[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 232 (Friday, December 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87035-87036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28976]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Proposed 2018 Olmsted Power Marketing Plan

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Olmsted Power Marketing Plan and 
announcement of public information and comment forum.

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SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), a Federal power 
marketing agency of the Department of Energy, is seeking comments about 
this Proposed Olmsted Power Marketing Plan. WAPA has responsibility for 
the marketing of energy from the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), 
among other projects, and operates the transmission infrastructure 
associated with these Federal projects.

DATES: The public comment period on the Proposed Olmsted Power 
Marketing Plan begins December 2, 2016 and ends March 2, 2017. To be 
assured of consideration, WAPA must receive all written comments by the 
end of the comment period. WAPA reserves the right not to consider any 
comments received after the prescribed date and time.
    WAPA will hold a public information forum about this proposed 
marketing plan on Friday, January 13, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MST 
at the Bureau of Reclamation, 125 South State Street, Salt Lake City, 
Utah. The public comment forum is scheduled for the afternoon of the 
same day Friday, January 13, 2017, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. MST at the 
Bureau of Reclamation, 125 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments about this proposed marketing plan 
to: Ms. Lynn C. Jeka, CRSP Manager, CRSP Management Center, Western 
Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt 
Lake City, UT 84111-1580. Comments may also be emailed to [email protected] 
or be faxed to (801) 524-5017. All documentation developed or retained 
by WAPA for the purpose of developing the proposed marketing plan will 
be available for inspection and copying at the CRSP Management Center 
office, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, Utah.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brent Osiek, CRSP Power Marketing 
Manager, [email protected], (801) 524-5495; or Mr. Steve Mullen, CRSP 
Public Utilities Specialist, [email protected], (801) 524-6383. Written 
requests for information should be mailed to CRSP Management Center, 
Western Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 
300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111-1580, or faxed to (801) 524-5017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Olmsted Powerplant, located in northern 
Utah, was acquired in condemnation proceedings by the United States in 
1990 in order to secure water rights associated with the Olmsted 
Powerplant deemed essential to the Central Utah Project (CUP). The CUP 
is a participating project of the CRSP. As part of the condemnation 
proceedings, PacifiCorp continued Olmsted operations until 2015, after 
which time the operation of the facility became the responsibility of 
the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation.
    The existing Olmsted Powerplant is over 100 years old and has 
greatly exceeded its operational life. A replacement facility is being 
constructed for the generation of power and the preservation of 
associated non-consumptive water rights necessary for the CUP. On 
February 4, 2015, an Implementation Agreement (Agreement) for the 
Olmsted Powerplant Replacement Project (Project) was signed by Central 
Utah Water Conservancy District (District); Department of the Interior, 
Bureau of Reclamation; and Department of Energy, WAPA (Participants). 
The Agreement sets forth the responsibilities of the Participants and 
how the Project will be funded. The District will construct, operate, 
maintain, and replace the Olmsted facilities in connection with its CUP 
operations, including power generation.
    The Olmsted facilities are a feature of the CUP, which is a 
participating project of CRSP. WAPA markets the hydropower generated 
from the CRSP facilities as well as the participating projects of CRSP. 
In accordance with Acts of Congress approved April 11, 1956 (70 Stat. 
105); August 4, 1977 (91 Stat. 565); October 30, 1992 (106 Stat. 
46050); and Acts amendatory or supplementary to the foregoing Acts, 
WAPA will be responsible for marketing the energy from the Olmsted 
Powerplant. WAPA plans to begin marketing energy from the Olmsted

[[Page 87036]]

Powerplant in the summer of 2018. Only energy, without capacity, will 
be available for marketing (power production will be non-dispatchable 
and incidental to the delivery of water). It is expected that annual 
energy production from the replacement Olmsted Powerplant will average 
approximately 27,000,000 kWh per year.

