[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53510-53511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21984]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14648-000]


Owyhee Hydro, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application 
Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and 
Competing Applications

    On November 24, 2014, Owyhee Hydro, LLC (Owyhee Hydro) filed an 
application for preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the 
Federal Power Act, proposing to study the feasibility of the Anderson 
Ranch Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project (Anderson Ranch project). 
The project would be located at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's 
(Reclamation) Anderson Ranch dam and reservoir \1\ on the South Fork of 
the Boise River near Mountain Home in Elmore County, Idaho.
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    \1\ On December 12, 2014, Cat Creek Energy, LLC also filed for a 
preliminary permit to use the Anderson Ranch reservoir as a lower 
reservoir for the Cat Creek Energy Generation Facility Pumped 
Storage Hydroelectric Project (P-14655), and thus may be competing 
for the same water resource.
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    The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant 
the permit holder priority to file a license application during the 
permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder 
to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands 
or waters owned by others without the owners' express permission.
    On December 4, 2014, the Commission asked Reclamation to confirm 
that non-federal development is authorized at the Anderson Ranch site. 
On January 30, 2015, Reclamation responded stating that it retains 
jurisdiction over hydropower development at the Anderson Ranch dam, 
reservoir, and powerhouse, which are part of Reclamation's Boise 
Project. On June 8, 2015, the Commission

[[Page 53511]]

responded and agreed with Reclamation's jurisdictional decision over 
hydropower development at the Boise Project's Anderson Ranch dam, 
powerhouse, and reservoir. However, the Commission would retain 
jurisdiction for hydropower facilities that would be located outside of 
Reclamation's development. Thus, an entity seeking to build a 
hydropower project that would use Reclamation's Boise Project 
facilities would need to obtain a lease of power privilege from 
Reclamation, but it also would need to obtain a license from the 
Commission for those facilities of the hydropower project that are not 
under Reclamation's jurisdiction.
    On July 27, 2015, Owyhee Hydro filed a revised application 
providing an additional alternative to the proposed Anderson Ranch 
project. The revised Anderson Ranch project has three alternatives: 
Alternatives A, B, and C. Alternatives A and B would use the existing 
Anderson Ranch dam, reservoir, powerhouse, tailrace, and transmission 
lines, and would consist of the following new facilities: (1) A 1,060-
foot-long, 65-foot-high zoned earth or concrete faced rockfill dam; (2) 
a 900-acre-foot impoundment as an upper reservoir; (3) a 4,180-foot-
long, 9.1-foot-diameter single steel penstock (6.5-foot-diameter if 
twin conduit); (4) a single 80-megawatt (MW) reversible pump turbine/
generator to be located within the third bay of the existing 
powerhouse; and (5) appurtenant facilities. Alternative C would use the 
existing Anderson Ranch dam, reservoir, and powerhouse, and would 
consist of the same new facilities as in Alternatives A and B except it 
would have: (1) A 4,180-foot-long, 9.1-foot-diameter single steel 
penstock (6.5-foot-diameter if twin conduit) and a 3,440-foot-long, 
9.1-foot-diameter single steel penstock (6.5-foot-diameter if twin 
conduit); (2) a 250-foot-long, 90-foot-wide concrete powerhouse located 
adjacent to the existing Anderson Ranch reservoir; (3) a single 80-MW 
Pelton turbine/generator; and (4) a 3,400-foot-long, 69 or 115-kilovolt 
transmission line interconnecting with the existing Bonneville Power 
Administration Dixie Substation. The estimated annual generation for 
the Anderson Ranch project would be 175.2 gigawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact for the Anderson Ranch project: Mr. Matthew 
Shapiro, Owyhee Hydro, LLC, 1210 W. Franklin St., Ste. 2, Boise, ID 
83702; phone: (208) 246-9925.
    FERC Contact: Karen Sughrue; phone: (202) 502-8556.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications 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 P-14648-000.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's Web site at  http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-14648) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: August 28, 2015.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-21984 Filed 9-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-0-1P