[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22532-22533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09799]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2685-029]


New York Power Authority; 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.: 2685-029.
    c. Date Filed: April 27, 2017.
    d. Applicant: New York Power Authority (NYPA).
    e. Name of Project: Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Project 
(Blenheim-Gilboa Project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on Schoharie Creek in 
the towns of Blenheim and Gilboa in Schoharie County, New York. The 
project does not occupy lands of the United States.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Robert A. Daly, Licensing Manager, New York 
Power Authority, 123 Main Street, White Plains, New York 10601; (914) 
681-6564; [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick, (202) 502-8660 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The existing Blenheim-Gilboa Project 
consists of the following: (1) a 2.25-mile-long, 30-foot-wide earth and 
rock fill embankment dike with a maximum height of 110 feet, 
constructed at Brown Mountain and forming the 399-acre Upper Reservoir 
(operating at the maximum and extreme minimum elevations of 2,003 feet 
and 1,955 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 [NGVD 29], 
respectively) with 15,085 acre-feet of usable storage and dead storage 
of 3,706 acre-feet below elevation 1,955 feet NGVD 29; (2) a 655-foot-
long emergency spillway with a 25-foot-wide asphaltic concrete crest at 
elevation 2,005 feet NGVD 29 and a capacity of 10,200 cubic feet per 
second (cfs); (3) an intake system that includes: (i) A 125-foot-wide 
hexagonal-shaped intake cover with trash racks with a clear spacing of 
5.25 inches; (ii) a 1,042-foot-long, 28-foot-diameter, concrete-lined 
vertical shaft in the bottom of the Upper Reservoir; (iii) a 906-foot-
long horizontal, concrete-lined rock tunnel; and (iv) a 460-foot-long 
concrete-lined manifold that distributes flow to four 12-foot-diameter 
steel-lined penstocks, each with a maximum length of about 1,960 feet, 
to four pump-turbines located at the powerhouse; (4) a 526-foot-long, 
172-foot-wide, and 132-foot-high multi-level powerhouse located along 
the east bank of the Lower Reservoir at the base of Brown Mountain, 
containing four reversible pump turbines that each produce 
approximately 290 megawatts (MW) in generation mode, and have a total 
maximum discharge of 12,800 cfs during generation and 10,200 cfs during 
pumping; (5) a bottom trash rack with a clear spacing of 5.625 inches, 
and four upper trash racks with a clear spacing of 5.25 inches; (6) an 
1,800-foot-long central core, rock-filled lower dam with a maximum 
height of 100 feet that impounds Schoharie Creek to form the 413-acre 
Lower Reservoir (operating at the maximum and minimum elevations of 900 
feet and 860 feet NGVD 29, respectively) with 12,422 acre-feet of 
usable storage and dead storage of 3,745 acre-feet below 860 feet NGVD 
29; (7) three 38-foot-wide by 45.5-foot-high Taintor gates at the left 
end of the lower dam; (8) a 425-foot-long, 134-foot-wide concrete 
spillway structure with a crest elevation of 855 feet NGVD 29; (9) a 
238-foot-long, 68.5-foot-deep concrete stilling basin; (10) a low level 
outlet with four discharge valves of 4, 6, 8, and 10 inches for release 
of 5 to 25 cfs, and two 36-inch-diameter Howell-Bunger valves to 
release a combined flow of 25

[[Page 22533]]

to 700 cfs; (10) a switchyard on the eastern bank of Schoharie Creek 
adjacent to the powerhouse; and (11) appurtenant facilities.
    During operation, the Blenheim-Gilboa Project's pump-turbines may 
be turned on or off several times throughout the day, but the project 
typically generates electricity during the day when consumer demand is 
high and other power resources are more expensive. Pumping usually 
occurs at night and on weekends when there is excess electricity in the 
system available for use. According to a July 30, 1975, settlement 
agreement, NYPA releases a minimum flow of 10 cubic feet per second 
(cfs) during low-flow periods when 1,500 acre-feet of water is in 
storage, and 7 cfs when less than 1,500 acre-feet is in storage. For 
the period 2007 through 2016, the project's average annual generation 
was about 374,854 megawatt-hours (MWh) and average annual energy 
consumption from pumping was about 540,217 MWh.
    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: On September 6, 2016, Commission staff 
issued a revised process plan and schedule with milestones and dates 
for the filing and review of NYPA's remaining study reports. NYPA filed 
its remaining study report on February 17, 2017. The Director, Office 
of Energy Projects will make a final determination on the need to 
modify the approved study plan for the remaining study by June 18, 
2017. At this time, the application is expected to be processed 
according to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. 
Revisions to the schedule may be made following the Director's 
determination on the remaining study, and as appropriate.

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                  Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for      June 2017.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms  August 2017.
 and conditions, and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft Environmental         February 2018.
 Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact
 Statement (EIS).
Comments on Draft EA or EIS.................  April 2018.
Modified terms and conditions...............  June 2018.
Commission issues Final EA or EIS...........  September 2018.
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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: May 9, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-09799 Filed 5-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P