Proposed 2018 Olmsted Power Marketing Plan

    WAPA proposes to apply the following criteria to applicants seeking 
an allocation of energy under the proposed 2018 Olmsted Power Marketing 
Plan:
    1. Contract Term: Due to the lack of actual generating data, the 
term of the contract will be limited. Service is expected to begin on 
July 1, 2018, or as soon as the Project is declared commercially 
operable; and the contract term will be effective through September 30, 
2024.
    2. Marketing Area: Due to the relatively small size of the resource 
and its operating characteristics, eligible applicants must be 
preference entities, in accordance with section 9(c) of the Reclamation 
Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)), located within the following 
counties in Utah: Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Summit, Utah, Weber, and 
Wasatch.
    3. Delivery Point: 12.47-kV bus at PacifiCorp's Hale Substation or 
another substation that may be identified that can be electrically 
interconnected to the Project.
    4. Transmission: Any associated transformation/transmission beyond 
PacifiCorp's 12.47-kV bus at the Hale Substation, or other identified 
substation if delivery is not made at the Hale Substation, is the sole 
responsibility of the applicant. Applicants must have the necessary 
arrangements for transmission and/or distribution service in place by 
April 1, 2018.
    5. Eligible Applicants: WAPA will provide allocations only to 
preference entities in the marketing area. WAPA, through the public 
process, will determine the amount of energy, if any, to allocate in 
accordance with the marketing criteria and administrative discretion 
under Reclamation Law. Priority will be given to the District as the 
operator of the Olmsted Powerplant.
    6. Resource Pool: WAPA will take into consideration all existing 
Federal hydropower allocations an applicant is currently receiving when 
determining each allocation. Allocations of Olmsted energy will be 
determined solely by WAPA. Applicants who receive an allocation will be 
allocated a percentage of the annual energy output of the Powerplant.
    7. Preference Entities: Preference will be given to entities in 
accordance with section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, 43 
U.S.C. 485h(c), as amended and supplemented, including Municipalities, 
Rural Cooperatives, and political subdivisions including irrigation or 
other districts, municipalities, and other governmental organizations 
that have electric utility status by April 1, 2018; and, Federally 
recognized Native American tribes as defined in the Indian Self 
Determination Act of 1975, 25 U.S.C. 5304 as amended. ``Electric 
utility status'' means that the entity has responsibility to meet load 
growth, has a distribution system, and is ready, willing, and able to 
purchase Federal power from WAPA on a wholesale basis.
    8. Ready, Willing, and Able: Eligible applicants must be ready, 
willing, and able to receive and distribute or use energy from WAPA. 
Ready, willing, and able means the applicant has the facilities needed 
for the receipt of power or has made the necessary arrangements for 
transmission and/or distribution service, and its power supply 
contracts with third parties permit the delivery of WAPA's power.
    9. Rates and Payment: Each applicant who receives an allocation 
will pay its proportional share of the annual expenses of the Project 
based on its proportional share of the energy produced. WAPA, through a 
separate public process, will establish a rate methodology for the 
Project. Rather than pay a stated rate per kWh for energy, applicants 
who receive allocations will pay their proportional shares of the 
Project's total annual OM&R expenses in return for their proportional 
shares of total marketable energy production.

Availability of Information

    Documents developed or retained by WAPA during this public process 
will be available, by appointment, for inspection and copying at the 
CRSP Management Center, located at 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 
300, Salt Lake City, Utah. Written comments received as part of the 
Olmsted Marketing Plan formal public process will be available for 
viewing on WAPA's Web site after the close of the comment period.

Procedural Requirements

Environmental Compliance

    WAPA Olmsted Power Marketing Plan will comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), the 
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), 
and DOE NEPA Regulations (10 CFR 1021).

Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA; 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.) 
requires a Federal agency to perform a regulatory flexibility analysis 
whenever the agency is required by law to publish a general notice of 
proposed rulemaking for any proposed rule, unless the agency can 
certify that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. In defining the term ``rule,'' 
the RFA specifies that a ``rule'' does not include ``a rule of 
particular applicability relating to rates [and] services . . . or to 
valuations, costs or accounting, or practices relating to such rates 
[and] services . . .'' (5 U.S.C. 601). WAPA has determined that this 
action relates to rates or services offered by WAPA and, therefore, is 
not a rule within the purview of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Determination Under Executive Order 12866

    WAPA has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under 
Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice by the 
Office of Management and Budget is required.

    Dated: November 23, 2016.
Mark A. Gabriel,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-28976 Filed 12-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P