[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 160 (Monday, August 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50405-50406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20129]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No: PP-371]


Amended Application for Presidential Permit; Northern Pass 
Transmission LLC

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Amended Application.

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SUMMARY: Northern Pass Transmission LLC (Northern Pass) has submitted 
an amended application for a Presidential permit to construct, operate, 
maintain, and connect an electric transmission line across the United 
States border with Canada.

DATES: Comments or requests to intervene should be submitted on or 
before September 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments or requests to intervene should be addressed as 
follows: Christopher Lawrence, Office of Electricity Delivery and 
Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected], or Katherine L. Konieczny (Attorney-
Adviser) at 202-586-0503 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection of facilities crossing the international border of the 
United States for the transmission of electric energy between the 
United States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 10485, as 
amended by EO 12038.
    On October 14, 2010, Northern Pass filed an application with the 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability of the Department 
of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit. Northern Pass, which has its 
principal place of business in Manchester, NH, is a special purpose 
entity created for the purpose of this proposed project. Northern Pass 
is wholly owned by NU Transmission Ventures, Inc., a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, a publicly-held public utility 
holding company.
    On November 16, 2010, DOE published a Notice of Application in the 
Federal Register. On February 15, 2011, Northern Pass submitted an 
Addendum to Application that updated and supplemented its Presidential 
permit application.

[[Page 50406]]

    On April 12, 2011, Northern Pass sent a letter to DOE 
``withdraw[ing] its support for certain alternatives,'' and 
``request[ing] a 60-day extension of the [NEPA] scoping period to allow 
Northern Pass time to explore whether there might be additional routing 
alternatives, particularly in the North Country, that would meet the 
needs of the Project.''
    On July 1, 2013, Northern Pass submitted an amended application 
that is meant to replace the application that Northern Pass originally 
submitted on October 14, 2010, and supplemented on February 15, 2011, 
and April 12, 2011. In the amended application, Northern Pass proposes 
to construct and operate a primarily overhead high-voltage direct 
current (HVDC) electric transmission line that would originate at an 
HVDC converter station to be constructed at the Des Cantons Substation 
in Qu[eacute]bec, Canada, then would be converted from HVDC to 
alternating current (AC) in Franklin, NH, and would continue to its 
southern terminus in Deerfield, NH (collectively the ``Project''). The 
proposed facilities would be capable of transmitting up to 1200 
megawatts (MW) of power.
    The New Hampshire portion of the proposed Project would be a single 
circuit 300 kilovolt (kV) HVDC transmission line of approximately 153 
miles from the U.S. border crossing with Canada near the community of 
Pittsburg, NH, to a new HVDC-to-AC transformer facility to be 
constructed in Franklin, NH. From Franklin, NH, to the Project terminus 
at the Public Service Company of New Hampshire's existing Deerfield 
Substation located in Deerfield, NH, the Project would consist of 34 
miles of 345-kV AC electric transmission line. The total Project length 
would be approximately 187 miles.
    The amended proposed route for the Project remains largely 
unchanged from the application submitted on October 14, 2010, for the 
Central and Southern sections, but has been substantially reconfigured 
for the Northern section. The amended proposed route continues to 
maximize the use of the existing right-of-way (ROW) in all sections.
    The majority of the Northern section of the amended proposed route 
has been moved to a less populated area on properties that Renewable 
Properties Inc., an affiliate of Northern Pass, has purchased, leased, 
or obtained an easement on from landowners. The amended proposed route 
includes the use of additional existing ROW in the towns of Dummer, 
Stark, and Northumberland, NH. It also includes two underground 
segments: 2,300 feet and 7.5 miles in the towns of Pittsburg/
Clarksville and Clarksville/Stewartstown, NH, respectively.
    In the Southern section, Northern Pass previously indicated that a 
deviation from the existing ROW would be necessary if the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements could not be met to locate 
the proposed transmission line in the existing ROW around Concord 
Airport. Since filing the original application, Northern Pass has 
determined that the Project can meet the necessary requirements and the 
amended proposed route reflects that the proposed transmission line 
would follow the existing ROW near the Concord Airport.
    The amended application also notes key developments since the 
Project's original application filing, including information about the 
potential environmental, historical, and cultural impacts of the 
proposed Project, information about the transmission structure 
locations and heights along the entire proposed route, and discussion 
of certain alternatives suggested through public comment.
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Comments requested 
in this Notice of Amended Application, such as those related to 
reliability matters, should not be confused with scoping comments that 
continue to be solicited through a separate process pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) regulations. Scoping 
comments may be submitted at http://www.northernpasseis.us/comment/. 
Any person seeking to become a party to this proceeding should file a 
request to intervene at the address provided above in accordance with 
Rule 214 of FERC's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). 
Additional copies of such requests to intervene should also be filed 
directly with:
Anne Bartosewicz, Northeast Utilities, 107 Selden Street, Berlin, CT 
06037.
Mary Anne Sullivan, Hogan Lovells, LLP, 555 13th St. NW., Washington, 
DC 20004.
    Persons who filed a request to intervene following notice of the 
original application (October 14, 2010) will continue to be considered 
parties to this proceeding and need not reapply.
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued, DOE must determine 
whether issuance of the permit would be consistent with the public 
interest. In making that determination, DOE considers the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed project pursuant to NEPA, 
determines the project's impact on electric reliability by ascertaining 
whether the proposed project would adversely affect the operation of 
the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and contingency 
conditions, and considers any other factors that may also be relevant 
to the public interest. DOE must also obtain the favorable 
recommendations of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before issuing a Presidential permit. Copies of the amended application 
will be made available, upon request, for public inspection by 
accessing the program Web site at http://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2 or by emailing Angela Troy at 
[email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 12, 2013.
Patricia Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2013-20129 Filed 8-16-13; 8:45 am]
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