[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23400-23401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11570]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2985-006]


MeadWestvaco Corporation; Notice of Application Tendered for 
Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for 
Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

May 12, 2009.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 2985-006.
    c. Date Filed: April 29, 2009.
    d. Applicant: MeadWestvaco Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: Willow Mill Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Housatonic River in the Town of Stockbridge, 
Berkshire County, Massachusetts. 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: Thomas A. Beebe, Senior Engineering Project 
Manager, MeadWestvaco, MW Custom Papers, LLC, P.O. Box 188, South Lee, 
MA 01260, (413) 243 5938, [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Kristen Murphy, (202) 502-6236 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The existing Willow Mill Project consists of: (1) A 14-foot-
high, 150-foot-wide stone masonry gravity dam; (2) an 11-acre 
impoundment; (3) a 10-foot-deep, 18-foot-wide, 50-foot-long rubble and 
masonry canal connected to a 10-foot-deep, 18-foot-wide, 260-foot-long 
rubble and masonry underground headrace; (4) two 5.5-foot-long, 8-foot 
diameter steel penstocks; (5) a 100-kW turbine generating unit; and (6) 
a 210-foot-long discharge pipe releasing water back into the Housatonic 
River. The turbine generating unit is located in the basement of 
MeadWestvaco's paper mill. There are no transmission lines associated 
with the project as all of the power is used for internal use at the 
Willow Mill.
    The applicant proposes to continue to operate the project in run-
of-river mode with an increase in minimum flow in the 700-foot-long 
bypass reach from 1.4 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 122 cfs or inflow, 
whichever is less. The applicant estimates that the total average 
annual generation, with the proposed minimum flow, would be 
approximately 256 megawatt-hours.
    l. 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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp 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. The Commission staff 
proposes to issue a single Environmental Assessment (EA) rather than 
issuing a draft and final EA. The schedule allows 30 days for entities 
to comment on the EA, and 60 days for agencies to file modified 
mandatory terms and conditions. Staff will take into consideration all 
comments and terms and conditions received on the EA before final 
action is taken on the license application. Revisions to the schedule 
may be made as appropriate.

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              Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance and Ready for    June 28, 2009.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing interventions, comments,       August 27, 2009.
 recommendations, preliminary terms
 and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Notice of availability of the EA....  December 25, 2009.
Filing comments on EA...............  January 24, 2010.
Filing modified terms and conditions  March 25, 2010.
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[[Page 23401]]

    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. E9-11570 Filed 5-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P