[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 222 (Friday, November 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68765-68766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27959]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13739-002]


Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Scoping Meetings 
and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Major Original License.
    b. Project No.: 13739-002.
    c. Date filed: September 17, 2012.
    d. Applicant: Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Braddock Locks and Dam Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: At the existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Braddock 
Locks and Dam on the Monongahela River, in Allegheny County, 
Pennsylvania. The project would occupy about 0.19 acre of federal 
lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+\TM\ Hydro Friends 
Fund XLII, LLC, c/o Hydro Green Energy, LLC, 900 Oakmont Lane, Suite 
310, Westmont, IL 60559; (877) 556-6566 ext. 711; email_
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: John Mudre at (202) 502-8902; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 4, 2013.
    All documents may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18

[[Page 68766]]

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.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing 
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each 
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an 
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to 
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a 
particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document 
on that resource agency.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The proposed project would utilize the existing U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers' Braddock Locks and Dam and the Braddock Pool, and would 
consist of the following new facilities: (1) A new powerhouse with five 
turbine-generators having a total installed capacity of 3,750 
kilowatts; (2) a new approximately 3,450-foot-long, 23-kilovolt 
electric distribution line; (3) a switchyard and control room; and (4) 
appurtenant facilities. The average annual generation is estimated to 
be 25,020 megawatt-hours.
    The proposed project would deploy hydropower turbines within a 
patented ``Large Frame Module'' (LFM) that would be deployed on the 
south (river left) side of the dam, opposite the location of the 
existing navigational locks and at the upstream face of the existing 
left closure weir. The proposed modular, low environmental impact 
powerhouse would be approximately 60.4 feet long, 16.6 feet wide, and 
40 feet high, and constructed of structural-grade steel. The powerhouse 
will bear on a concrete foundation on rock that is anchored to the 
existing left closure weir. A trash rack with 6-inch openings would be 
placed at the powerhouse intake to increase safety and protect the 
turbines from large debris.
    m. 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. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    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. Scoping Process
    The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will conduct one daytime scoping meeting and one evening 
meeting. The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the evening scoping 
meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
    Time: 1:00 p.m.
    Place: Allegheny Conference Room, 8th floor of the Brunner 
Building.
    Address: 11 Stanwix Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday December 5, 2012.
    Time: 7:00 p.m.
    Place: Doubletree Hotel.
    Address: 101 Mall Blvd., Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EA are being distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies 
of the SD1 will be available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on 
the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m 
above).

Environmental Site Review

    The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental 
Site Review beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday December 5, 2012. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend. All participants should meet in the parking lot at the Great 
Allegheny Passage Trailhead, Pump House, 880 East Waterfront Drive, 
Munhall, Pennsylvania at 10:00 a.m. All participants are responsible 
for their own transportation to the site.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage 
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be 
analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the 
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.

    Dated: November 5, 2012.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-27959 Filed 11-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P