[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14932-14934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07292]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3023-014; Project No. 2972-027]


Blackstone Hydro, Inc., City of Woonsocket, Rhode Island; Notice 
of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting 
Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with Commission and are available for public inspection:

    a. Type of Application:

New Major License (P-3023-014)
Subsequent Minor License (P-2972-027)

    b. Project Nos.: 3023-014 and 2972-027.

    c. Dates filed:

October 1, 2018 (P-3023-014)
November 1, 2018 (P-2972-027)

    d. Submitted By:

[[Page 14933]]

Blackstone Hydro, Inc. (Blackstone Hydro) (P-3023-014)
City of Woonsocket, Rhode Island (City) (P-2972-027)

    e. Names of Project:

Blackstone Hydroelectric Project (P-3023-014)
Woonsocket Falls Project (P-2972-027)

    f. Location: The Blackstone Hydroelectric Project is located on the 
Blackstone River in Providence County, Rhode Island and Worchester 
County, Massachusetts. The Woonsocket Falls Project is located on the 
Blackstone River in the City of Woonsocket, Providence County, Rhode 
Island. The Blackstone Hydroelectric and Woonsocket Falls Projects do 
not occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contacts: Blackstone Hydroelectric Project--Lewis C. 
Loon, General Manager, Operations and Maintenance--USA/QC, KEI USA 
Power Management, Inc., 423 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, ME 04345; (207) 
203-3027, or [email protected].
    Woonsocket Falls Project--Mr. Michael Debroisse, City of 
Woonsocket, Engineering, 169 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895; (401) 
767-9213.
    i. FERC Contact: Patrick Crile, (202) 502-8042 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: June 9, 2019.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments 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. All filings must clearly identify the project 
name and docket number on the first page: Blackstone Hydroelectric 
Project No. 3023-014 and/or Woonsocket Falls Project No. 2972-027.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners 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 intervener 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. The applications are not ready for environmental analysis at 
this time.
    l. The existing Blackstone Hydroelectric Project consists of: (1) A 
210-foot-long, 12-foot-high arch-type masonry dam and spillway 
(Blackstone Dam) with 12-inch-high flashboards and a crest elevation of 
192.8 feet above mean sea level (msl) at the top of the flashboards; 
(2) an approximately 2-mile-long impoundment with a normal maximum 
elevation of 192.8 feet msl; (3) water conveyance structures that 
consist of: (a) A 1,100-foot-long, 60- to 100-foot-wide power canal 
located 700 feet upstream of the Blackstone Dam; (b) an 11.5-acre 
headpond at a normal maximum elevation of 192.8 feet msl; (c) a 46-
foot-long, 16-foot-high headgate dam structure with four 7-foot-high, 
8-foot-wide intake gates; (d) a 300-foot-long, 40-foot-wide headrace 
canal structure; and (e) four 8-foot-diameter, 22-foot-long buried 
penstocks; (4) a concrete and brick powerhouse containing four vertical 
Francis turbine-generator units with a total authorized capacity of 
1,724 kilowatts; (5) a 100-foot-long, 40-foot-wide tailrace channel 
that discharges into the Blackstone River; (6) outlet work structures 
located downstream of the headgate dam structure in the headrace canal 
that consist of: (a) A 37-foot-long, 12-foot-high emergency spillway 
with a crest elevation of 196 feet msl located at the north end of the 
headrace; (b) two 5-foot-wide, 5-foot-high outlet gates; (c) a 60-foot-
long outlet channel; and (d) two 36-inch-diameter, 150-foot-long 
concrete conduits that empty into a 190-foot-long, 20-foot-wide channel 
that discharges into the Blackstone River downstream from the tailrace; 
(7) a 90-foot-long, 4.16-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, a 4.16/13.8-
kV step-up transformer, and a 1,300-foot-long, 13.8-kV transmission 
line connecting the project generators to the regional electric grid; 
and (8) appurtenant facilities.
    Blackstone Hydro operates the project in a run-of-river mode with 
an annual average generation of approximately 4,027 megawatt-hours. The 
project bypasses approximately 1 mile of the Blackstone River, and 
there is currently no required minimum instream flow for the bypassed 
reach. However, Blackstone Hydro voluntarily maintains a flow between 
11 and 21 cubic feet per second (cfs) over the crest of the Blackstone 
Dam to the bypassed reach using an automatic pond level controller.
    Blackstone Hydro proposes to: (1) Continue operating the project in 
a run-of-river mode; (2) provide a year-round minimum flow of 35 cfs to 
the bypassed reach; (3) provide upstream eel passage at the project, 
following installation of an upstream eel passage facility at the 
downstream Woonsocket Falls Project; (4) implement nighttime turbine 
shutdowns during the downstream eel passage season to facilitate 
downstream passage, 10 years after the installation of the upstream eel 
passage facility; and (5) provide a continuous flow through the intake 
canal to improve dissolved oxygen levels in the power canal under 
certain flow conditions from June 1 to October 31.
    The existing Woonsocket Falls Project utilizes water from an 
impoundment that is created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 
(Corps) Woonsocket Falls Dam. The project consists of: (1) A 14-foot-
wide, 20.5-foot-high concrete intake structure located about 60 feet 
upstream of the Woonsocket Falls Dam and fitted with a 12-foot-wide, 
18-foot-high steel trash rack having 3.5-inch clear bar spacing; (2) a 
275-foot long, 12-foot-wide, 10-foot-high concrete penstock; (3) a 
steel headgate integral with the powerhouse; (4) a 65-foot-long, 25-
foot-wide, 20-foot-high concrete powerhouse containing one adjustable 
blade turbine-generator unit with an authorized capacity of 1,200 
kilowatts; (5) a 50-foot-long, 12.5-foot-diameter steel draft tube; (6) 
an approximately 50-foot-long, 20-foot-wide, 15-foot-deep tailrace; (7) 
a 35-foot-long 4.16 kilovolt (kV) generator lead line, a 4.16/13.8-kV 
step-up transformer, and a 1,200-foot-long, 13.8-kV transmission line 
connecting the project generator to the regional grid; and (8) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The dam and impoundment are operated in a run-of-river mode. The 
Woonsocket Falls Project bypasses approximately 360 feet of the 
Blackstone River and there is currently no required minimum instream 
flow for the bypassed reach. However, a flow of 20 cfs is provided to 
the bypassed reach over the crest of the dam. The Woonsocket Falls 
project has an average annual generation of approximately 4,584 
megawatt-hours.
    The City proposes to: (1) Operate the impoundment in a run-of-river 
mode pursuant to an operating plan and Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) 
with the Corps; (2) provide a year-round minimum flow of 20 cfs to the 
bypassed reach pursuant to an operating plan and MOA with the Corps; 
(3) provide upstream eel passage at the dam pursuant to an operating 
plan and MOA

