[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 81308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32696]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2531-075]


Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC; 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: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2531-075.
    c. Date Filed: December 18, 2015.
    d. Applicant: Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC (White Pine Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: West Buxton Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Saco River in 
the Towns of Buxton, Hollis, and Standish, within York and Cumberland 
Counties, Maine. No federal lands are occupied by project works or 
located within the project boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Frank Dunlap, Licensing Specialist, 
Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC, 150 Main Street, Lewiston, ME 04240; 
Telephone--(207) 755-5603; [email protected]. 
OR Kelley Maloney, Manager of licensing and Compliance, Brookfield 
White Pine Hydro LLC, 150 Maine Street, Lewiston, ME 04240; Telephone--
(207) 755-5606.
    i. FERC Contact: Allan Creamer, (202) 502-8365, or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis (EA) at 
this time.
    k. Project Description: The West Buxton Project consists of: (1) A 
585-foot-long by 30-foot-high concrete gravity dam with a crest 
elevation of 173.8 feet (United States Geological Survey or USGS 
datum), consisting of (i) two overflow sections topped with three 
inflatable rubber dam sections that have a crest elevation of 178.1 
feet (USGS datum) when fully inflated, (ii) a gated section containing 
a 20-foot-wide by 15-foot-high vertical lift gate, (iii) two 40-foot-
wide by 11-foot-high stanchion sections, (iv) an 11-foot-wide log 
sluice section, and (v) an intake structure comprised of two vertical 
lift gates regulating the flow of water to the lower powerhouse and 
five gate openings (two sealed by stoplogs) controlling water flow to 
the upper powerhouse; (2) a 118-acre impoundment at a normal pool 
elevation of 177.8 feet (USGS datum); (3) a 105 feet long by 39 feet 
wide upper powerhouse integral with the dam, containing five horizontal 
axis Francis turbine generating units that total 3,812 kW; (4) a 241.5-
foot-long concrete conduit leading from the intake structure to a 74-
foot-long by 30 to 45-foot wide surge chamber, and then to the lower 
powerhouse; (5) a 51.2 feet long by 45.5 feet wide lower powerhouse, 
containing one 4,000 kW vertical axis Kaplan turbine generating unit; 
(6) two 38-kV transmission lines, connecting the upper and lower 
powerhouses to the non-project West Buxton switching station; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    White Pine Hydro operates the project in a run-of-river mode, in 
accordance with the 1997 Saco River Instream Flow Agreement, which 
provides that outflow approximate inflow from the upstream Bonny Eagle 
Project No. 2529 and act to minimize impoundment level fluctuations. 
White Pine Hydro also operates the project with a minimum outflow of 
768 cfs, or inflow, whichever is less, in accordance with the project's 
current water quality certificate. The project generates an annual 
average of 34,007 MWh.
    l. 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], (866)-208-3676 (toll 
free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). A copy is 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.
    m. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule will be made as appropriate.

Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready    February 2016.
 for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary  April 2016.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues EA..................  August 2016.
Comments on EA........................  September 2016.
Modified Terms and Conditions.........  November 2016.
Commission Issues Final EA, if          February 2017.
 necessary.
 

    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: December 22, 2015.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-32696 Filed 12-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P