[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 133 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39693-39694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15702]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No.: 2277-023]


Union Electric Company, dba AmerenUE; Notice of Application 
Tendered for Filing With the Commission, Soliciting Additional Study 
Requests, and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a 
Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

July 2, 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.: 2277-023.
    c. Date Filed: June 24, 2008.
    d. Applicant: Union Electric Company, dba AmerenUE.
    e. Name of Project: Taum Sauk Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: The project is located on the East Fork Black River 
and Taum Sauk Creek, in Reynolds, Iron, St. Francois, and Washington 
counties, near the Town of Lesterville, Missouri. The project does not 
occupy any federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Michael O. Lobbig, P.E., Managing Supervisor, 
Hydro Licensing, AmerenUE, 1901 Chouteau Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103; 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Allan Creamer, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First St., NE., Washington, DC 20426; 202-502-8365; 
[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 18 CFR Section 4.32(b)(7) 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 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: August 25, 2008.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    Additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency 
status may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. 
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. See 18 CFR 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site 
(http://www.ferc.gov) under the ``e-Filing'' link.
    m. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. The 408-megawatt (MW) Taum Sauk Project consists of the 
following principal features: (1) A roller compacted concrete dam, with 
(i) a crest elevation of 1,601.0 feet mean sea level (msl), (ii) 3.5-
foot-high parapet walls to an elevation of 1,604.5 feet msl, and (iii) 
a 700-foot-long overflow release structure with a crest elevation of 
1,599.0 feet msl; (2) a 54.5-acre upper reservoir, having a total 
useable volume of 4,360 acre-feet; (2) a 390-foot-long ogee-shaped 
concrete-gravity dam, with (i) a 26-foot-long gated sluice, (ii) a 
steel-lined conduit having a capacity of 2,500 cubic feet per second 
(cfs), (iii) a 16-inch, spiral-welded pipe having a capacity of 50 cfs, 
and (iv) a crest elevation of 750 msl; (3) a 363-acre lower reservoir, 
with normal maximum and minimum operating elevations of 749.5 and 736 
feet msl and a total usable storage of 3,869 acre-feet; (4) a tunnel 
and penstock, having a total volume of 82.5 acre-feet, that consists of 
(i) a 451-foot-long lined and unlined vertical shaft, (ii) a two-
section, 6,572-foot-long tunnel, and (iii) a short penstock that 
bifurcates into the powerhouse, (5) a concrete powerhouse equipped with 
two reversible pump generating units, each rated at 204 MW; (6) a 
5,500-foot-long tailrace channel; (7) a sediment trap (about 400 feet 
in length, with a crest elevation of about 748.0 msl); and
    (8) transmission and other appurtenant facilities. The project has 
an average annual generation of just over 497 gigawatt-hours (2000-
2005).
    AmerenUE is rebuilding the project's upper reservoir. However, 
AmerenUE proposes no changes to the existing pump-storage operation of 
the project, at

[[Page 39694]]

this time. As part of the rebuild, AmerenUE will be installing a new 
water control system. In addition, AmerenUE and the resource agencies 
are assessing a new water management plan during the 2-year rebuild 
period. AmerenUE is not proposing any PM&Es (except for a 1.4-cfs flow 
in the river downstream from the project and a historic properties 
management plan, if needed), but will undertake studies and surveys 
aimed at providing information needed to develop its proposed 
environmental measures.
    o. 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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email 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 
Missouri State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as required by 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and the 
regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR 
800.4.
    q. Procedural schedule and final amendments: The application will 
be processed according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. 
Revisions to the schedule will be made as appropriate.

Issue Deficiency Letter--August 2008
Request Additional Information--September 2008
Issue Acceptance letter--November 2008
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments--April 2011
Request Additional Information--June 2011
Issue Scoping Document 2--July 2011
Notice of application is ready for environmental analysis--August 2011
Notice of the availability of the draft NEPA Document--February 2012
Notice of the availability of the final NEPA Document--June 2012
    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. E8-15702 Filed 7-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P