[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8726-8727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3305]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13015-001]


Town of Edgartown; Notice of Intent To File License Application, 
Filing of Draft Application, Request for Waivers of Integrated 
Licensing Process Regulations Necessary for Expedited Processing of a 
Hydrokinetic Pilot Project License Application, and Soliciting Comments

    a. Type of Filing: Notice of Intent to File a License Application 
for an Original License for a Hydrokinetic Pilot Project.
    b. Project No.: 13015-001.
    c. Date Filed: February 1, 2011.
    d. Submitted By: Town of Edgartown (Edgartown).
    e. Name of Project: Muskeget Channel Tidal Energy Project.\1\
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    \1\ The project was named the Nantucket Tidal Energy Plant Water 
Power Project in the preliminary permit for Project No. 13015 issued 
in March 31, 2008.
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    f. Location: In Muskeget Channel, between the islands of Martha's 
Vineyard and Nantucket, Dukes County, Massachusetts.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR 5.3 of the Commission's regulations.
    h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Pamela Dolby, Town Administrator, Town of 
Edgartown, 70 Main Street, Edgartown, MA 02539; (508) 627-6180.
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Watts (202) 502-6123.
    j. Edgartown has filed with the Commission: (1) A notice of intent 
(NOI) to file an application for an original license for a hydrokinetic 
pilot project and a draft license application with monitoring plans; 
(2) a request for waivers of the integrated licensing process 
regulations necessary for expedited processing of a hydrokinetic pilot 
project license application; (3) a proposed process plan and schedule; 
(4) a request to be designated as the non-federal representative for 
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation; and (5) a 
request to be designated as the non-Federal representative for section 
106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act 
(collectively the pre-filing materials).

[[Page 8727]]

    k. With this notice, we are soliciting comments on the pre-filing 
materials listed in paragraph j above, including the draft license 
application and monitoring plans. All comments should be sent to the 
address above in paragraph h. In addition, all comments 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/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 
characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at 
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your 
name and contact information at the end of your comments. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, 
(202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages electronic 
filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, mail an 
original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426. Any individual or entity interested in submitting comments on 
the pre-filing materials must do so by March 17, 2011.
    l. With this notice, we are approving Edgartown's request to be 
designated as the non-Federal representative for section 7 of the ESA 
and its request to initiate consultation under section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act; and recommending that it begin 
informal consultation with: (a) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 
the National Marine Fisheries Service as required by section 7 of ESA; 
and (b) the Massachusetts State Historic Preservation Officer, as 
required by section 106, National Historical Preservation Act, and the 
implementing regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    m. This notice does not constitute the Commission's approval of 
Edgartown's request to use the Pilot Project Licensing Procedures. Upon 
its review of the project's overall characteristics relative to the 
pilot project criteria, the draft license application contents, and any 
comments filed, the Commission will determine whether there is adequate 
information to conclude the pre-filing process.
    n. The proposed Muskeget Channel Tidal Energy Project would consist 
of: (1) 13 commercially operated OCGenTM horizontal hydrokinetic cross 
flow turbine generation units with a total installed capacity of 5 
megawatts, and one experimental turbine unit that would be used to test 
various tidal energy technologies; (2) a mooring and anchoring system 
attached to each unit consisting of four mooring lines, an anchor, and 
a clump weight; (3) two alternative submarine cable routes consisting 
of a either a 3.5-mile-long, or a 5-mile-long submarine cable with two 
13.8-kilovolt (kv) lines and a 4.0-kv transmission line connecting the 
turbine generation units to an onshore substation located either in the 
Chappaquiddick or Katama sections of Edgartown; (4) two alternative 
onshore transmission line routes consisting of a 34.5 kv transmission 
line connecting either the Chappaquiddick or Katama onshore station to 
an existing distribution line in Edargatown; and (5) appurtenant 
facilities. The project would have an average annual generation of 
10.95 gigawatt-hours.
    o. A copy of the draft license application and all pre-filing 
materials are available for review at the Commission in the Public 
Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site (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.
    p. Pre-filing process schedule. The pre-filing process will be 
conducted pursuant to the following tentative schedule. Revisions to 
the schedule below may be made based on staff's review of the draft 
application and any comments received.

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                Milestone                                                   Date
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Comments on pre-filing materials due.....  March 17, 2011.
Issuance of meeting notice (if needed)...  April 1, 2011.
Public meeting/technical conference (if    May 1, 2011.
 needed).
Issuance of notice concluding pre-filing   April 16, 2011 (if no meeting is needed).
 process and ILP waiver request            May 16, 2011 (if meeting is needed).
 determination.
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    q. Register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via e-mail of new filing and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.

    Dated: February 8, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-3305 Filed 2-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P