[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58766-58768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23216]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13753-002; Project No. 13762-002; Project No. 13771-002; 
Project No. 13763-002; Project No. 13766-002; Project No. 13767-002]


FFP Missouri 16, LLC; FFP Missouri 15, LLC; Solia 8 
Hydroelectric, LLC; FFP Missouri 13, LLC; Solia 5 Hydroelectric, LLC ; 
Solia 4 Hydroelectric, LLC; Notice of Scoping Meetings and 
Environmental Site Reviews and Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with Commission and are available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Applications: Original Major Licenses.
    b. Project Nos.: 13753-002; 13762-002; 13771-002; 13763-002; 13766-
002; 13767-002.
    c. Date filed: February 27, 2014.
    d. Applicant: FFP Missouri 16, LLC; FFP Missouri 15, LLC; Solia 8 
Hydroelectric, LLC; FFP Missouri 13, LLC; Solia 5 Hydroelectric, LLC; 
Solia 4 Hydroelectric, LLC.
    e. Name of Projects: Opekiska Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project; 
Morgantown Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project; Point Marion Lock and 
Dam Hydroelectric Project; Grays Landing Lock and Dam Hydroelectric 
Project; Maxwell Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project; and Monongahela 
Lock and Dam Number Four Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The proposed projects would be located at U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers' (Corps) dams on the Monongahela River in Monongalia 
County, West Virginia and Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties, 
Pennsylvania (see table below for specific locations). The projects 
would occupy 39.75 acres of federal land managed by the Corps.

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                                                                                                   Federal land
                                                    County and                                        used by
                            Projects                  State                  City/town              project \1\
                                                                                                      (acres)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P-13753.......  Opekiska Lock and Dam..........  Monongalia, WV.  Between Fairmont and                     10.1
                                                                   Morgantown.
P-13762.......  Morgantown Lock and Dam........  Monongalia, WV.  Morgantown....................            0.99
P-13771.......  Point Marion Lock and Dam......  Fayette, PA....  Point Marion..................            1.44
P-13763.......  Grays Landing Lock and Dam.....  Greene, PA.....  Near Masontown................           15.5
P-13766.......  Maxwell Lock and Dam...........  Washington, PA.  Downstream of Fredericktown...           10.4
P-13767.......  Monongahela Lock and Dam Number  Washington, PA.  Charleroi.....................            1.32
                 Four.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Thomas Feldman, Rye Development, LLC, PO Box 
390691, Cambridge, MA 02139; or at (617) 433-8140.
    i. FERC Contact: Nicholas Ettema, (202) 502-6565 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: November 10, 2014.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at 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], (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 (e.g., P-13753-002).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners 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 intervener 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 Opekiska Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project would 
be the most upstream project at river mile (RM) 115.4 and would consist 
of the following new facilities: (1) A 180-foot-long, 95-foot-wide 
intake channel directing flow to a 30-foot-long, 50-foot-high, 70-foot-
wide intake structure with 3-inch bar spacing trashracks; (2) a 120-
foot-long, 60-foot-high, 70-foot-wide reinforced concrete powerhouse on 
the west bank of the river; (3) two turbine-generator units with a 
combined capacity of 6.0 megawatts (MW); (4) a 280-foot-long, 64-foot-
wide tailrace; (5) a 40-foot-long by 40-foot-wide substation; (6) a 
3,511-foot-long, 12.5-kilovolt (kV), overhead transmission line to 
connect the project substation to an existing distribution line; and 
(7) appurtenant facilities.
    The proposed Morgantown Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project would be 
located at RM 102.0 and consist of the following new facilities: (1) A 
100-foot-long, 64-foot-wide intake channel located downstream of the 
Corp's 6th spillway gate on the east side of the river; (2) a pair of 
spill gates totaling 60 feet wide located within the intake channel; 
(3) a 30-foot-long, 50-foot-high, 64-foot-wide intake structure with 3-
inch bar spacing trashracks; (2) a 120-foot-long, 60-foot-high, 70-
foot-wide reinforced concrete powerhouse; (3) two turbine-generator 
units with a combined capacity of 5.0 MW; (4) a 170-foot-long, 90-foot-
wide tailrace; (5) a 40-foot-long

[[Page 58767]]

