[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20278-20279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7955]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No.: 2210-169]


Appalachian Power Company; Notice of Application Tendered for 
Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for 
Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

April 9, 2008.
    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.: 2210-169.
    c. Date Filed: March 27, 2008.
    d. Applicant: Appalachian Power Company, dba American Electric 
Power.
    e. Name of Project: Smith Mountain Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the headwaters of the Roanoke River in south-
central Virginia, within the counties of Bedford, Campbell, Franklin 
and Pittsylvania, and near the city of Roanoke, Virginia. No federal 
lands are occupied by the project works or otherwise located within the 
project boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Teresa P. Rogers, Environmental and 
Regulatory Affairs Supervisor, Appalachian Power Company, Hydro 
Generation, P.O. Box 2021, Roanoke, VA 24022-2121; (540) 985-2441; 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Allan Creamer, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426; (202) 502-
8365; [email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The existing Smith Mountain Project 
consists of two developments; one used for pumped storage operation and 
the other conventional operation.
    The upper, pumped storage development, known as Smith Mountain, 
consists of: (1) A 816-foot-long, 235-foot-high concrete arch dam, with 
a crest elevation of 812.0 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum 
(NGVD); (2) two ogee-crest overflow spillways, each 100 feet long and 
having a crest elevation of 595.0 feet NGVD [passing 25,000 cubic feet 
per second (cfs)]; (3) a reservoir with a surface area of 20,260 acres 
at a normal operating level of 795.0 feet NGVD; (4) a pump station/
powerhouse containing five generating units, with a total capacity of 
586 megawatts (MW), a total hydraulic capacity of 46,000 cfs, and an 
average annual generation of 476,640 MWh (three of the units, which 
have a pumping capacity of 15,810 cfs, are reversible for pumping water 
from the Leesville's reservoir to Smith Mountain's reservoir); (5) a 
600,000 KVA substation and a double-circuit 138-kV tie-in line to 
American Electric Power's (AEP) interconnected system; and (6) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The lower, conventional development, known as Leesville, consists 
of: (1) A 980-foot-long, 94 foot-high concrete gravity dam, with a 
crest elevation of 615.67 feet NGVD; (2) a 224-foot-long gated spillway 
section, with (a) A crest elevation of 578.0 feet NGVD, (b) four 
taintor gates, and (c) a hydraulic capacity of 175,100 cfs; (3) a 
reservoir with a surface area of 3,260 acres at an elevation of 613.0 
feet NGVD; (4) a powerhouse containing two generating units, with a 
total capacity of 50 MW, a total hydraulic capacity of 9,000 cfs, and 
an average annual generation of 59,376 MWh; (5) a 50,000 KVA substation 
and a double-circuit 138-kV tie-in line to AEP's interconnected system; 
and (6) appurtenant facilities.
    The Smith Mountain development operates as a peaking/load-following 
facility, with generation occurring during peak demand periods and 
pump-back operation occurring during off-peak periods. Under normal 
operations, Smith Mountain Lake uses a 2-foot drawdown, which equates 
to a 13-foot fluctuation in Leesville Lake. Currently, Leesville is 
operated by auto-cycling the units, to provide a minimum average daily 
flow of 650 cfs to the Roanoke River downstream. Additional flow is 
provided during the spring spawning season for striped bass.
    Appalachian Power does not propose to modify existing operations, 
except as described in its proposed Water Management Plan. Appalachian 
also proposes to implement numerous environmental enhancement measures 
that are contained in its proposed resource-specific management plans.
    l. 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.
    m. 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.
    n. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule 
may be made as appropriate. For example, issuance of the Ready for 
Environmental Analysis Notice is based on the assumption that there 
will be no additional information.

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               Milestone                           Target Date
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Tendering Notice......................  (April 2008).
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready    (May 2008).
 for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary  (July 2008).
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft EA or EIS.....  (January 2009).
Comments on Draft EA or EIS...........  (March 2009).
Modified Terms and Conditions.........  (May 2009).
Commission Issues Final EA or EIS.....  (August 2009).
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[[Page 20279]]

    o. 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-7955 Filed 4-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P