[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45139-45140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18540]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 14966-000]
Grid Balance Hydropower, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To
Intervene, and Competing Applications
On February 25, 2019, Grid Balance Hydropower, LLC, filed an
application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the
Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the
Packer-Banks Pumped Storage Project to be located in Carbon County,
Pennsylvania. The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is
to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application
during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the
permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise
enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners' express
permission.
The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) A new
9,500-foot-long, 80- to 120-foot-high roller-compacted concrete and/or
rock-filled dam or dike forming an upper reservoir having a surface
area of 120 acres and a total storage capacity of approximately 9,300
acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation between
approximately 1,960 and 1,860 feet above mean sea level (msl); (2) a
lower reservoir with three different options: Option A (site 1) or B
(site 2) would include a new 9,500-foot-long, 85- to 95-foot-high
roller-compacted concrete and/or rock-filled dam or dike forming a
lower reservoir having a surface area of 120 acres and a total storage
capacity of approximately 9,300 acre-feet at a normal maximum water
surface elevation between approximately 1,250 and 1,350 feet msl.
Option C (site 3) would include a below grade mine pit with a surface
area of 200 acres and a total storage capacity of approximately 10,000
acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation between
approximately 1,250 and 1,350 feet msl; (3) a 5,500-foot-long tunnel
and/or penstock connecting the upper and lower reservoirs; (4) a
powerhouse containing four turbine-generator units with a total rated
capacity of 400 megawatts; (5) a transmission line connecting to an
existing 230-kilovolt transmission line traversing the site; and (6)
appurtenant facilities. Initial fill and make-up water for the project
would come from a nearby abandoned mine drainage source. The proposed
project would have an annual generation of 1,680,000 megawatt-hours.
Applicant Contact: Paul A. DiRenzo, Jr., Grid Balance Hydropower,
LLC, 214 Norwegian Woods Drive, Pottsville, PA 17901; phone: 570-617-
7810.
FERC Contact: Monir Chowdhury; phone: (202) 502-6736.
Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice.\1\
[[Page 45140]]
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements
of 18 CFR 4.36.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Commission is issuing a second notice for this project
because some municipalities may not have been notified by the first
notice issued on May 1, 2019. Any comments filed in response to
either notice will be considered in evaluating the permit
application.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing
applications 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. The first page of any filing should include
docket number P-14966-000.
More information about this project, including a copy of the
application, can be viewed or printed on the eLibrary link of the
Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp.
Enter the docket number (P-14966) in the docket number field to access
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
Dated: August 22, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-18540 Filed 8-27-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P