[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16481-16482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07949]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2934-029]
New York State Electric & Gas Corporation; 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.: 2934-029.
c. Date Filed: April 1, 2019.
d. Applicant: New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG).
e. Name of Project: Upper Mechanicville Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: The existing project is located on the Hudson River,
in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties, New York. The project does not
occupy any federal lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Hugh J. Ives, Manager, NYSEG Hydro
Operations, 89 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14649; (585) 724-8209;
[email protected].
i. FERC Contact: Jody Callihan, (202) 502-8278 or
[email protected].
j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
k. Project Description: The existing Upper Mechanicville
Hydroelectric Project consists of: (1) A 700-foot-long concrete gravity
dam with a crest elevation of 66.6 feet National Geodetic Vertical
Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (2) 3 spillway bays each extending 222 feet
across the length of the dam and separated by a 7.5-foot to 10.5-foot-
wide concrete pier, with each spillway bay containing 12 pneumatic
Obermeyer crest gates that are 6 feet high; (3) a 1.8-mile-long
impoundment with a 380-acre surface area and gross storage capacity of
10,735 acre-feet at a normal pool elevation of 72.6 feet NGVD29; (4) an
intake channel with two reinforced guide walls and three 35-foot-
diameter cofferdam walls constructed of sheet piling; (5) a 20-foot-
wide and 7.5-foot-high intake bypass sluice gate; (6) a 105.5-foot-long
by 122-foot-wide powerhouse containing two 12,780 horsepower Kaplan
turbines and two Siemens-Allis generators each having a rated capacity
of 8,265 kilowatts; (7) a tailrace approximately 1,200 feet long and
120 feet wide with a bi-level bottom designed to minimize cross-
currents; (8) one 1.10-mile-long, 34.5-kilovolt transmission line; and
(9) appurtenant facilities.
During the non-navigation season (typically from December 1 through
April 30), NYSEG operates the project in a run-of-river (ROR) mode and
maintains the impoundment at an elevation of 72.6 feet NGVD29. During
the navigation season (typically May 1 through November 30), NYSEG
periodically spills water to lower the impoundment up to 3 feet below
full pool, as directed by the New York State Canal Corporation, to
accommodate navigation at lock C-3, and uses all available remaining
inflow (that is not used to support navigation) for generation
purposes. NYSEG proposes to continue operating the project as it does
currently, to support both generation and navigation. In addition,
NYSEG proposes to enhance fish passage at the project by: (1)
Installing upstream passage for American eel (4 years post-license);
(2) developing an agreement with the New York State Canal Corporation
to modify lock operations to accommodate the upstream passage of
blueback herring and American shad (commencing 2 years post-license);
and (3) modifying the project's intake bypass sluice gate to provide an
additional route of downstream fish passage from April 1 through
November 30. The project currently generates an annual average of
88,537 megawatt-hours.
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 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 at [email protected]
or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is
also available for inspection and reproduction at the Mechanicville
District Public Library located at 190 North Main Street,
Mechanicville, NY 12118 and the A.E. Diver Memorial Library located at
136 Main Street, Schaghticoke, NY 12154.
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 for June 2019.
Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms August 2019.
and conditions, and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Environmental Assessment December 2019.
(EA).
Comments on EA.............................. February 2020.
[[Page 16482]]
Modified Terms and Conditions............... April 2020.
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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: April 15, 2019.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-07949 Filed 4-18-19; 8:45 am]
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