[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41391-41392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16563]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project Nos. 14531-000; 2310-193; 14530-000]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Application Amendment 
Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments and Recommendations

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Amendment to Application for New Major 
License.
    b. Project No.: P-14531-000.
    c. Date filed: May 31, 2013.
    d. Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
    e. Name of Project: Lower Drum Project.
    The four developments that would be included in the Lower Drum 
Project are currently part of the existing Drum-Spaulding Project 
(Project No. 2310-193), which is currently going through the 
relicensing process.
    PG&E has requested that the Commission issue three separate 
licenses for the 10 developments that currently comprise the Drum-
Spaulding Project: (1) Lower Drum Project (Project No. 14531-000) 
consisting of the Halsey, Wise, Wise No. 2, and Newcastle Developments; 
(2) Drum-Spaulding Project consisting of the Spaulding No. 3, Spaulding 
No. 1 and No. 2, Alta, Drum No. 1 and No. 2, and Dutch Flats 
Developments; and (3) Deer Creek Project (Project No. 14530-000) 
consisting of the Deer Creek Development (application amendment filed 
on June 18, 2012).
    The separate docketing of these applications corresponds to the 
applicant's filings. It does not reflect any decision by the Commission 
as to whether the Lower Drum developments will be licensed separately.

[[Page 41392]]

    f. Location: The Lower Drum Project would be located on the west 
slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Bear River Basin in Nevada County, 
California. The project would occupy 5.3 acres of federal lands managed 
by the Bureau of Reclamation.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r)
    h. Applicant Contact: Steve Peirano, Relicensing Project Manager, 
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, P.O. Box 770000, San Francisco, CA 
94177-0001, (415) 973-4481, or email [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Alan Mitchnick, (202) 502-6074 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for comments and recommendations: August 22, 2013.
    Previously filed interventions for P-2310 and interventions filed 
in response to the Commission's May 17, 2013, Notice of Availability of 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Drum-Spaulding and 
Yuba-Bear Hydroelectric Projects, will apply to P-14530 and P-14531.
    Comments and recommendations 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.
    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 amendment to PG&E's license application has been accepted 
for filing and is now ready for environmental analysis.
    The Commission is particularly interested in receiving comments on 
how specific recommendations previously filed under P-2310 and outlined 
in Attachment 1 of PG&E's May 31, 2013 license application amendment 
may apply to the separated projects.
    l. The Lower Drum Project would have an installed capacity of 39.7 
megawatts and would consist of the following developments: (1) Halsey 
Development consisting of the Bear River canal diversion dam, Bear 
River canal, Halsey forebay, Halsey penstock, and Halsey powerhouse; 
(2) Wise Development consisting of the Halsey afterbay, Rock Creek 
reservoir, Wise canal, and Wise forebay, Wise penstock, and Wise 
powerhouse; (3) Wise No. 2 Development consisting of Wise No. penstock 
and Wise No. 2 powerhouses; and (4) Newcastle Development consisting of 
the South canal, Newcastle powerhouse header box, Newcastle penstock, 
and one transmission line.
    m. A copy of the application amendment 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 (P-14531) 
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. 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 Lower Drum application will be processed in conjunction with 
the Yuba-Bear (P-2266-102), Drum-Spaulding (P-2310-193), and Deer Creek 
(P-14530-000) license applications according to the following revised 
Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as 
appropriate.

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              Milestone                           Target date
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Comments and recommendations on       August 22, 2013.
 Lower Drum application due.
Comments on draft environmental       August 22, 2013.
 impact statement (EIS) for the Drum-
 Spaulding and Yuba-Bear Projects
 due.
Modified terms and conditions due...  October 21, 2013.
Commission issues final EIS.........  January 8, 2014.
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    Dated: July 3, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-16563 Filed 7-9-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P