[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 50 (Friday, March 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14502-14503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05623]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 308-007]


PacifiCorp Energy; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With 
the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and 
Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent License (Minor Project).
    b. Project No.: 308-007.
    c. Date Filed: February 28, 2014.
    d. Applicant: PacifiCorp Energy (PacifiCorp).
    e. Name of Project: Wallowa Falls Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on Royal Purple Creek 
and the East and West Forks of the Wallowa River in Wallowa County, 
Oregon. The

[[Page 14503]]

project would occupy 12.68 acres of Federal land managed by the United 
States Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Russ Howison, Relicensing Project Manager, 
PacifiCorp Energy, 825 NE Multnomah, Suite 1500, Portland, OR 97232; 
Telephone (503) 813-6626.
    i. FERC Contact: Matt Cutlip, (503) 552-2762 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The existing Wallowa Falls 
Hydroelectric Project consists of the following existing facilities: 
(1) A 2-foot-high, 9-foot-long concrete diversion dam with a 1-foot-
wide spillway on Royal Purple Creek; (2) a 240-foot-long, 8-inch-
diameter wood-stave and polyvinylchloride pipeline conveying water from 
the Royal Purple Creek diversion dam to a de-silting pond; (3) an 18-
foot-high, 125-foot-long, buttressed rock-filled timber crib dam with 
impervious gravel and asphalt core and a 30-foot-wide spillway on the 
East Fork Wallowa River; (4) a 0.2-acre de-silting pond; (5) a 2-foot-
high by 2-foot-wide concrete intake structure with a headgate and steel 
trash rack; (6) a low-level sluiceway with a steel trash rack and cast 
iron gate connecting to a 2-foot-diameter steel pipe passing through 
the dam to provide instream flow releases to the bypassed reach; (7) a 
5,688-foot-long steel penstock varying in diameter from 24 to 16 inches 
and consisting of buried sections or above-ground sections supported on 
timber crib trestles; (8) a powerhouse containing one impulse turbine-
generator unit with an installed capacity of 1,100 kilowatts; (9) a 40-
foot-long concrete-lined tailrace which conveys powerhouse flows to a 
1,000-foot-long unlined and braided tailrace channel discharging into 
the West Fork Wallowa River; (10) a 20-foot-long, 7.2-kilovolt 
transmission line which connects to the Wallowa Falls substation; and 
(11) appurtenant facilities.
    The project is operated run-of-river. Up to 1 cubic feet per second 
(cfs) of flow is diverted from Royal Purple Creek and discharged into 
the de-silting pond. Up to 16 cfs of water (i.e., 15 cfs maximum from 
East Fork Wallowa River and 1 cfs from Royal Purple Creek) is diverted 
through the intake structure at the East Fork Wallow River dam into the 
steel penstock and conveyed to the powerhouse where it flows through 
the single impulse turbine and discharges through the tailrace into the 
West Fork Wallowa River. The project's current license requires a 
minimum instream flow release of 0.5 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, 
in the bypassed reach. The current license also mandates that 
PacifiCorp restrict sediment flushing from the de-silting pond to the 
period from May 1 to August 30 to protect kokanee salmon.
    PacifiCorp proposes to modify the existing facilities by 
constructing a buried 30-inch-diameter, 1,000-foot-long pipe and 
rerouting powerhouse flows from the current discharge location in the 
West Fork to the East Fork Wallowa River. PacifiCorp also proposes to: 
Increase the minimum flow release in the bypassed reach to 4 cfs or 
inflow, whichever is less; modify the sediment management program to 
only enable sediment flushing during the high-flow month of June; 
upgrade the instream flow compliance monitoring equipment in the 
bypassed reach; upgrade recreational facilities at the non-project 
Pacific Park Campground; and install new signage and interpretive 
displays at the project.
    PacifiCorp proposes to amend the project boundary by adding 28.3 
acres to incorporate the Pacific Park Campground, forebay access road, 
buried tailrace pipe, and other new project features.
    l. Locations of the Application: 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 at [email protected] 
or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is 
also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item 
(h) above.
    m. 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. Procedural Schedule:
    The application will be processed according to the following 
preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be 
made as appropriate.

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               Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready     April 2014.
 for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary   June 2014.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft EA.............  December 2014.
Comments on Draft EA...................  January 2015.
Modified Terms and Conditions..........  March 2015.
Commission Issues Final EA.............  June 2015.
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    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: March 7, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-05623 Filed 3-13-14; 8:45 am]
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