[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 23242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9273]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14329-000]


 Grand Coulee Project Hydroelectric Authority; Notice of 
Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting 
Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On December 1, 2011, the Grand Coulee Project Hydroelectric 
Authority 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 Banks Lake Pumped Storage Project (Banks Lake 
Project or project) to be located on Banks Lake and Franklin D. 
Roosevelt Lake (Roosevelt Lake), near the town of Grand Coulee, Douglas 
and Grant Counties, Washington. The project would be located on federal 
lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and 
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 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 project has two alternatives:

Alternative 1

    The proposed project would use Reclamation's existing Banks Lake as 
the upper reservoir and Roosevelt Lake as the lower reservoir. The 
proposed project would consist of the following new facilities: (1) An 
upper reservoir inlet/outlet structure equipped with trash racks; (2) a 
1.5-mile-long penstock consisting of a vertical shaft, power tunnel 
segments, and a tailrace section, extending between the upper reservoir 
inlet/outlet and the reversible turbine/generator units in the 
powerhouse; (3) an underground powerhouse containing four reversible 
turbine/generator units rated for 250 megawatts (MW) each, for a total 
installed generation of 1,000 MW, or a powerhouse located on the shore 
of Roosevelt Lake, also containing four 250-MW reversible turbine/
generator units; (4) a 2-mile-long, 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 
extending from the project powerhouse to an existing 500-kV substation; 
and (5) appurtenant facilities. The estimated annual generation of 
Alternative 1 for the Banks Lake Project would be 2,263 gigawatt-hours 
(GWh).

Alternative 2

    The proposed project would use Reclamation's existing Banks Lake as 
the lower reservoir. The proposed project would consist of the 
following new facilities: (1) A new 312-acre upper reservoir 
constructed approximately 3,000 feet west of the existing Banks Lake, 
impounded by three earth and rockfill embankments, each with a crest 
elevation of 2,300 feet above mean sea level; (2) an upper reservoir 
inlet/outlet structure equipped with trash racks; (3) a 620-foot-long, 
43-foot-diameter vertical shaft connecting the upper reservoir inlet/
outlet structure to the power tunnels; (4) four 1,700-foot-long, 17-
foot-diameter power tunnels leading from the vertical shaft to the 
powerhouse; (5) an underground powerhouse containing four reversible 
turbine/generator units rated for 260 MW each, for a total installed 
generation of 1,040 MW; (6) a 25-foot-diameter tailrace tunnel between 
the powerhouse and the existing Banks Lake; (7) a 2.4-mile-long, 500-kV 
transmission line extending from the project powerhouse to a new 500-kV 
substation; and (8) appurtenant facilities. The estimated annual 
generation of Alternative 2 for the Banks Lake Project would be 2,978 
GWh.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Ronald K. Rodewald, Secretary-Manager, Grand 
Coulee Project Hydroelectric Authority, P.O. Box 219, Ephrata, WA 
98823; phone: (509) 754-2227.
    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-14329) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: April 11, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-9273 Filed 4-17-12; 8:45 am]
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