[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 180 (Friday, September 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63751-63752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22266]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2520-076]


Great Lakes Hydro America, 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.: 2520-076.
    c. Date Filed: August 31, 2016.
    d. Applicant: Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC (Great Lakes Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: Mattaceunk Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Penobscot River 
in Aroostook and Penobscot Counties, Maine. The project does not affect 
federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Kevin Bernier, Senior Compliance Specialist, 
Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC, 1024

[[Page 63752]]

Central Street, Millinocket, Maine 04462; Telephone (207) 723-4341, 
x118.
    i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer, (202) 502-8449 or [email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The existing Mattaceunk Hydroelectric 
Project consists of: (1) A 1,060-foot-long, 45-foot-high dam (Weldon 
Dam) with a crest elevation of 236.0 feet (USGS datum), and includes 
(i) a 110-foot-long earthen embankment extending to the left abutment; 
(ii) a combined intake and powerhouse structure; (iii) an upstream fish 
ladder; (iv) a 10-foot-wide log sluice structure, controlled by an 8-
foot-high vertical slide gate; (v) a 90-foot-long, 19-foot-high gated 
spillway with a single roller gate; (vi) a 657.5-foot-long, 70-foot 
high concrete gravity overflow spillway with 4-foot-high flashboards to 
create a maximum flashboard crest elevation of 240.0 feet; and (vii) a 
retaining wall at the right abutment; (2) a 1,664-acre reservoir with a 
total storage capacity of 20,981 acre-feet at a normal pool elevation 
of 240.00 feet (USGS datum); (3) a 142-foot-long, 99-foot-wide 
powerhouse (Weldon Station) integral to the dam containing two Kaplan 
turbines rated at 5,479 kilowatt (kW) and two fixed-blade propeller 
turbines rated at 5,489 kW, each driving a 6,000 kilovolt-ampere (kVA), 
4,800 kW vertical synchronous generator for an authorized installed 
capacity of 19.2 megawatts (MW); (4) a downstream fishway; (5) an 
outdoor substation adjacent to the powerhouse; (6) a 9-mile-long, 34.5-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line within a 120-foot-wide right of way; 
and (7) appurtenant facilities. The project generates about 123,332 
megawatt-hours (MWh) annually.
    The Mattaceunk Project is operated with minimal fluctuations of the 
reservoir surface elevation. Flexibility on reservoir elevations is 
required to provide for safe installation of the project's flashboards 
and to allow an adequate margin for wave action, debris loads, or 
sudden pool increases that might cause flashboard failure. The existing 
license requires a reservoir surface elevation no lower than 1.0 foot 
below the dam crest elevation of 236.0 feet when the 4-foot-high 
flashboards are not in use, and no lower than 2.0 feet below the top of 
flashboard elevation of 240.0 feet when the 4-foot-high flashboards are 
in use. The existing license also requires a year-round continuous 
minimum flow of 1,674 cubic feet per second (cfs) or inflow, whichever 
is less, and a daily average minimum flow of 2,392 cfs from July 1 
through September 30 and 2,000 cfs from October 1 through June 30, 
unless inflow is less than the stated daily average minimum flows (in 
which case outflow from the project must equal the inflow to the 
project). Great Lakes Hydro proposes to: (1) Install a seasonal 
upstream eel ramp; (2) install an upstream passage structure for 
American shad, alewife, and blueback herring; (3) install trashracks 
having 1-inch clear spacing to the full depth of the turbine intakes 
during the fish passage season; and (4) improve the recreation facility 
at the downstream angler access area.
    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, please 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.
    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   October 2016.
 for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations,             December 2016.
 preliminary terms and conditions,
 and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft Environmental  June 2017.
 Assessment (EA).
Comments on Draft EA.................  July 2017.
Modified terms and conditions........  September 2017.
Commission issues Final EA...........  December 2017.
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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: September 8, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-22266 Filed 9-15-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P