[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 202 (Wednesday, October 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64933-64935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26982]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14285-000]


Alaska Power Company, Inc.; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On September 12, 2011, Alaska Power Company, Inc., filed an 
application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the 
Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the 
Moira Sound Hydroelectric Project (Moira Sound Project or project) to 
be located on Dickman, Kugel, Aiken, Luelia, and Niblack Creeks; Lake 
Luelia, Kugel and Aiken Lakes, and seven unnamed lakes near Hollis, on 
Prince of Wales Island in the Prince of Wales--Hyder Census Area, 
Alaska. The project as proposed would occupy 10,041 acres, 7,839 acres 
of which are lands of the Tongass National Forest, managed by the U.S. 
Forest Service. The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is 
to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application 
during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the 
permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise 
enter upon lands

[[Page 64934]]

or waters owned by others without the owners' express permission.
    The proposed project would consist of 11 developments, plus support 
facilities for the project. All proposed facilities are new.

Lower Kugel Development

    (a) The Lower Kugel Development would consist of the following: (1) 
A 300-foot-long, 65-foot-high concrete gravity dam, which would raise 
the elevation of the existing Kugel Lake from 397 feet mean sea level 
(msl) to 450 feet msl; (2) a 2,900-foot-long penstock consisting of a 
900-foot-long, 5-foot-diameter buried high density polyethylene (HPDE) 
section and a 2,000-foot-long, 4.5-foot-diameter buried ductile iron 
section; (3) a 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide powerhouse containing one 
4.1-megawatt (MW) turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 40-foot-long, 
40-foot-wide substation; (4) a 30-foot-long tailrace returning flows 
from the powerhouse to Kugel Creek; (5) three access roads, totaling 
1.6 miles in length; (6) a 0.2-mile-long, 69-kV transmission line from 
the Lower Kugel Development substation to the project substation; and 
(7) appurtenant facilities.

Middle Kugel Development

    (b) The Middle Kugel Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A 300-foot-long, 40-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which 
would raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as 
Lake 930 in the project application) from 930 feet msl to 960 feet msl; 
(2) a 6,700-foot-long, 4.5-foot-diameter buried ductile iron penstock; 
(3) a 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide powerhouse containing one 4.8-MW 
turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 40-foot-long, 40-foot-wide 
substation; (4) a 30-foot-long tailrace returning flows from the 
powerhouse to Kugel Lake; (5) two access roads, totaling 2.9 miles in 
length; (6) a 2.2-mile-long, 34.5-kV transmission line from the Middle 
Kugel Development substation to the project substation; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.

Upper Kugel Development

    (c) The Upper Kugel Development would consist of the following: (1) 
A 500-foot-long, 60-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which would 
raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as Lake 
1125 in the project application) from 1,125 feet msl to 1,175 feet msl; 
(2) a 1,300-foot-long, 3-foot-diameter buried ductile iron penstock; 
(3) a 30-foot-long, 50-foot-wide powerhouse containing one 0.9-MW 
turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 30-foot-long, 40-foot-wide 
substation; (4) a 30-foot-long tailrace returning flows from the 
powerhouse to Lake 930; (5) a 0.8-mile-long access road; (6) a 0.5-
mile-long, 34.5-kV transmission line from the Upper Kugel Development 
substation to the Aiken Development substation; and (7) appurtenant 
facilities.

Aiken Development

    (d) The Aiken Development would consist of the following: (1) A 
300-foot-long, 40-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which would 
raise the elevation of Aiken Lake from approximately 1,119 feet msl to 
1,150 feet msl; (2) a 3,500-foot-long penstock consisting of an 800-
foot-long, 5-foot-wide, 7-foot-high tunnel section and a 2,700-foot-
long, 2.5-foot-diameter buried HPDE section; (3) a 30-foot-long, 50-
foot-wide powerhouse containing one 0.4-MW turbine/generator unit with 
an adjacent 30-foot-long, 50-foot-wide substation; (4) a 30-foot-long 
tailrace returning flows from the powerhouse to Lake 930; (5) a 2-mile-
long access road; (6) a 1.3-mile-long, 34.5-kV transmission line from 
the Aiken Development substation to the Middle Kugel Development 
substation; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

Dickman Development

    (e) The Dickman Development would consist of the following: (1) A 
300-foot-long, 60-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which would 
raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as Lake 
305 in the project application) from 305 feet msl to 350 feet msl; (2) 
a 5,200-foot-long penstock consisting of a 3,300-foot-long, 4-foot-
diameter buried HPDE section and a 1,900-foot-long, 3.5-foot-diameter 
buried ductile iron section; (3) a 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide 
powerhouse containing one 2.2-MW turbine/generator unit with an 
adjacent 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide substation; (4) a 30-foot-long 
tailrace returning flows from the powerhouse to an unnamed creek 
(referred to as Dickman Creek in the project application); (5) two 
access roads, totaling 3.3 miles in length; (6) a 2.4-mile-long, 34.5-
kV transmission line from the Dickman Development substation to the 
project substation; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

Lower Luelia Development

    (f) The Lower Luelia Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A 150-foot-long, 45-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which 
would raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as 
Lake 592 in the project application) from 592 feet msl to 625 feet msl; 
(2) a 1,500-foot-long penstock consisting of an 800-foot-long, 3.5-
foot-diameter buried HPDE section and a 700-foot-long, 3-foot-diameter 
above-ground steel section; (3) a 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide powerhouse 
containing one 2.2-MW turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 40-foot-
long, 60-foot-wide substation; (4) a 30-foot-long tailrace returning 
flows from the powerhouse to Luelia Creek; (5) two access roads, 
totaling 3.6 miles in length; (6) a 2.3-mile-long, 69-kV transmission 
line from the Lower Luelia Development substation to the project 
substation; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

