[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 210 (Wednesday, October 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64933-64934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25700]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12721-006]


Pepperell Hydro Company, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for 
Filing With the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Original Major License.
    b. Project No.: P-12721-006.
    c. Date filed: October 9, 2013.
    d. Applicant: Pepperell Hydro Company, LLC.

[[Page 64934]]

    e. Name of Project: Pepperell Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Nashua River, in the town of Pepperell, 
Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The project would not occupy lands of 
the United States.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)--825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Dr. Peter B. Clark, 823 Bay Road, P.O. Box 
149, Hamilton, MA 01936; (978) 468-3999; or 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Brandon Cherry at (202) 502-8328 or 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests described in item l below. Cooperating agencies should note 
the Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation 
of the environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ] 
61,076 (2001).
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations, if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes 
that an additional scientific study should be conducted in order to 
form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the 
application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person 
must file a request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 
days from the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of 
the request on the applicant.
    l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for 
cooperating agency status: December 9, 2013.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 
using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support 
at [email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 
502-8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy 
to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street 
NE., Washington, DC. 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-12721-006.
    m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. The existing, unlicensed Pepperell Hydroelectric Project 
consists of: (1) The 23.5-foot-high, 251-foot-long concrete gravity 
ogee Pepperell Paper dam that includes a 244-foot-long spillway with a 
crest elevation of 197.0 feet North American Vertical Datum 1988 
(NAVD88) and 3-foot-high wooden flashboards; (2) a 3.5-mile-long, 294-
acre impoundment with a normal water surface elevation of 200.0 feet 
NAVD88; (3) a 25-foot-long, 26-foot-wide intake structure with two 
7.75-foot-wide, 14.0-foot-high leaf intake gates; (4) a 12-foot-
diameter, 565.5-foot-long penstock; (5) a 14.0 to 58.0-foot-wide, 25.5-
foot-long forebay structure that includes a 1.5-foot-diameter gate with 
low level drain pipe and a 4.25-foot-wide, 3.5-foot-high trash sluice 
gate; (6) six 8-foot-wide, 10-foot-high turbine bay headgates with 
17.33-foot-high trashracks with 1.75-inch clear bar spacing; (7) a 62-
foot-wide, 41-foot-long powerhouse containing three 640-kilowatt (kW) 
turbine-generating units for a total installed capacity 1,920 kW; (8) 
three 11.5-foot-long turbine draft tubes; (9) three 265-foot-long, 600-
volt transmission lines; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
    The existing project also includes a downstream fish passage 
facility that consists of: (1) A 3-foot-wide, 23-foot-long concrete 
intake with a 4-foot-wide, 8-foot-high entrance gate; (2) a collection 
channel with a 2-foot-high, 2-foot-wide overflow stoplog notch; and (3) 
a 5-foot-deep plunge pool.
    The existing project bypasses approximately 700 feet of the Nashua 
River.
    Pepperell Hydro Company, LLC proposes to increase the capacities of 
two turbine-generating units to 764 kW and 735 kW and install a new 
67.5-kW low flow turbine-generating unit at the dam for a total 
installed capacity of 2,206.5 kW. Pepperell Hydro Company, LLC proposes 
to operate the project in a run-of-river mode and release: (1) 46 cubic 
feet per second (cfs) or inflow to the bypassed reach from April 1 
through November 30, which would include 17 cfs or inflow through the 
existing downstream fish passage facility from June 15 through October 
30; and (2) 15 cfs or inflow to the bypassed reach from December 1 
through March 31. The project would have an estimated average annual 
generation of 7,997 megawatt-hours.
    o. 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.
    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.
    p. With this notice, we are initiating consultation with the 
Massachusetts Historical Commission, as required by section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act and the regulations of the Advisory 
Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR 800.4.
    q. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule will be made as appropriate.

Issue Deficiency Letter--December 2013
Issue Notice of Acceptance--February 2014
Issue Scoping Document--March 2014
Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis--May 2014
Issue Notice of the Availability of the EA--October 2014

    Dated: October 23, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-25700 Filed 10-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P