[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6555-6556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2855]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13272-002]


Alaska Village Electric Cooperative; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On January 3, 2012, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) 
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 Old Harbor Hydroelectric Project (Old Harbor Project or project) to 
be located on the East Fork of Mountain Creek (a Lagoon Creek 
tributary), near the town of Old Harbor, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. 
The project crosses federal lands of the Kodiak National Wildlife 
Refuge. 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 or waters owned by others without the owners' express 
permission.
    The proposed run-of-river project would consist of an intake, 
penstock, powerhouse, tailrace and constructed channel, access road and 
trail, and transmission line. Power from this project would be used by 
the residents of the city of Old Harbor.

Intake

    The intake would consist of a diversion/cut off weir with a height 
ranging from about 4 feet at the spillway to 6 feet elsewhere and 
having an overall length of approximately 100 feet. The creek bottom is 
close to bedrock so the base of the diversion wall would be a shallow 
grouted or concrete footing dug into the stream bed. The weir would not 
create any significant impoundment of water and would only be high 
enough to have an intake that pulls water from the midpoint of the 
water column. This would allow floatable objects and bottom moving 
sediments to remain in the creek. A water filtering system consisting 
of a trash rack, diversion gates, and secondary screens would be 
incorporated into the weir structure as a separate desanding box that 
would be partially exposed above grade. The project diversion and 
intake works would consist of concrete, or other suitable material, 
with an integral spillway. A below grade transition with an above 
ground air relief inlet pipe would convey water to a buried High 
Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE) pipeline.

Penstock

    A 10,100-foot-long penstock consisting of an 18-inch-diameter HDPE 
pipe, a 20-inch-diameter HDPE pipe, and a 16-inch-diameter steel pipe 
would be installed. A total of 7,250 feet of HDPE would be installed 
from the intake and 2,850 feet of steel pipe would be installed near 
the powerhouse. The pipe would be buried 1 to 3 feet underground and 
follow the natural terrain as much as possible. The pipeline would be 
located such that bends would be gradual while minimizing the amount of 
excavation and fill needed.

Powerhouse

    The powerhouse would consist of a 30-foot by 35-foot (approximate) 
by 16-foot-high metal building or similar structure. The building would 
house the turbines and associated equipment, switchgear, controls, and 
tools and would be placed on a fill pad. The power generation equipment 
would consist of two Pelton 262 kilowatt (kW) units with a 480-volt, 3-
phase synchronous generator and switchgear for each unit. Each unit 
would have a hydraulic capacity of 5.9 cubic feet per second (cfs) for 
a total project peak flow rate of 11.8 cfs capable of producing 525 kW 
of power. A bypass flow system for maintaining environmental flows is 
not proposed at this time, since the source creek runs dry during 
certain times of the year.

Tailrace

    A tailrace structure and constructed channel would convey the 
project flows approximately 700 feet from the powerhouse to the nearby 
lake, known in the city of Old Harbor as the Swimming Pond. A culvert 
would contain some of the tailrace near the powerhouse to allow for 
vehicle travel over the tailrace. The constructed channel would convey 
project flows 1,100 feet from the Swimming Pond to the headwaters of 
the Lagoon Creek tributary.

Access Road and Trail

    An approximately 11,200-foot-long intake access trail would run 
between the intake and the powerhouse following the penstock route. The 
12-foot-wide trail would be made of 1 to 2 feet of rock fill placed 
over a geo-textile filter fabric. Two gates would be placed along on 
the access trail to block the public from accessing the Kodiak National 
Wildlife Refuge on all terrain vehicles. One gate would be located at 
the powerhouse. Another gate would be placed where an existing trail 
connects to the new trail at about 7,000 feet northwest of the 
powerhouse. A new 6,800-foot-long by 24-foot-wide powerhouse access 
road would extend from powerhouse to the existing community drinking 
water tank access road. The road would be open to the public.

Transmission Line

    A 6,800-foot-long (1.5-mile), 7.2-kV, 3-phase overhead power line 
would be installed from the powerhouse to the existing power 
distribution system in Old Harbor. The transmission line would follow 
the powerhouse access road and drinking water tank road alignment.
    The estimated dependable capacity of the project is 140 kW. The 
peak installed capacity will primarily depend on economics and the 
projected increase in demand. AVEC has chosen to permit the project 
with a peak capacity of 525 kW.
    Applicant Contact: Brent Petrie; Manager, Community Development and 
Key Accounts; Alaska Village Electric Cooperative; 4831 Eagle Street,

[[Page 6556]]

Anchorage, Alaska 99503-7497; (907) 565-5358 or email at 
[email protected].
    FERC Contact: Carolyn Templeton; (202) 502-8785 or 
[email protected].
    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-13272) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: February 2, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-2855 Filed 2-7-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P