Middle Luelia Development

    (g) The Middle Luelia Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A siphon intake in Lake Luelia; (2) a 1,700-foot-long penstock 
consisting of a 500-foot-long, 4-foot-diameter buried HPDE section and 
a 1,200-foot-long, 3.5-foot-diameter above-ground steel section; (3) a 
40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide powerhouse containing one 2.3-MW turbine/
generator unit with an adjacent 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide substation; 
(4) a 30-foot-long tailrace returning flows from the powerhouse to Lake 
592; (5) two access roads, totaling 1.2 miles in length; (6) a 1.1-
mile-long, 69-kV transmission line from the Middle Luelia Development 
substation to the Lower Luelia Development substation; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.

Upper Luelia Development

    (h) The Upper Luelia Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A 100-foot-long, 10-foot-high concrete gravity dam, which would 
raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as Lake 
1050 in the project application) from 1,050 feet msl to 1,055 feet msl; 
(2) a 1,100-foot-long, 2.5-foot-diameter buried ductile iron penstock; 
(3) a 30-foot-long, 50-foot-wide powerhouse containing one 0.4-MW 
turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 30-foot-long, 50-foot-wide 
substation; (4) a 20-foot-long tailrace returning flows from the 
powerhouse to Lake Luelia; (5) two access roads, totaling 1.3 miles in 
length; (6) a 1.5-mile-long, 69-kV transmission line from the Upper 
Luelia Development substation to the Middle Luelia Development 
substation; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

Lower Niblack Development

    (i) The Lower Niblack Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A 250-foot-long, 30-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which 
would raise the elevation of Myrtle Lake from 92 feet msl to 110 feet 
msl; (2) a 900-foot-long,

[[Page 64935]]

3-foot-diameter buried HDPE penstock; (3) a 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide 
powerhouse containing one 0.4-MW turbine/generator unit with an 
adjacent 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide substation; (4) a 30-foot-long 
tailrace returning flows from the powerhouse to Myrtle Creek; (5) two 
access roads, totaling 1 mile in length; (6) a 0.7-mile-long, 34.5-kV 
transmission line from the Lower Niblack Development substation to a 
substation located at the Niblack Mine; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

Middle Niblack Development

    (j) The Middle Niblack Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A 1,100-foot-long, 50-foot-high concrete-faced rockfill dam, which 
would raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as 
Lake 630 in the project application) from 630 feet msl to 670 feet msl; 
(2) a 3,400-foot-long, 3-foot-diameter ductile iron penstock, installed 
within an access tunnel; (3) a 40-foot-long, 60-foot-wide powerhouse 
containing one 2.1-MW turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 40-foot-
long, 40-foot-wide substation; (4) a 20-foot-long tailrace returning 
flows from the powerhouse to Myrtle Lake; (5) two access roads, 
totaling 2.6 miles in length; (6) a 1.3-mile-long, 69-kV transmission 
line from the Middle Niblack Development substation to the Lower 
Niblack Development substation; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

Upper Niblack Development

    (k) The Upper Niblack Development would consist of the following: 
(1) A 100-foot-long, 10-foot-high concrete gravity dam, which would 
raise the elevation of an existing unnamed lake (referred to as Lake 
1300 in the project application) from 1,300 feet msl to 1,305 feet msl; 
(2) a 3,100-foot-long penstock, which would include a 900-foot-long, 
1.5-foot-diameter HDPE section and a 2,200-foot-long, 1.5-foot-diameter 
above-ground steel section; (3) a 30-foot-long, 50-foot-wide powerhouse 
containing one 0.6-MW turbine/generator unit with an adjacent 30-foot-
long, 50-foot-wide substation; (4) a 20-foot-long tailrace returning 
flows from the powerhouse to Lake Luelia; (5) a 1.3-mile-long access 
road; (6) a 1.5-mile-long, 69-kV transmission line from the Upper 
Niblack Development substation to the Upper Luelia Development 
substation and the Middle Luelia Development substation; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    (l) The support facilities for the project would consist of the 
following: (1) A marine access facility located on the shore of Dickman 
Bay, which would include a barge landing, a boat ramp, and a boat/
seaplane dock; (2) a construction camp/staging area/maintenance 
facility, which would include two residences for maintenance personnel, 
and a garage/shop building; (3) a project substation located in the 
construction camp/staging area/maintenance facility; (4) a 13.4-mile-
long, 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to transmit power from the 
project substation to the Bokan Mountain mine; and (5) appurtenant 
facilities.
    The total proposed generating capacity of the Moira Sound Project 
would be 20.4 MW, with an estimated annual generation of 79.7 gigawatt-
hours.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Robert S. Grimm, CEO/President, Alaska Power 
Company, Inc., c/o Alaska Power & Telephone Company, P.O. Box 3222, 
Port Townsend, WA 98368; phone: (360) 385-1733.
    FERC Contact: Jennifer Harper; phone: (202) 502-6136.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36. Comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and 
competing applications 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.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp.
    Enter the docket number (P-14285-000) in the docket number field to 
access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: October 12, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-26982 Filed 10-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P