[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61049-61050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24564]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 10624-026]


French Paper Company; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, 
Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental 
Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Preliminary Terms 
and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 10624-026.
    c. Date filed: February 27, 2019.
    d. Applicant: French Paper Company (French Paper).
    e. Name of Project: French Paper Company Hydroelectric Project 
(French Paper Project).
    f. Location: The French Paper Project is located on the St. Joseph 
River in the City of Niles, Berrien County, Michigan. No federal lands 
are occupied by the project works or located within the project 
boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Shane Fenske, President, French Paper 
Company, P.O. Box 398, 100 French Street, Niles, MI 49120; (269) 683-
1100 or [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Jay Summers, (202) 502-8764 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice; reply 
comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary 
terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions 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-10624-026.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors 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 
intervenor 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. This application has been accepted for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    l. The French Paper Project consists of the following existing 
facilities: (1) An 112 acre reservoir with a storage capacity of 864 
acre-feet at a water surface elevation of 653.75 feet mean sea level; 
(2) a 321-foot-long, 13-foot-high concrete spillway structure, topped 
by 2.3-foot-high flashboards; (3) a 100-foot-wide, 600-foot-long intake 
channel; (4) a 115-foot-wide, 55-foot-long, 56-foot-high powerhouse 
with an operating head of 14 feet; (5) a floating debris boom at the 
entrance to the intake channel and two separate trash racks at the 
entrance to the powerhouse; (6) two vertical shaft propeller turbines 
each coupled to a 400-kilowatt (kW) generator, one vertical shaft 
propeller turbine coupled to a 300-kW generator, and one vertical shaft 
Francis turbine coupled to a 200-kW generator, for a total installed 
capacity of 1.3 megawatts; (7) a 6-foot-wide, 220-foot-long reinforced 
concrete fish ladder; (8) a 480-volt to 12-kilovolt (kV) transformer 
adjacent to the powerhouse; (9) a 0.16-mile-long, 3-phase, 3 wire 12-kV 
overhead interconnection line, tying into Indiana Michigan Power 
Company's transmission line adjacent to French Paper's property; and 
(10) appurtenant facilities.
    The French Paper Project is operated in a run-of-river mode with an 
estimated annual energy production of approximately 8,442.8 megawatt-
hours. French Paper proposes to continue operating the project in a 
run-of-river mode and does not propose any new construction or 
modifications to the project.
    m. 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. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    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. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene 
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action 
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments 
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with 
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any 
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or 
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title PROTEST, 
MOTION TO INTERVENE, COMMENTS, REPLY COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, 
PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS, or PRELIMINARY FISHWAY PRESCRIPTIONS; 
(2) set forth in the heading the name of the applicant and the project 
number of the application to which the filing responds; (3) furnish the 
name, address, and telephone number of the person protesting or 
intervening; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 
385.2001 through 385.2005. All comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions or prescriptions must set forth their evidentiary basis and 
otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may 
obtain copies of the application directly from the applicant. A copy of 
any protest or motion to intervene must be served upon each 
representative of the applicant specified in the particular 
application. A copy of all other filings in reference to this 
application must be accompanied by proof of service on all

[[Page 61050]]

persons listed in the service list prepared by the Commission in this 
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following revised Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Filing of recommendations, preliminary      January 2019.
 terms and conditions, and preliminary
 fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues EA......................  June 2020.
Comments on EA............................  July 2020.
Modified terms and conditions.............  September 2020.
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    p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    q. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of the notice of acceptance and ready for 
environmental analysis provided for in 5.22: (1) A copy of the water 
quality certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, 
including proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the 
request; or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.

    Dated: November 5, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-24564 Filed 11-8-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P