[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 74 (Monday, April 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22587-22588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08858]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2512-075; Project No. 14439-001]
Hawks Nest Hydro, LLC; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing,
Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental
Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Preliminary Terms
and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions
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 Licenses.
b. Project Nos.: 2512-075 and 14439-001.
c. Date filed: December 29, 2015.
d. Applicant: Hawks Nest Hydro, LLC (Hawks Nest Hydro).
e. Name of Project: Hawks Nest and Glen Ferris Hydroelectric
Projects.
f. Location: The existing Hawks Nest and Glen Ferris projects are
located on the New and Kanawha rivers, respectively. Both projects are
located in Fayette County, West Virginia. The projects do not occupy
any federal lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Steven Murphy, Manager, Licensing, Brookfield
Renewable Energy Group, 33 West 1st Street South, Fulton, New York
13069; Telephone (315) 598-6130.
i. FERC Contact: Monir Chowdhury, (202) 502-6736, or
[email protected].
j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments,
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary
prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice; reply
comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary
terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions 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 the
applicable project name(s) and docket number(s) (e.g., Hawks Nest P-
2512-075).
The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors 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
intervenor 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 has been accepted for filing and is now ready
for environmental analysis.
l. The existing project works consist of the following:
The existing Hawks Nest Hydroelectric Project consists of: (1) A
948-foot-long concrete-gravity dam with a crest elevation of 795.0 feet
National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (2) 14 ogee-type
spillway bays extending almost the entire length of the dam, each with
a 25-foot-high by 50-foot-wide Stoney-type steel lift gate and
separated by a 9-foot-wide concrete pier; (3) a 243-acre reservoir with
a gross storage capacity of 7,323 acre-feet at a normal pool elevation
of 819.9 feet NGVD29; (4) an intake structure located at the right
shoreline (looking downstream) of the reservoir just upstream of the
dam and consisting of a 110-foot-wide by 50-foot-high trashrack
structure and a Stoney-type 42-foot-high by 50-foot-wide bulkhead
intake gate that sits back approximately 50 feet from the opening where
the trashrack is located; (5) a 16,240-foot-long tunnel that runs along
the right side of the river to convey water from the intake to the
powerhouse downstream on the New River; (6) a 600-foot-long by 170-
foot-wide surge basin located at a point on the tunnel approximately 60
percent of the distance from the intake to the powerhouse; (7) a 116-
foot-diameter and 56-foot-high differential surge tank located at the
downstream end of the tunnel and before the powerhouse; (8) a 210-foot-
long by 74.5-foot-wide powerhouse containing four turbine-generator
units, each with a rated capacity of approximately 25.5 megawatts (MW);
(9) two parallel approximately 5.5-mile-long, 69-kilovolt (kV)
transmission lines; and (10) appurtenant facilities. Hawks Nest Hydro
operates the project in a run-of-river mode.
The existing license for the Hawks Nest Hydroelectric Project
requires that the project release a continuous minimum flow of 100
cubic feet per second into the bypassed reach between the dam and the
powerhouse (Article 402). Hawks Nest Hydro proposes to continue run-of-
river operation and increase the existing minimum flow for the bypassed
reach. The project generates an annual average of 544,253 megawatt-
hours.
The existing Glen Ferris Hydroelectric Project consists of: (1) A
low concrete dam with a maximum height of 12 feet above the river bed
and a crest elevation of 651.0 feet NGVD29, consisting of (from left to
right--looking downstream) (i) a 590-foot-long spillway section that
generally curves upstream; (ii) a 128-foot-long five-bay stoplog
sluice; (iii) a 2,132-foot-long right spillway that runs diagonally in
a downstream direction; (iv) a trash sluice section; (v) a 54-foot-long
by 38-foot-wide east powerhouse with a 62-foot-wide intake structure;
and (vi) a 64.5-foot-long by 63-foot-wide west powerhouse with an 82.3-
foot-wide intake structure, with both powerhouses integral to the dam;
(2) a 190-acre reservoir with a gross storage capacity of approximately
1,500 acre-feet at the dam crest elevation of 651.0 feet NGVD29; (3)
two turbine-generator units in the east powerhouse, each with a rated
capacity of approximately 1.9 MW; (4) six turbine-generator units in
the west powerhouse, each with a rated capacity of approximately 0.4
MW; (5) a 4-mile-long, 13.8-kV transmission line; and (6) appurtenant
facilities.
The Glen Ferris Hydroelectric Project is currently operated in a
run-of-river mode with no usable storage capacity. Hawks Nest Hydro
proposes to continue run-of-river operation. The project generates an
annual average of 41,482 megawatt-hours.
m. 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
[[Page 22588]]
the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact
FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and
reproduction at the address in item h above.
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. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure,
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title
``PROTEST,'' ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' ``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,''
``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS,'' or
``PRELIMINARY FISHWAY PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (2) set forth in the heading the
name of the applicant and the project number of the application to
which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone
number of the person protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise
comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must
set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the
requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the
application directly from the applicant. A copy of any protest or
motion to intervene must be served upon each representative of the
applicant specified in the particular application. A copy of all other
filings in reference to this application must be accompanied by proof
of service on all persons listed in the service list prepared by the
Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and
385.2010.
o. Procedural Schedule:
The application will be processed according to the following
revised Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made
as appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Filing of recommendations, preliminary June 2016.
terms and conditions, and preliminary
fishway prescriptions.
Commission Issues Draft EA............. December 2016.
Comments on Draft EA................... January 2017.
Modified Terms and Conditions.......... March 2017.
Commission Issues Final EA............. June 2017.
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p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
q. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following
the date of issuance of the notice of acceptance and ready for
environmental analysis provided for in 5.22: (1) A copy of the water
quality certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification,
including proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the
request; or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.
Dated: April 6, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-08858 Filed 4-15-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P