by 40-foot-wide substation; (6) a 2,162-foot-long, 12.5-kV, overhead 
transmission line to connect the project substation to an existing 
distribution line; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    The proposed Point Marion Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project would 
be located at RM 90.8 and consist of the following new facilities: (1) 
A 280-foot-long, 70-foot-wide intake channel directing flow to a 30-
foot-long, 50-foot-high, 70-foot-wide intake structure with 3-inch bar 
spacing trashracks; (2) a 120-foot-long, 60-foot-high, 70-foot-wide 
reinforced concrete powerhouse on the east bank of the river; (3) two 
turbine-generator units with a combined capacity of 5.0 MW; (4) a 215-
foot-long, 84-foot-wide tailrace; (5) a 40-foot-long by 40-foot-wide 
substation; (6) a 3,325-foot-long, 69-kV, overhead transmission line to 
connect the project substation to an existing substation; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The proposed Grays Landing Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project would 
be located at RM 82.0 and consist of the following new facilities: (1) 
A 300-foot-long, 130-foot-wide intake channel directing flow to a 100-
foot-long, 84-foot-wide intake structure with 3-inch bar spacing 
trashracks; (2) a 576-foot-long, 2.5-foot-high adjustable crest gate on 
top of the existing dam crest; (3) a 150-foot-long, 75-foot-high, 90-
foot-wide reinforced concrete powerhouse on the west bank of the river; 
(4) two turbine-generator units with a combined capacity of 12.0 MW; 
(5) a 250-foot-long, 84-foot-wide tailrace; (6) a 40-foot-long by 40-
foot-wide substation; (7) a 9,965-foot-long, 69-kV, overhead 
transmission line to connect the project substation to an existing 
distribution line; and (8) appurtenant facilities.
    The proposed Maxwell Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project would be 
located at RM 61.2 and consist of the following new facilities: (1) A 
130-foot-long, 85-foot-wide intake channel located immediately 
downstream of the Corps' 5th spillway gate on the east side of the 
river; (2) a pair of spill gates totaling 84 feet wide located within 
the proposed intake channel; (3) a 100-foot-long, 70-foot-high, 85-
foot-wide intake structure with 3-inch bar spacing trashracks; (4) a 
150-foot-long, 70-foot-high, 90-foot-wide reinforced concrete 
powerhouse; (5) two turbine-generator units with a combined capacity of 
13.0 MW; (6) a 160-foot-long, 120-foot-wide tailrace; (7) a 40-foot-
long by 40-foot-wide substation; (8) a 350-foot-long, 69/138-kV, 
overhead transmission line to connect the project substation to an 
existing distribution line; and (9) appurtenant facilities.
    The proposed Monongahela Lock and Dam Number Four (Charleroi) 
Hydroelectric Project would be located at RM 41.5 and consist of the 
following new facilities: (1) A 140-foot-long, 90-foot-wide intake 
channel located immediately downstream of the Corps' 5th spillway gate 
on the west side of the river; (2) a pair of spill gates totaling 84 
feet wide located within the proposed intake channel; (3) a 100-foot-
long, 64-foot-high, 90-foot-wide intake structure with 3-inch bar 
spacing trashracks; (4) a 150-foot-long, 70-foot-high, 90-foot-wide 
reinforced concrete powerhouse; (5) two turbine-generator units with a 
combined capacity of 12.0 MW; (6) a 210-foot-long, 130-foot-wide 
tailrace; (7) a 40-foot-long by 40-foot-wide substation; (8) a 45-foot-
long, 69-kV, overhead transmission line to connect the project 
substation to an existing distribution line; and (9) appurtenant 
facilities.
    The applicants propose to operate the six projects in ``run-of-
river'' mode, using only the existing flows that would normally be 
released through the Corps' gates or spillway. Existing water surface 
elevations of each pool upstream of the dams would be maintained in 
accordance with the Corps' existing management practices. The Opekiska, 
Morgantown, Point Marion, Gray's Landing, Maxwell, and Charleroi 
projects would produce an annual average of 25,300 megawatt-hours 
(MWh), 18,900 MWh, 16,500 MWh, 47,300 MWh, 56,800 MWh, and 48,500 MWh, 
respectively.
    m. A copy of each 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. Copies are 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 projects 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 agency scoping meeting and two public 
meetings. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization concerns, while the public scoping 
meetings are primarily for public input. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or all 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:

Public Scoping Meetings

    Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2014.
    Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Place: Hilton Garden Inn Morgantown.
    Address: 150 Suncrest Towne Centre Drive, Morgantown, WV 26505, 
(304) 225-9500.

    Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
    Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Place: Holiday Inn Uniontown.
    Address: 700 W Main Street, Uniontown, PA 15401, (724) 437-2816.

Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: Friday, October 10, 2014.
    Time: 9:30 a.m. (EDT).
    Place: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh--Green Tree.
    Address: 500 Mansfield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15205, (412) 922-
8400.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EA were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing 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 Reviews
    The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental 
Site Review for each project. The times and locations of these meetings 
are as follows:
    Project: Morgantown Lock and Dam.
    Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2014.
    Time: 2:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Location: Parking area at the north end of the Mountaineer Heritage 
Park, Morgantown, WV 26505.

    Project: Opekiska Lock and Dam.
    Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2014.
    Time: 3:30 p.m. (EDT).
    Location: Corps' parking area on the west side of the river 
accessible via River Road (Route 45), Fairmont, WV 26554.

    Project: Point Marion Lock and Dam.

[[Page 58768]]

    Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
    Time: 9:00 a.m. (EDT).
    Location: Parking area at the Point Marion Ballfield on the east 
side of the river, Point Marion, PA 15474.

    Project: Gray's Landing Lock and Dam.
    Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
    Time: 10:30 a.m. (EDT).
    Location: Corps' parking area on east side of the river, Masontown, 
PA 15461.

    Project: Maxwell Lock and Dam.
    Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
    Time: 1:30 p.m. (EDT).
    Location: End of 4th Street on southwest side of the river, La 
Belle, PA 15450.

    Project: Monongahela Lock and Dam Number Four (Charleroi).
    Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
    Time: 3:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Location: End of 12th Street on west side of the river, Charleroi, 
PA 15022.
    All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited 
to attend. All participants should meet at the time and location 
specified above. All participants are responsible for their own 
transportation to the site. Anyone with questions about the 
Environmental Site Reviews should contact Thomas Feldman of Rye 
Development, LLC at (617) 433-8140 on or before October 3, 2014.

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 meeting and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.

    Dated: September 22, 2014.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
 Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-23216 Filed 9-29-14; 8:45 am]
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