[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 68 (Friday, April 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18192-18193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8076]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2558-029]


Vermont Marble Power Division of Omya Inc.; Notice of Application 
Tendered for Filing with the Commission and Establishing Procedural 
Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

April 2, 2010.
    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.: 2558-029.
    c. Date Filed: March 31, 2010.
    d. Applicant: Vermont Marble Power Division of Omya Inc.
    e. Name of Project: Otter Creek Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on Otter Creek in 
Addison and Rutland Counties, Vermont. 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: Todd Allard, Operations Engineer, Vermont 
Marble Power Division of Omya Inc., 9987 Carver Road, Suite 300, 
Cincinnati, OH 45242, (513) 387-4344.
    i. FERC Contact: Aaron Liberty, (202) 502-6862 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The existing Otter Creek Hydroelectric 
Project consists of three developments with a combined installed 
capacity of 18.1 megawatts (MW). The project produces an average annual 
generation of 67,258 megawatt-hours. Vermont Marble Power uses the 
energy from the Project to serve its retail customers in the towns of 
Proctor and Pittsford, Vermont and to serve its affiliated industrial 
operations within Omya Inc.
    The Proctor development, located at river mile 64.2, includes the 
following constructed facilities: (1) A 13-foot-high, 128-foot-long, 
masonry, concrete-capped dam with a 3-foot-high inflatable flashboard 
system; (2) a 92-acre reservoir with a usable storage capacity of 
275.48 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation of 469.5 
feet; (3) a gated forebay-intake structure approximately 14 feet deep 
by 115 feet long with a maximum width of 48 feet; (4) two intakes with 
two penstocks: A 9-foot-in-diameter, 460-foot-long, riveted steel 
penstock that decreases to 8 feet in diameter; and a 7-foot-in-
diameter, 500-foot-long, spiral welded steel penstock; (5) an original 
concrete and brick masonry powerhouse measuring 100 by 33 feet 
containing four vertical shaft turbines: Three 750 kW units and one 
1,680 kW unit with a combined maximum hydraulic capacity of 565 cubic 
feet per second; (6) an additional steel structure measuring 28 by 48 
feet attached to the original powerhouse containing one 3,000 kW 
vertical shaft unit with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 325 cfs; (7) 
generator leads; (8) a 0.48/4.16 kV single phase transformer; (9) a 
0.48/46 kV step-up transformer; (10) three winding transformer banks; 
and (11) appurtenant facilities.
    The Beldens development, located at river mile 23, includes the 
following constructed facilities: (1) Two concrete dams on either side 
of a ledge/bedrock island with 2.5-foot-high wooden flashboards: A 15-
foot-high, 56-foot-long dam (west) and a 24-foot-high, 57-foot-long dam 
(east); (2) a 22-acre reservoir with a usable storage capacity of 
252.52 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation of 283 
feet; (3) two intakes equipped with trash racks: A 79-foot-long intake 
and a 35-foot-long intake with a 95-foot-long sluiceway; (4) a 12-foot-
in-diameter, 30-foot-long steel penstock that bifurcates into two 10-
foot-in-diameter sections, each leading to an original powerhouse; (5) 
a 12-foot-in-diameter, 45-foot-long concrete penstock that leads to a 
newer powerhouse; (6) an original concrete and masonry powerhouse 
measuring 40 by 44 feet containing a 800 kW vertical shaft unit and 949 
kW vertical shaft unit with a combined maximum hydraulic capacity of 
650 cfs; (7) a second, newer concrete powerhouse measuring 40 by 75 
feet containing a 4,100 kW vertical shaft unit with a maximum hydraulic 
capacity of 1,350 cfs; (8) generator leads; (9) a 2.4/46 kV step-up 
transformer bank; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
    The Huntington Falls development, located at river mile 21, 
includes the following constructed facilities: (1) A 31-foot-high, 187-
foot-long concrete dam with a 2.5-foot-high inflatable flashboard 
system; (2) a 23-acre reservoir with a usable storage capacity of 
234.16 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation of 218.1 
feet; (3) two intakes equipped with trash racks: A 40-foot-long intake 
and a 24-foot-long intake; (4) three penstocks: Two 10-foot-in-
diameter, 30-foot-long steel penstocks leading to an original 
powerhouse, and a 12-foot-in-diameter, 75-foot-long concrete penstock 
leading to a newer powerhouse; (5) an original brick masonry powerhouse 
measuring 42 by 60 feet containing a 600 kW vertical shaft unit and a 
800 kW vertical shaft unit with a combined maximum hydraulic capacity 
of 660 cfs; (6) a second, newer powerhouse measuring 40 by 75 feet 
containing a 4,100 kW vertical shaft unity with a maximum hydraulic 
capacity of 1,350 cfs; (7) generator leads; (8) a 2.4/46 kV step-up 
transformer bank; and (9) appurtenant facilities.
    Currently, the Proctor development operates in a modified run-of-
river mode, with infrequent diversions at the direction of Independent 
System Operator-New England (ISO-NE), while the Beldens and Huntington 
Falls developments operate in a run-of-river mode. The Proctor 
development has a continuous downstream minimum flow requirement of 100 
cfs or inflow to the development, whichever is less, with minimum flows 
from April through mid-June required to be equal to at least 50 percent 
of project inflows. A bypassed reach minimum flow requirement of 5 cfs 
is released at the Beldens development through an opening in the 
flashboards along the west dam. A bypassed reach minimum flow 
requirement of 15 cfs is released at the Huntington Falls development 
via a minimum flow gate at the right abutment of the dam.
    Vermont Marble Power does not propose any changes to project 
facilities or operations. Vermont Marble Power proposes to implement 
measures to enhance recreation facilities in the project area.
    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/docs-filing/

[[Page 18193]]

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. Revisions to the schedule may be made as 
appropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Milestone                           Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tendering Notice.........................  April 2, 2010.
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for   November 5, 2010.
 Environmental Analysis (when FERC
 approved studies are complete).
Filing of recommendations, preliminary     January 4, 2011.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues EA.....................  May 4, 2011.
Comments on EA...........................  June 3, 2011.
Modified Terms and Conditions............  August 2, 2011.
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    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. 2010-8076 Filed 4-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P