installed capacity of 447,150 kW; and (9) appurtenant facilities.
    The Falls Development includes the following constructed 
facilities: (1) A 112-foot-high, 750-foot-long, concrete gravity dam; 
(2) a 526-foot-long spillway with a 441-foot section of Stoney gates 
(33-feet-wide by 34-feet-high), a 71-foot section of Tainter gates (25-
feet-wide by 19-feet- and 14-feet-high respectively), and a 14-foot-
long trash gate section; (3) a 204-acre reservoir, with a normal pool 
elevation of 332.8 feet USGS and a usable storage capacity of 940 acre-
feet; (4) an 189-foot-long powerhouse, integral to the dam, and 
containing one S. Morgan Smith vertical Francis turbine and two Allis 
Chalmers propeller type turbines all directly connected to generators 
with a total installed capacity of 31,130 kW; and (5) appurtenant 
facilities.
    Alcoa operates the High Rock Development in a store-and-release 
mode, and the Tuckertown, Narrows, and Falls Developments in a run-of-
river mode. The High Rock Development provides storage for the 
downstream developments, and the Narrows Development provides some 
storage during low flow conditions and emergencies. The maximum annual 
drawdown for High Rock is 13 feet, with drawdowns of five feet or less 
typical during the summer months. At the other developments, the 
maximum annual drawdown is 3 to 4 feet, with an average daily drawdown 
of up to 1 to 2 feet. Progress Energy releases a weekly average minimum 
of 900 cfs into the Yadkin River from the Yadkin Project at the Falls 
Development.
    o. Locations of the Application: A copy of the application is 
available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or 
may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using 
the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. For 
assistance, contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] 
or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is 
also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item 
(h) above.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filings and 
issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, 
contact FERC Online Support.
    p. With this notice, we are initiating consultation with the North 
Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as required by 
section 106, National Historic Preservation Act, and the regulations of 
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR, at Sec.  800.4.
    q. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule 
may be made as appropriate.

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              Milestone                           Target date
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Tendering Notice.....................  May 10, 2006.
Additional Study Requests &            June 25, 2006.
 Interventions.
Additional Information Requests (if    July 2006.
 necessary).
Issue Acceptance Letter..............  October 2006.
Issue Scoping Document 1 for Comments  November 2006.
Hold Scoping Meetings................  January 2007.
Request Additional Information (if     February 2007.
 necessary).
Issue Scoping Document 2.............  March 2007.
Notice of Ready for Environmental      March 2007.
 Analysis.
Filing of recommendations,             May 2007.
 preliminary terms and conditions,
 and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft EA or EIS....  September 2007.
Comments on Draft EA or EIS &          November 2007.
 Modified Terms and Conditions.
Commission Issues Final EA or EIS....  March 2008.
Ready for Commission Decision on the   April 2008.
 Application.
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[[Page 28681]]

    Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-7490 Filed 5-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P