[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11149-11150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5040]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13526-001]


Bowersock Mills and Power Company; Notice of Application Tendered 
for Filing With the Commission; Intent To Waive Stage I and Stage II 
Pre-Filing Consultation Requirements and Scoping; Soliciting Additional 
Study Requests; and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing

March 3, 2010.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Original Major License.
    b. Project No.: 13526-001.
    c. Date Filed: February 8, 2010.
    d. Applicant: Bowersock Mills Power Company (Bowersock).
    e. Name of Project: Bowersock Mills and Power Company Expanded 
Kansas River Hydropower Project.
    f. Location: The project would be located on the Kansas River in 
Douglas County, Kansas. The project would not affect Federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Sarah Hill-Nelson, The Bowersock Mills and 
Power Company, P.O. Box 66, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; (785)-766-0884.
    i. FERC Contact: Monte TerHaar, (202) 502-6035, or via e-mail at 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests 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 the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of 
the request on the applicant.
    l. Deadline for filing requests for cooperating agency status and 
additional studies: April 9, 2010.
    All documents may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18 
CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web 
site (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ferconline.asp) under the ``e-
Filing'' link. For a simpler method of submitting text only comments, 
click on ``Quick Comment''. For assistance, please contact FERC Online 
Support at [email protected]; call toll-free at (866) 208-
3676; or, for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission 
strongly encourages electronic filing, documents may also be paper-
filed. To paper-file, mail an original and eight copies to: Kimberly D. 
Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    m. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. Project Description: The existing Bowersock dam and powerhouse 
currently operates under an exemption (Project No. 2644) as a small 
hydropower project of 5 megawatts (MW) or less. The proposed project 
would consist of the existing Bowersock dam and two powerhouses; the 
existing powerhouse on the South bank of the Kansas River, and a 
proposed powerhouse on the North bank of the Kansas River. The proposed 
project would have a total capacity of 6.012 MW and generate an 
estimated 33 gigawatt-hours annually. The electricity produced by the 
project would be sold to a local utility.
    The proposed project would consist of the following:
    (1) The existing 665-foot-long, 17-foot-high timber-crib Bowersock 
Dam; (2) a 120-foot-long gated spillway with seven gates; (3) raising 
the existing flashboards from 4 feet high to 5.5 feet high; (4) an 
existing 4.3-mile-long reservoir, having a normal water surface 
elevation of 813.5 feet mean sea level; (5) an existing South 
powerhouse, containing seven turbine/generator units having an 
installed capacity of 2.012 MW; (6) a proposed North powerhouse with 
four turbine/generator units, having an

[[Page 11150]]

installed capacity of 4.6 MW; (7) a proposed 20-foot-wide roller gate; 
(8) a new intake flume with trashracks; (9) a new 150-foot-long 
recreational boat portage located along the north bank of the Kansas 
River; (10) a new 765-foot-long, 12-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 
connecting to an existing 535-foot-long 2.3-kV transmission line; and 
(8) appurtenant facilities.
    The project would be operated in a run-of-river mode, where water 
levels in the reservoir would be maintained near the top of the flash 
boards. To avoid potential flooding of upstream lands, the project 
would incorporate a 20-foot-wide roller gate designed to release flows 
up to 2,600 cfs. In addition, the flashboards would be designed to 
collapse during periods of high inflows when the water surface 
elevation rises 6 inches above the top of the flashboards.
    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. 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 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 intend to waive stage I and stage II pre-
filing consultation requirements. On October 6, 2009 Bowersock filed a 
pre-application document and request for waiver of stage I and stage II 
consultation. As required by sections 5.3(d)(2) of the Commission's 
regulations, on September 24, 2009 Bowersock published notice in a 
local paper (the Lawrence Daily Journal) of its request to waive 
consultation which specified that comments should be filed with the 
Commission. The application includes letters from the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, both 
indicating that there is sufficient information available to make a 
recommendation for licensing the project and that no further studies 
are necessary. Commission staff reviewed the application and comments 
received and determined that Bowersock's application adequately 
addresses the issues such that no additional agency consultation is 
necessary.
    q. With this notice we intend to waive scoping. Based on a review 
of the application filed by Bowersock, resource agency consultation 
letters, and comments filed to date, Commission staff intends to 
prepare a single environmental assessment (EA). The EA will assess the 
potential effects of project construction and operation on geology and 
soils, aquatic, terrestrial, threatened and endangered species, 
recreation and land use, aesthetic, and cultural and historic 
resources. Commission staff determined that the issues that need to be 
addressed in its EA have been adequately identified during the pre-
filing period for the application, which includes a public meeting and 
site visit conducted by Bowersock on August 13, 2009, and no new issues 
are likely to be identified through additional scoping.
    r. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule 
will be made as appropriate.

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              Milestone                           Target date
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Additional study requests and          April 9, 2010.
 cooperating agency request due.
Notice of Acceptance, Intervenors,     April 23, 2010.
 and Ready for Environmental Analysis
 issued.
Recommendations, preliminary terms &   June 22, 2010.
 conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions due.
Commission issues EA.................  August 20, 2010.
Comments on EA due...................  September 20, 2010.
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Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-5040 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P