[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 15746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6402]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2179-043]


Merced Irrigation District; 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 License.
    b. Project No.: 2179-043.
    c. Date Filed: February 27, 2012.
    d. Applicant: Merced Irrigation District (MID).
    e. Name of Project: Merced River Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Merced River in 
Merced and Mariposa counties, California. The project would occupy 
3,152.9 acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Merced Irrigation District, P.O. Box 2288, 
Merced, CA 95344; Telephone (209) 722-5761.
    i. FERC Contact: Matt Buhyoff, (202) 502-6824 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description:
    The project consists of two developments:
    New Exchequer Development--(1) New Exchequer Dam--a 490 feet-high 
dam with a crest length of 1,220 feet and a crest elevation of 879 
feet; (2) an ogee-type concrete spillway located about one mile north 
of New Exchequer dam in a saddle; (3) an earth and rock dike 62-feet-
high and 1,500-feet-long, located in a saddle about 0.75 mile north of 
New Exchequer Dam; (4) Lake McClure--a reservoir formed by New 
Exchequer dam with normal maximum water surface elevation of 867 feet 
above mean sea level, a gross storage capacity of 1,024,600 acre-feet, 
a surface area of 7,110 acres, and a shoreline length of about 82 
miles; (5) a diversion facility composed of an intake, tunnel and 
penstock; (6) a 94.5 feet-long, 108-inch-diameter steel pipe from New 
Exchequer power tunnel to Merced River north of New Exchequer 
powerhouse; (7) a semi-outdoor, above-ground, concrete powerhouse 
located at the base of New Exchequer dam on the south side of Merced 
River; (8) a switchyard located adjacent to New Exchequer Powerhouse 
and; (9) four developed recreation facilities (McClure Point, Barrett 
Cove, Horseshoe Bend, and Bagby) with 515 camping units, 4 boat launch 
facilities, boat rentals, showers, 28 comfort stations, 3 swimming 
lagoons, 2 marinas, gas and oil service stations, 186 water-electrical 
campsite hookups, washers and dryers, 117 picnic units and fish 
cleaning stations.
    McSwain Development--(1) McSwain Dam--located 6.3 River Miles 
downstream from New Exchequer dam, McSwain is an 80 feet-high 
embankment structure, with a crest length of 1,620 feet and a crest 
elevation of 425 feet; (2) an ungated concrete overflow spillway 
located in a flat ridge on the southeast side of McSwain dam. The 
spillway includes two sections: a 150-feet-long section with a crest 
elevation at 402 feet, and a 475-feet-long section with a crest 
elevation at 400 feet; (3) McSwain Reservoir--a 4.8 mile long reservoir 
with a normal maximum water surface elevation at 400 feet above mean 
sea level, a gross storage capacity of 9,730 acre-feet of water, a 
surface area of 310 acres, and a shoreline length of about 12.5 miles; 
(4) a diversion facility composed of an intake, conduit and penstock; 
(5) a 160 feet-long, 96-inch diameter steel pipe from the McSwain power 
tunnel intake to Merced River north of McSwain powerhouse. The bypass 
releases directly into Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) Merced 
Falls reservoir (P-2467); (6) an outdoor, above-ground, concrete 
powerhouse located at the base of McSwain dam on the north side of the 
Merced River. The Powerhouse releases directly into PG&E's Merced Falls 
reservoir; (7) a switchyard located adjacent to McSwain powerhouse, 
and; (8) one developed recreation facility with 99 camping units, 1 
boat launch facility, boat rentals, showers, 5 comfort stations, a 
swimming lagoon, marina, gas and oil, 65 water-electrical campsite 
hookups, washers and dryers, 48 picnic units, a concession store, and 
fish cleaning stations.
    The Merced River Project has a dependable capacity of 103.5 MW and 
an annual average generation of approximately 385 gigawatt-hours. MID 
is not proposing any structural changes to the project. However, MID is 
proposing to remove from the project, but retain in operation outside 
the license, seven water delivery facilities, which function, in part, 
to deliver water to a wildlife refuge. MID is also proposing capital 
improvements to recreation areas at 5 existing recreation sites, as 
well as the development of a new non-motorized recreation area along 
the west shore of Lake McClure.
    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  November 2013.
 Environmental Analysis (when FERC
 approved studies are complete).
Filing of recommendations, preliminary    January 2014.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft EA or EIS.......  July 2014.
Comments on Draft EA or EIS.............  August 2014.
Modified Terms and Conditions...........  November 2014.
Commission Issues Final EA or EIS.......  February 2015.
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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 12, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-6402 Filed 3-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P