[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13173-13174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5489]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2309-019]


Jersey Central Power & Light Company and PSEG Fossil, LLC; Notice 
of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Establishing 
Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final 
Amendments

    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.: 2309-019.
    c. Date Filed: February 18, 2011.
    d. Applicant: Jersey Central Power & Light Company and PSEG Fossil, 
LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Yards Creek Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on Yards Creek, in the 
Townships of Hardwick and Blairstown, Warren County, New Jersey. No 
federal lands are involved.
    g. Filed pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Timothy Oakes, Project Manager, Kleinschmidt 
Associates, 2 East Main Street, Strasburg, PA 17579; Telephone (717) 
687-7211.
    i. FERC Contact: Allyson Conner, (202) 502-6082 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The existing Yards Creek Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project 
consists of an upper and a lower reservoir with a total installed 
capacity of 420 megawatts (MW). The project produces an average annual 
generation of 753.7 gigawatthours (GWh). The average pumping power used 
by the project is 1,031.2 GWh.
    The lower reservoir consists of: (1) An earthfill main dam located 
on Yards Creek, that is 1,404 feet (ft) long and 52 ft high with a 
crest at elevation of 832.5 ft; (2) the lower reservoir has a total 
storage capacity of 5,452 acre-ft at a spillway crest elevation of 
818.5 ft and an usable storage capacity of 4,952 acre-ft with an 
additional 503 acre-ft in seasonal storage; (3) an auxiliary dike (i.e. 
Saddle Dam) located on the southeastern side of the lower reservoir is 
2,091 ft long and 35 ft high; (4) an auxiliary reservoir located 
northeast of the lower reservoir with seasonal storage of 412 acre-ft 
formed by the auxiliary reservoir dam, which is 1,000 ft long and 20 ft 
high.
    The upper reservoir consists of: (1) An earthfill dam that is 8,900 
ft long and 70 ft high; (2)the upper reservoir has a total usable 
storage capacity of 4,763 acre-ft and a gross storage capacity of 5,013 
acre-ft at elevation 1,555 ft; (3) water conveyance structures between 
the upper reservoir and lower reservoir (a 2,116-ft, 35-ft wide intake 
channel in the floor of the upper reservoir; a 95-ft high concrete 
intake structure with trashracks and stop logs; a 1,130-ft long, 20-ft 
diameter concrete-lined pressure tunnel; a 210-ft long, 19-ft diameter 
steel-lined pressure tunnel; a 144-ft long, 19-ft diameter concrete 
encased steel-lined transition section; a 478-ft long, 19-ft diameter 
steel penstock; an 8-ft reducer from 19-ft diameter to 18-ft penstock; 
a 1,582-ft long, 18-ft steel penstock; a 325-ft long trifurcated 
penstock, one penstock per pumping-generating unit that tapers from 10-
ft diameter to 7-ft 2.5-inch diameter; 86.5-inch spherical guard valves 
at the entrance to each pump-turbine spiral case); (4) a 140-ft-long by 
63.5-ft-wide underground concrete power house, containing 3 vertical 
shaft, Francis-type, reversible pump-turbine units, each with a 
nameplate generating capacity of 140 MW; and (5) appurtenant 
facilities.

[[Page 13174]]

    The licensee proposes to raise the spillway crest elevation of the 
lower reservoir by 1 ft, from 818.5 ft to 819.5 ft, by adding wooden 
flashboards. The licensee also proposes raising the upper reservoir 
pool elevation 2 ft, from 1,555 ft to 1,557 ft, by allowing only 4 ft 
of freeboard to the dam crest elevation of 1,561 ft. As an additional 
precaution to existing monitors and controls, the licensee is proposing 
to install an overflow structure at the upper reservoir to prevent 
overtopping the non-overflow structures (dikes) in the event of high 
water levels. The structure would be installed for emergency backup 
purpose.
    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/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.
    n. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for    April 19, 2011.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary      June 18, 2011.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues Non-Draft EA............  October 16, 2011.
Comments on EA............................  November 15, 2011.
Modified Terms and Conditions.............  January 14, 2012.
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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.

    Dated: March 4, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-5489 Filed 3-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P