[[Page 14934]]

with the Corps; and (4) implement nighttime turbine shutdowns during 
the downstream eel passage season to protect eels during passage.
    m. Copies of the applications are available for review at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the 
Commission's website 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. Copies are also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the addresses in item h above. Additionally, copies of 
the Blackstone project license application are available for viewing 
during normal business hours at the Blackstone Public Library located 
at 86 Main Street, Blackstone, MA 01504 and at the North Smithfield 
Public Library located at 20 N Main St., Slatersville, Rhode Island 
02876.
    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. Scoping Process
    The Commission intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) 
on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public 
meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the public scoping 
meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting
    Date: Thursday, May 9, 2019
    Time: 6:00 p.m. (ET)
    Place: Holiday Inn Express & Suites
    Address: 194 Fortin Drive, Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895
Daytime Scoping Meeting
    Date: Friday, May 10, 2019
    Time: 9:00 a.m. (ET)
    Place: Holiday Inn Express & Suites
    Address: 194 Fortin Drive, Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895

    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EIS were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the 
scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).

Environmental Site Review

    Blackstone Hydro and FERC staff will conduct an environmental site 
review of the Blackstone Hydroelectric Project beginning at 9:00 a.m. 
on May 9, 2019. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies 
are invited to attend. All participants should meet at the project 
powerhouse located at 2 Tupperware Drive, North Smithfield, Rhode 
Island 02896. All participants interesting in seeing the inside of the 
project powerhouse will be required to wear steel-toed safety shoes. 
All participants interested in seeing the project dam, which is located 
approximately 0.5 mile from the project powerhouse, are responsible for 
their own transportation. Directions to the dam from the powerhouse 
will be provided during the environmental site review. Anyone planning 
to attend the environmental site review should contact Sherri Loon at 
(207) 203-3026 or [email protected] by May 3, 2019, and indicate 
how many participants will be attending with you.
    The City and FERC staff will conduct a project environmental site 
review of the Woonsocket Falls Project beginning at 1:00 p.m. on May 9, 
2019. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are 
invited to attend. All participants should meet at the City Park 
located at 0 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. The City Park is 
located adjacent to the Woonsocket Falls Dam, on the east riverbank, 
near the intersection of South Main and River Streets. All participants 
are responsible for their own transportation to the site. Anyone 
planning to attend the environmental site review should contact Bruce 
DiGennaro at (401) 835-1185 or [email protected] by May 3, 
2019, and indicate how many participants will be attending with you.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage 
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be 
analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the 
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the projects.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.

    Dated: April 8, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-07292 Filed 4-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P